Document Metadata Clearing (PixPix)

The resume was revised using the company’s computer, and when it was submitted, the current employer’s name was still listed in its attributes; the document delivered to Party A had the name of another client listed as the final editor; the editing time for that bid document claimed to total only ten minutes. All these instances are examples of information revealed through document attributes—yet most people never even bother to check that section at all.

The tool scans DOCX, ODT, PDF, SVG, HTML, and Markdown files to identify any metadata contained within them, and then removes fields such as the author’s name, the company name, the last editor who made changes, the amount of time spent editing the file, and the software used to generate the document.

The design guidelines are clear and straightforward: the main text must not be altered in any way. The word/document.xml files in DOCX format, as well as the content.xml files in ODT format, should be copied verbatim, including all binary contents such as images. Any modifications should only be made to the attribute files and customXml files. After export, the layout and content of the document will remain exactly the same as before.

There are two matters that need to be handled separately: annotations and revision history fall within the category of the main text and therefore are not included in the cleanup process. These items must be either accepted or rejected within the original software before being saved separately. As for PDF files, their metadata structure is more complex, so it is safer to check again after exporting them. Keep a copy of the original file; do not overwrite it with the exported version.