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Participant
December 11, 2024
Answered

Finding the correct date of a PDF document

  • December 11, 2024
  • 1 reply
  • 1081 views

Hi all

 

I work in a university library.  I was helping a student identify the date a PDF document was created or last modified. I used Chrome and clicked document properties and it said 28/11/2014. However, when the student tried, it said 04/12/13. 

 

How can this discrepancy have occurred please?

 

It is important to know an accurate date when students are referencing.

 

Many thanks

 

Rachel

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer try67

There's also the file information itself. None of these have to match, and you can't rely on any of them to be accurate.

1 reply

MikelKlink
Participating Frequently
December 11, 2024

There can be two sets of metadata in a PDF, the old info dictionary and the newer metadata streams. PDF processors are expected to keep those two sets in sync, but when they do differ, some PDF processors display the data from one source and some from the other.

try67
Community Expert
try67Community ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
December 11, 2024

There's also the file information itself. None of these have to match, and you can't rely on any of them to be accurate.

Participant
December 12, 2024

Thanks for your guidance