Find out the last modifyin software for a pdf doc? and more?

[mattad]

Assume I got a pdf document.

Can I find out somehow with which tool the pdf originally was created or modified at last?

When I go into menu File--->Document Properties
then the PDF producer is for example "Adobe Acrobat Pro v11.0.1".

Now I extract some pages or add text with PdfXchange Editor.

Then the extracted/modified pages still show as PDF Producer "Adobe Acrobat Pro".

So this MetaData does NOT help to identify the last tool which touched the pdf.

Is there another (secretly hidden) MetaData which logs the LAST MODFYING software tool?

Maybe there are even more information stored like OS, username, serial num, IP of the computer system under which the PDF was originally produced resp. maodified?

Matt

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the post - it really depends on whether the creator or modifier reports itself and saves this information within the document. If not, there is nothing that we can do to determine this.

In the case of the Editor, it should be reported as the last application to modify the file, under the Application field of the Document Properties:


HTH!

[Denker53]

Hi,
>>Then the extracted/modified pages still show as PDF Producer "Adobe Acrobat Pro".
So this MetaData does NOT help to identify the last tool which touched the pdf.
Is there another (secretly hidden) MetaData which logs the LAST MODFYING software tool?
Maybe there are even more information stored like OS, username, serial num, IP of the computer system under which the PDF was originally produced resp. maodified?<<

I use notepad++ to change or delete metadata - but first backup the PDF!
(http://notepad-plus-plus.org/)
Open the PDF file with notepad++.
At the beginning of the file you find something like this:
----------------------------------------
%PDF-1.4
%âãÏÓ
1 0 obj
<<
/Title (pfd-title)
/Author (Denker53)
/Creator (ImageToPDF)
/ModDate (D:20150525142029+02'00')
/Producer (PDF-XChange Viewer [Version: 2.0 \(Build 52.0\) \(Jun 7 2010; 19:39:18\)])
/CreationDate (D:20100713093248+02'00')
/PXCViewerInfo (PDF-XChange Viewer;2.5.312.1;Feb 9 2015;12:00:06;D:20150525142029+02'00')
>>
endobj

There you can change the metadata text. Safe the document as pdf. Try with your pdf Reader/Editor.
Bestregards and good luck
Denker53

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Hi Denker53,

Thanks for the suggestion!

[Lzcat - Tracker Supp]

Hi Denker53.

Actually this is very good way to make PDF file broken.

PDF files have a binary format, not textual, so editing it with any text editor is not a good idea.

Even when the pdf stream is not broken - due to line-ending conversion performed in most text editors when you change the length of any string you will shift the position of all following objects, which will make a file broken too.

Of course many readers can read such broken files, but there are some that cannot.

Such editing will break all file signatures (if any) and PDF/? compliance. And yes, with secured files you will fail to get the expected text because of encryption.

So I would not recommend to change pdf files in such a way unless you are an expert and know with the greatest of precision what are you doing.
HTH.