Adding metadata tags to Paizo PDFs

[Herald]

Hi I would like to modify the tags for my Paizo PDFs. I have no intention of removing watermarks and/or sharing my purchases and I to be honest I really don't want the password just to make this modification so i won't.

This feature would be useful to me as my library has gotten quite large. Is there any chance that this feature will be allowed or is it more of a sorry this is one those features that are locked down unintentionally?

On a related note, if there is a program that will allow me to add metadata that can be ready by the OS that doesn't modify the PDF I would be happy with that as well.

P.S. Please don't interpret my request as frustration with the protection system. I respect and accept it. I just want a way to find things a little quicker with my searches.

[Vic Wertz]

The controls Adobe provides are unfortunately not fine-grained enough to allow that while still providing really any level of security at all. But the same is true for editing bookmarks, yet there are apparently non-Adobe apps that have figured out how to allow custom bookmarks. I suspect that *somebody* might be able to point you to a tool that does the same for metadata...

[Herald]

Vic Wertz wrote:

The controls Adobe provides are unfortunately not fine-grained enough to allow that while still providing really any level of security at all. But the same is true for editing bookmarks, yet there are apparently non-Adobe apps that have figured out how to allow custom bookmarks. I suspect that *somebody* might be able to point you to a tool that does the same for metadata...

Boy I sure have been looking for that. nothing has turned up so far. Thanks for the answer.

[rknop]

I use the command-line utility pdftk-- which, being a command-line utility, w will probably not be suitable for most people. The most important thing to me is to change the title from PZO followed by a (to me) meaningless number into the actual title of the work.

[Rednal]

...I just right-click on files and hit "Rename".

...

Out of genuine curiosity, does that not work on whatever system you're using, rknop?

[rknop]

It's not the name of the file I'm talking about; obviously I'm able to change that. It's the title of the file in the metadata that I'm interested in.

The PDF viewer I use makes the window title the title of the PDF from the metadata. (A reasonable choice.) However, if I have a lot of windows open (which I frequently do), they all have titles "PZO602343" or some such. Looking at the list of windows, that's completely meaningless to me, so I can't just click on the one I want. Thus, I change the title in the metadata of the PDF.

[James Risner]

Use a PDF decompression tool. Decompress it. Edit it with a file editor that is binary safe. Search for the metadata, change it.

[GM Rednal]

Huh. You learn something new every day. o wo

[Herald]

James Risner wrote:

Use a PDF decompression tool. Decompress it. Edit it with a file editor that is binary safe. Search for the metadata, change it.

OK, A little extreme but a good answer.

[GM Rednal]

*Rubs chin* Is their any way to get that PDF viewer to display the chosen title of the PDF, rather than what's in the Metadata? Anything in the settings or options menu?

[Chris Lambertz]

Removed a baiting post and reply to it. Don't derail a thread that is asking for actual information, please.

[rknop]

GM Rednal -- not that I've found. What I've done works, so I'm happy with it.

[PathlessBeth]

James Risner wrote:

Use a PDF decompression tool. Decompress it. Edit it with a file editor that is binary safe. Search for the metadata, change it.

Have you tried this on actual Paizo PDFs? Did it work, or did the watermarking/encryption/DRM get in the way? What software did you use?

Maybe I should explain where I am coming from. Awhile ago I decided to edit all my PDFs with my house rules. My group primarily runs 3.5 with PF stuff mixed in, and we have enough house rules that it became annoying to have to reference the rulebooks and the house rules document separately.
For my 3.5 collection, a lot of my PDFs are just OCR'd scans of books we own in print. For those, I was able to edit the OCR'd text to match my house rules, and it is fully searchable like the unaltered PDF.
When I tried to do the same thing with my Pathfinder collection, though, I got stuck. I could add layers on top of Paizo PDFs with my house rules, but they wouldn't show up in searches in the same way the unaltered text did (and the original text would show up in searches). I couldn't seem to edit the text itself the way I can with DRM-free PDFs.

Hence, I am asking if you have verified the method you describe on Paizo PDFs specifically, because not every technique for editing PDFs in general works for PDFs with Paizo's DRM. I can see three possibilities:
1. The method you described doesn't work because it is blocked by Paizo's DRM-scheme.
2. The method you describe does work. Paizo's DRM blocks the sort of editing that I want to do, but not the sort of editing the OP wants to do.
3. The method you describe does work. Paizo's DRM doesn't block either sort of editing, and I just need to use different editing software. In this case, the issue is entirely on my end and I should spin it into a different thread.

And James, I just want to say thank you for the time you donate in offering tech advice to the forums.

[James Risner]

I am able to with Paizo and the DRM doesn't hinder, but it's probably due to the fact I'm on MacOS.

I've done all these frequently:

• "print" and feed that to Preview app instead of a printer if required (not often).
  
• PDFpen pro (MacOS paid app) to edit text (may need preview version of PDF)
  
• PDFtk (UNIX/Linux command line free app) to cut out pages, uncompress, join pages.
  
• SteamPS (MacOS app might have name wrong I'm at a Con) to compress images quality to 32 color and higher jpg setting, no longer needed with "lite" PDFs.
  
• Adobe Acrobat Pro (paid app) to edit pdf object like delete them, move them, edit them, etc.
  
• Custom hacky software to join multiple embedded fonts into one embedded font with all the used characters such I can join multiple files into one without messing up searches.

Best answer to the inquiry:
The method works if you use tools that ignore the DRM restrictions.

[Tacticslion]

Dot. Interesting!

[PathlessBeth]

James Risner wrote:

I am able to with Paizo and the DRM doesn't hinder, but it's probably due to the fact I'm on MacOS.

I've done all these frequently:

• "print" and feed that to Preview app instead of a printer if required (not often).
  
• PDFpen pro (MacOS paid app) to edit text (may need preview version of PDF)
  
• PDFtk (UNIX/Linux command line free app) to cut out pages, uncompress, join pages.
  
• SteamPS (MacOS app might have name wrong I'm at a Con) to compress images quality to 32 color and higher jpg setting, no longer needed with "lite" PDFs.
  
• Adobe Acrobat Pro (paid app) to edit pdf object like delete them, move them, edit them, etc.
  
• Custom hacky software to join multiple embedded fonts into one embedded font with all the used characters such I can join multiple files into one without messing up searches.

Best answer to the inquiry:
The method works if you use tools that ignore the DRM restrictions.

Going through these,

1. I don't have access to a Mac to test out the Mac programs.
2. I don't have any of the paid Adobe software (I avoid subscription-based software whenever possible, and use only freeware and software with one-time payments.)
3. I tried PDFtk on Windows 10. It seems to work, but I personally dislike the Win32 command line...which could just be a matter of not being used to it.
4. With a bit more effort, I got PDFtk running in PC-BSD, and it works like a charm.
5. PDFtk probably works in Linux as well, but I haven't tried it. I do think it is potentially problematic if non-Mac users need to use a CLI program to deal with Paizo PDFs, given that a decent chunk of the Paizo fanbase is not as tech-savvy. For me, though, PDFtk in PCBSD works. Thank you James Risner!
6. Now that I know I can actually manipulate Paizo PDFs, I have moved the upcoming CotCT compilation PDF from my list of "products I almost certainly will not buy" to "will likely buy at some point," so Paizo ought to be thanking James Risner as well.

[rknop]

I have used pdftk on Linux. Of course, I'm also generally more comfortable with command line utilities than random-walk-search-the-menus utilities (what most GUIs end up being). I realize I'm an outlier.