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eDocs: Retaining metadata (author, creation date/time, etc)

Forum Index > Legal > eDocs: Retaining metadata (author, creation date/time, etc)
2009-09-01 12:57:42
Connie Dee
Registered: Sep 1 2009
Posts: 4
Answered

Is there a way to retain metadata from other source documents (Word;Excel;PPT;etc) when you convert them to PDF? I need the ability to see the original word/excel/ppt metadata on the PDF version. Is it possible? In the legal environment, it is necessary to retain original information. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

My Product Information:
Acrobat Pro 9.0, Windows
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2009-09-01 13:11:12
#1
gkaiseril
Online
Expert
Registered: Feb 23 2006
Posts: 4307
The Acrobat PDF converter has an option for retaining MS Office's meta data (document information) on the "Settings" tab. Look under Word's menu item "Adobe PDF => Change Conversion Settings" to open the PDF Maker settings window.It is even possible to automatically attach the orignal document.

George Kaiser

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2009-09-01 13:45:22
#2
Connie Dee
Registered: Sep 1 2009
Posts: 4
The metadata did not convert. What did I do wrong? It does not show the original date/time created, just the date/time the PDF was created.
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2009-09-01 15:24:01
#3
rbogie
Registered: Apr 28 2008
Posts: 432
the 'standard' conversion setting should give you what you need. see PDF file's document properties (file>properties or Ctrl-D); under 'custom' tab you'll see the date & time when the Word file was modified under value column at field named 'SourceModified'; the date and time is provided in universal (GMT) time. (example: D:20090901221020 = 01 sept 2009, 22 hours GMT, 10 minutes, 20 seconds [assuming the clock on your PC is set to the correct local time]) (GMT = http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/)be sure the 'standard' setting is set to default values: click ‘Adobe PDF’ on Word’s menu, select ‘change conversion settings’, be sure conversion settings is ‘standard’, click ‘Restore Defaults’ button in lower left corner of dialog.

experiment by entering data on a test DOC file's summary tab under file>properties. on the resulting PDF file do Ctrl-D and examine 'description' tab and 'custom' tab.
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2009-09-14 12:29:48
#4
Connie Dee
Registered: Sep 1 2009
Posts: 4
This week I will be testing to make sure I understand the procedure. I will keep you posted!
By the way, when I use the Bates Labeling feature, it requires at least 6 digits (for the numbering).
Our client will only allow 5 digits on their documents. Is there a way around this?
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2009-09-14 13:05:32
#5
rbogie
Registered: Apr 28 2008
Posts: 432
yes, you can set the digits to 5 (or 4 or 3 etc); but the tweak to do this is not documented. shoot me an email via the forum and i'll respond with my tel#. I'll talk you thru the steps. -reid in LA
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