Batch Search/Replace in PDF Metadata

[Charlie Y]

Hello all,

I looked through this forum, and if there's already a thread on this subject, I missed it.

I'd like to find a way to do a batch search/replace on the metadata in a folder full of PDFs (metadata only). The object is to change delimiter characters in author and keyword lists.

The backstory:

I produce a quartely online PDF-based scientific newsletter. Each quarterly issue contains anywhere from 6 to 20 PDFs, each with delimited author and keyword lists. I lay them out in Adobe InDesign and that is where I insert the metadata. InDesign says you can use any delimiters you like, but whenever I use commas, InDesign always changes them to semicolons. Haven't found any ID settings to change this behavior. The webmaster for my target site says that for his search engine to properly index my PDFs, the delimiters must be commas. So, for each issue, I'm forced to manually change each one of those semicolons back to commas in the final PDFs. Tedious and frustrating. Of course, the easiest thing would be to get ID to stop changing my commas to semilcolons. Gave up on that years ago. I've been told that Acrobat's Action Wizard can probably perform a batch search/replace on a folder full of PDFs, but it would require the insertion of JavaScript code. I'm J'Script illiterate. So I'm looking for all possible solutions. I ran across a free program that claims to have the tools I would need. PDF Metadata Editor by 4Dots Software. (https://www.4dots-software.com/free-pdf-metadata-editor/). Anybody familiar with it? Anybody got other suggestions?

Thanks,

Charlie Yarwood

[Dov Isaacs]

The tools for manipulation of PDF metadata in Acrobat Pro are few and very primative. There is no tool for any search and replace of metadata much less batch search and replace. You might be better off posting in the InDesign community and/or reporting an InDesign bug if you believe that InDesign is improperly modifying metadata that you create.

[Charlie Y]

Thanks, I've quizzed the InDesign community numerous times over the years. I hit stone walls there. One Adobe support person tried to tell me that InDesign doesn't do that - changing commas to semicolons in File Info. But every version of ID has done it on every computer I've used it on. Also suggested that it's an operating system thing. That I should go into OS settings and specify commas as delimiters. If there has ever been such a setting in Windows (from XP Pro up through Win10), I can't find it. I keep prodding our webmaster to enable semicolons as a valid delimiter on the site. Still waiting for that too.

BTW: InDesign occastionally does another strange thing with File Info. I haven't noticed anything that triggers this behavior, but occasionally it puts the author list in quotes. Not every time, just at times when I'm fighting a deadline.  😉

Thanks again!

C Ya

[Dov Isaacs]

Personally and to be quite blunt, I think others have given you a bunch of BS!

Windows has date, time, and currency delimiter settings, but those should not affect other delimiters. InDesign should not be using those settings for metadata other than perhaps for inserting date and time stamps.

I suggest you go to https://indesign.uservoice.com/ and submit this as a bug. InDesign engineering and product management looks there and not in these communities for both bug reports and feature requests!

[Charlie Y]

Thank you very much. I was very skeptical that an OS settings would have any effect on ID's delimiters. I will follow up with your good advice about uservoice.

C Ya

[try67]

You can certainly do a batch search & replace command on the metadata of multiple PDF files, if you have Acrobat Pro.

In that case you can use an Action to process multiple files and a script to edit the metadata of each file being processed.

The script can access the file's metadata in two ways: The metadata property, which returns a raw XML string, or the info property, which gives access to individual values within the metadata object, such as info.Author or info.Keywords.

However, there is an issue with the latter because it is not very well documented what kind of value it should take, whether it's an array or a string, or what kind of delimiter should be used. You can experiment with it and see what works best for you, though.

[Dov Isaacs]

Of course, that requires that you write a “script” - there is no built-in metadata search and replace tool! 🙂

[try67]

True, but it's not like it's not possible at all...

[Dov Isaacs]

Or one can even write a plug-in!

[Charlie Y]

So ... are any of you familiar with the PDF Metadata Editor program I mentioned? I emailed them and asked if it could perform the task I described. They said yes. But I'm always leery of free, third-party apps like that.

Thanks again,

C Ya