How to quickly strip metadata from a collection of documents using an Action in Acrobat - tips for power users who want to automate metadata removal; options for those who don't want to use an Action.

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HOW TO REMOVE METADATA FROM MULTIPLE DOCUMENTS
USING AN ACTION IN ACROBAT X OR XI
To strip metadata from a collection of documents in a folder, create an Action (or macro) in
Acrobat. Here are the steps for Acrobat X or XI users:
Launch Acrobat – do not open any files.
Select Tools, Action Wizard, Create New Action.
The “Create New Action” dialog box appears:
Locate “Start with: A Folder on My Computer.” Click on the down arrow and browse to find the
folder of documents you wish to remove metadata from. [PRACTICE TIP – SEE “BECOME AN
ACTION WIZ” on page five to really do this right.]
Click OK.
Next, add steps to the Action. From the panel on the left, select ► Protection

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Next, select “Remove Hidden Information.” Using “Remove Hidden Information” will allow
you to selectively remove metadata.
“Sanitize Document” removes all metadata automatically and indiscriminately. This often
includes headers and footers that users do not wish to affect through metadata removal.
Choose wisely at this step and understand how metadata removal in Acrobat works. If you
are unsure, experiment with a copy of your document folder. You can always delete an
Action and start over if you don’t like the results, but never remove metadata from your one
and only set of documents unless you understand the consequences of metadata removal.
Next, put a check mark by “Prompt User” if you wanted to be prompted each time to select
which hidden information to remove.

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If you want the Action to run automatically without a prompt, then click on “Options”
to configure what is removed:
Uncheck any metadata you do not want removed:
Click OK.

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Leave the “Save to: Ask When Action is Started” setting alone – this allows you to choose
where your documents will be saved once the metadata is removed.
Decide whether to leave “overwrite existing documents” checked.
When “overwrite existing documents” is checked, the result of the Action will be a set of
documents in a folder with all metadata removed. In other words, you are altering your
original set of PDFs. Once metadata is removed, your original PDFs cannot be restored.
You must re-create the PDFs or obtain another copy from the party who provided them to
you.
If you need two copies of your documents – one with metadata and one without metadata,
uncheck this box. You will be prompted to resave the documents without metadata to a new
location when you run the Action. This is probably the safer course of action for most users.
Click Save.
Give the Action a name.
Give the Action a description.
LEAVE Run this Action after saving
unchecked unless you want the Action to
run immediately.
Click Save again.

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If you look in Acrobat’s Navigation Pane under Tools, Action
Wizard you’ll see your new action is saved and ready to use:
FYI “Publish Sensitive Documents” is an Action that comes pre-
loaded with Acrobat. This particular action allows users to
redact sensitive information and remove metadata one
document at a time.
BECOME AN “ACTION WIZ” AND SET UP A
METADATA REMOVAL FOLDER
Acrobat will remember which folder you selected when creating this Action. Why not create a
specific folder dedicated to removing metadata for document production and distribution?
Acrobat will return to this folder each time the Action is run.
Let’s say you create a folder called “Metadata Removal Folder.” Under “Start with: A Folder
on My Computer” on page one, be sure Acrobat points to this folder.
Whenever you need to remove metadata from a collection of documents, just drag a copy of
the documents to your “Metadata Removal Folder,” start Acrobat, and run the Action. After
your documents are saved to a new location, empty the folder. Repeat whenever you need to
remove metadata from a document collection.
SECOND OPTION – COMBINING FILES
While metadata can be removed by using an Action, another choice is to combine documents
into one PDF then remove hidden information or sanitize the combined files. The
disadvantage here is that your files will be combined. (No more discrete collection of
documents with metadata removed from each individually.) The method you choose – Action
vs. combining files depends on:
 Why you are removing metadata – for discovery or other distribution?
 The recipient of your scrubbed documents – the opposing party or your client?
If documents are being distributed to the client, it may be preferable to combine them into one
PDF, remove metadata, and then bookmark the pages of the combined PDF for easy client
navigation. (If you create bookmarks, select File > Properties > Initial View to the change the
Navigation Panel to “Bookmarks Panel and Page” so the client sees your bookmarks when he
or she opens the PDF.)
To combine files in Acrobat, click Create, and select combine files into one PDF. You can then
browse and add files to create a single PDF portfolio. During the creation process, files can
be sorted in any order.
Beverly Michaelis, http://oregonlawpracticemanagement.com/. All Rights Reserved.
June 2013.

6. Contact the author with questions or comments
at http://oregonlawpracticemanagement.com/.