Read and edit metadata with GroupDocs.Metadata Leave feedback
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GroupDocs.Metadata reads and edits the metadata inside a document — authors, timestamps, EXIF and XMP tags, ID3 audio tags — without touching its visible content. Stripping metadata before a document leaves your organisation is the most common reason to reach for it.
GetDocumentInfo gives you the basics without loading the whole metadata tree.
using System;
using GroupDocs.Metadata;
using GroupDocs.Metadata.Common;
using (Metadata metadata = new Metadata("contract.docx"))
{
IDocumentInfo info = metadata.GetDocumentInfo();
Console.WriteLine("File format: " + info.FileType.FileFormat);
Console.WriteLine("Extension: " + info.FileType.Extension);
Console.WriteLine("MIME type: " + info.FileType.MimeType);
Console.WriteLine("Pages: " + info.PageCount);
Console.WriteLine("Size: " + info.Size + " bytes");
Console.WriteLine("Encrypted: " + info.IsEncrypted);
}
contract.docx is the sample file used in this example. Click here to download it.
File format: WordProcessing
Extension: .docx
MIME type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
Pages: 3
Size: 15096 bytes
Encrypted: False
Properties are searched with a predicate rather than by name, because the same idea is spelled differently in every format. Tags describe what a property means, so Tags.Person.Creator finds the author whether the file calls it Author, Creator or dc:creator.
using System;
using GroupDocs.Metadata;
using GroupDocs.Metadata.Common;
using GroupDocs.Metadata.Tagging;
using (Metadata metadata = new Metadata("contract.docx"))
{
// Every property tagged as identifying a person
IEnumerable<MetadataProperty> properties = metadata.FindProperties(
p => p.Tags.Contains(Tags.Person.Creator));
foreach (MetadataProperty property in properties)
{
Console.WriteLine(property.Name + " = " + property.Value);
}
}
contract.docx is the sample file used in this example. Click here to download it.
Author = Dana Whitfield
dc:creator = Dana Whitfield
Sanitize removes every metadata property the format allows to be removed. This is the sanitising step to run before publishing a document externally.
using System;
using GroupDocs.Metadata;
using (Metadata metadata = new Metadata("contract.docx"))
{
int removed = metadata.Sanitize();
Console.WriteLine("Properties removed: " + removed);
metadata.Save("metadata-sanitize.docx");
}
contract.docx is the sample file used in this example. Click here to download it.
Binary file (DOCX, 15 KB)
GroupDocs.Metadata also adds and updates properties, removes only the properties matching a predicate, and works with format-specific standards — EXIF, XMP and IPTC in images, ID3 and APE in audio, and the built-in and custom property sets of Office documents.
- GroupDocs.Metadata for .NET documentation — the full product guide
- Supported file formats
- API reference
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