Read PDF Metadata in Make – Get Document Information

What this module does

PDF4me - Get Document Information reads the metadata and structural properties of any PDF without touching the source file. It returns 11 individual fields - Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, Creation Date, Modification Date, Page Count, File Size, and PDF Version - as mappable tokens you can wire directly into Make Filters, Routers, database modules, or notification steps. Use it to pre-screen document size before a conversion step, route files by author or department keyword, auto-catalog archive uploads into Airtable or Google Sheets, or surface the page count in an approval email so reviewers know what they're signing off on.

Authenticating Your API Request

Every PDF4me module in Make requires a valid Connection. Create or select one that holds your PDF4me API key so the scenario can call the metadata service securely.

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Important Facts You Should Not Miss

Strictly non-destructive

The module reads the file structure and returns data. No bytes in the original PDF are written, reordered, or removed. The document you map in is identical to the one passed downstream - safe to run on production files without any risk of altering the source.

11 structured fields returned

Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, Creation Date, Modification Date, Page Count, File Size, and PDF Version are all available as individual mappable tokens in the output bundle - no parsing step or custom function needed to extract individual values.

Wire directly into routing logic

Map Page Count, Author, or Keywords directly into a Make Filter or Router to branch your scenario based on document properties. Route oversized files to a rejection path, send department-tagged PDFs to matching folders, or skip already-cataloged documents with a duplicate check.

Select Map under File, then map File Name and Document from the step that downloaded the PDF.

Parameters

Required: Connection, File Name, and Document. Set File to Map first so both input fields become visible. Binary file bytes are required for Document - a URL string or filename alone will not work.

Parameter	Required	What it does	Example mapping
Connection	Yes	PDF4me API connection used by the scenario to authenticate metadata requests. Click Add and paste your API key if connecting for the first time.	Your PDF4me connection
File	Yes	Determines how the PDF is supplied. Choose Map to wire File Name and Document from a prior module's output - the most common setup for multi-step scenarios.	Map
File Name	Yes	Filename with .pdf extension from the source module. Used to identify the document being inspected. Map from the file name field of your Dropbox, Drive, or OneDrive step.	7. File Name
Document	Yes	Binary PDF content from the download step. Must be actual file bytes - not a URL or a filename string. Map from the Data field of Dropbox or the File Content field of SharePoint.	7. Data

Quick Setup

1. Add PDF4me → Get Document Information to your scenario.
2. Select Connection (or click Add to create one with your API key).
3. Under File, choose Map.
4. Map File Name to the filename field from your download step - include the .pdf extension.
5. Map Document to the binary data field from the same step (usually Data in Dropbox or File Content in SharePoint/OneDrive modules).
6. Save and click Run once. Expand the File Info output bundle - each of the 11 metadata fields is a separate mappable token ready to wire into any subsequent module.

Output Fields

The module returns a File Info bundle with 11 individual metadata fields - each is independently mappable:

Field	Type	What it contains and how to use it
Title	String	Document title as stored in the PDF metadata dictionary. Empty string if not set. Map into an Airtable record or email subject line.
Author	String	Name of the person or system that created the document. Use in a Router to send files to department-specific folders based on creator.
Subject	String	Subject or description field from the document properties dialog. Often populated by enterprise document management systems.
Keywords	String	Comma-separated keyword tags embedded by the author. Filter on this field in a Make Filter to route to the correct team or project.
Creator	String	Application that originally created the document - for example, Microsoft Word, Adobe InDesign, or a PDF library name.
Producer	String	PDF conversion library or printer driver that generated the final PDF bytes. Different from Creator when a Word file was later exported to PDF.
Creation Date	DateTime	ISO 8601 timestamp of when the document was first created. Use in a Filter to process only documents created within a target date range.
Modification Date	DateTime	ISO 8601 timestamp of the last save. Compare to a stored baseline date to detect documents that have changed since last processing.
Page Count	Integer	Total number of pages. Use in a Filter to block files over a page limit or route short vs. long documents to different processing branches.
File Size	Integer	File size in bytes. Gate on this before a conversion or email step - reject oversized files and notify the submitter to re-upload a compressed version.
PDF Version	String	PDF specification version (e.g. 1.4, 1.7, 2.0). Verify conformance before routing to a PDF/A archive that requires a specific version.

Workflow Examples

Workflow ExamplesCommon Make scenario patterns that use Get Document Information to drive routing, validation, or cataloging.

Route documents to department folders by keyword

1. A new PDF lands in a shared Dropbox inbox folder and triggers the scenario.
2. Get Document Information extracts the Keywords metadata field.
3. A Make Router checks the keyword value against department names (Finance, Legal, HR).
4. Each branch uploads the file to the matching team folder in Google Drive.
5. A Slack notification alerts the destination team with the document Title and Page Count.

Pre-processing validation gate

1. A form submission triggers the scenario with an attached PDF.
2. Get Document Information returns Page Count and File Size.
3. A Filter blocks files over 50 MB or under 1 page from proceeding.
4. Valid documents continue to the conversion or e-signature module.
5. Rejected files trigger an email reply asking the submitter to re-upload a smaller version.

Auto-catalog new archive uploads into Airtable

1. A scheduled scenario iterates over new PDFs in an OneDrive archive folder.
2. Get Document Information extracts all 11 metadata fields per file.
3. An Airtable module creates a new record with Title, Author, Creation Date, and Page Count.
4. The record links back to the OneDrive file URL for one-click retrieval.
5. A Filter skips files that already have a matching Airtable record to prevent duplicates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this module modify the PDF in any way?+

No. Get Document Information performs a strictly read-only inspection of the file. The module reads the document dictionary and cross-reference table to extract metadata values and returns them as a structured output bundle. No bytes in the source PDF are written, reordered, or removed during this process. The file you map into this module is identical byte-for-byte to what gets passed into any downstream module - you can safely run it on production documents without any risk of altering the originals.

What if the PDF has no metadata fields set?+

Page Count, File Size, and PDF Version are always populated because they are derived from the document structure itself rather than optional metadata fields. Author, Title, Subject, Keywords, Creator, and Producer will return empty strings when the document creator did not fill them in - this is common with PDFs generated by automated systems or older software that strips document information during export. The module does not error on empty metadata; it simply returns empty strings for those specific fields.

Can I use the Page Count output to branch my scenario conditionally?+

Yes - this is one of the most practical uses of the module. Map the Page Count field into a Make Filter condition placed after Get Document Information. For example, set the Filter to pass only when Page Count is greater than 20 and route those to a PDF splitting workflow, while shorter documents continue to an email step. You can similarly use File Size to reject oversized uploads before a conversion step, or check Creation Date to process only documents created within a target date range such as the current calendar month.

What PDF versions and variants does this module support?+

The module reads metadata from all common PDF versions - PDF 1.0 through PDF 2.0 - as well as PDF/A archival variants including PDF/A-1, PDF/A-2, and PDF/A-3. The PDF Version field in the output tells you exactly which specification the document conforms to (for example 1.4, 1.7, or 2.0). This is particularly useful in compliance workflows where you need to verify that a document meets a required PDF version before it is sent to a regulated archive or long-term storage system.

How do I access a specific metadata field in a downstream module?+

After the module runs, expand the File Info output bundle in the Make mapping panel - each of the 11 fields (Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Creator, Producer, Creation Date, Modification Date, Page Count, File Size, PDF Version) appears as its own individually selectable token. Click any token to insert it into a field in the next module - for example, map Title into the Subject field of a Gmail step, Page Count into a Filter condition, or Author into an Airtable record column. No custom function or JSON parsing is required.

Related Modules

Save Metadata for a PDF

Write or update the Title, Author, Subject, and Keywords fields you just read - use it to standardize metadata across a batch before archiving.

Repair PDF

Run before Get Document Information when incoming files may be corrupted - Repair PDF rebuilds the structure so metadata can be read cleanly without returning empty fields.

Validate PDF/A

Pair with Get Document Information when you need both metadata extraction and a conformance check before sending documents to a regulated long-term archive.

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