Tool not working? Need help with removing metadata on PDFs

[PDFHelp1]

Hello, so I renamed the tool to exiftool(-xmptoolkit= -P -overwrite_original -k).exe and when i check the metadata  on websites, the original data is still there.  Using windows if that helps.  Also, I'm using an older version, 11.3.5.0 could that be the culprit?  Thanks in advance

[Phil Harvey]

Try running exiftool(-xmptoolkit -k).exe on the file before and after to see what you get.

The older version should work fine.

- Phil

[Phil Harvey]

Also, I should note that ExifTool doesn't actually remove anything from PDF files.  It just adds a new dictionary with the updated or deleted metadata to replace the existing one.

- Phil

[PDFHelp1]

Try running exiftool(-xmptoolkit -k).exe on the file before and after to see what you get.

The older version should work fine.

- Phil

Still not working.  Strange.  That black CMD looking screen (sorry if wrong terminology) opens up, and it says press return after dragging the PDF into it like I would expect, but the PDF data remains unchanged

[Phil Harvey]

The command I gave should just show the XMPToolkit.  If the window remained black, then there was no XMPToolkit tag to remove.

- Phil

[PDFHelp1]

The command I gave should just show the XMPToolkit.  If the window remained black, then there was no XMPToolkit tag to remove.

- Phil

In the past, I believe i've used that line to remove metadata to erase/rewrite/hide the creator tool and producer. I edited the PDF online and the metadata shows what website i edited it on, etc.  That's what I want gone.  I thought I was doing it right, but I guess not.  It's been a while.  What mistake am I making?

Edit: nvm that code i believe is to set the time to date of creation.  What line would i use to "erase"/rewrite/hide the metadata?  Thanks

[Phil Harvey]

Your command only deletes the XMPToolkit tag.  To delete everything, use exiftool(-k -all=).exe or specify whatever specific tags you want removed instead of -all.  To see all available tags in the file, use exiftool(-k -s).exe

But removing tags with ExifTool is just the first step for a PDF file.  Read point 2 here for more information.

- Phil