Draftable Clean scans and cleans a wide range of metadata types across supported file types. Each metadata item is categorised, assigned a risk level, and can be configured to Preserve, Remove, Replace (with a custom value), or Flatten (convert to static content) — depending on the type.
This page lists every metadata type supported in the current release.
Supported actions
| Action | Description |
|---|
| Preserve | Keep the metadata as-is — no changes made |
| Remove | Delete the metadata from the document |
| Replace | Replace the metadata value with a specified string (e.g. replace author with your firm name) |
| Flatten | Convert interactive elements (form fields, structured document tags) to static content |
Metadata that directly identifies individuals or organizations involved in the document.
| Metadata type | Description | Risk | Actions | File types |
|---|
| Author | The name of the document author | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | PDF, Word |
| Company | The company name in document properties | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | Word |
| Creator | The creator of the document (may differ from author) | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | PDF |
| Last Saved By | The user who last saved the document | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | Word |
| Manager | The manager field from document properties | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | PDF, Word |
| Producer | The application that produced the document (e.g. PDF producer) | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | PDF, Word |
| User Address | The user address stored in the document | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | Word |
| User Initials | The user initials stored in the document | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | Word |
| User Name | The user name stored in the document | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | Word |
Document Properties
Core document metadata including titles, dates, counts, and structural information.
| Metadata type | Description | Risk | Actions | File types |
|---|
| Category | The category classification of the document | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | Word |
| Content Status | The content status field (e.g. Draft, Final) | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | Word |
| Created Date | When the document was originally created | High | Preserve, Remove | PDF, Word |
| Description | The document description or summary field | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | PDF, Word |
| Document Version | The version number of the document | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | PDF, Word |
| Identifier | A unique identifier for the document (e.g. internal tracking number) | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | PDF, Word |
| Keywords | Keywords or tags associated with the document | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | PDF, Word |
| Language | The language setting of the document | High | Preserve, Remove | PDF, Word |
| Modified Date | When the document was last modified | High | Preserve, Remove | PDF, Word |
| Printed Date | When the document was last printed | High | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Revision Number | How many times the document has been saved | High | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Security | Security settings and permissions metadata | High | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Shared Document | Shared document collaboration metadata | High | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Subject | The document subject field | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | PDF, Word |
| Title | The document title — may contain project or client names | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | PDF, Word |
| Total Editing Time | Total time spent editing the document | High | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Annotation | PDF annotations or markup | Low | Preserve, Remove | PDF |
| Characters | Character count stored in document properties | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Characters (with spaces) | Character count including spaces | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Document Variable | Document variables used by macros or fields | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Ink Annotation | Ink/pen annotations (e.g. from tablet input) | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Lines | Line count stored in document properties | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Pages | Page count stored in document properties | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Paragraphs | Paragraph count stored in document properties | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Smart Tag | Smart tags providing contextual actions on recognized content | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Structured Document Tag | Content controls in Word documents | Low | Preserve, Remove, Flatten | Word |
| Thumbnail | Thumbnail preview image stored in the document | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Words | Word count stored in document properties | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
Revision history and reviewer feedback — often the highest-risk metadata in legal documents.
| Metadata type | Description | Risk | Actions | File types |
|---|
| Comments | Comments and annotations added by reviewers | High | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Tracked Changes | Tracked changes (revisions) showing the full edit history | High | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Tracked Changes Author | The author names attached to each tracked change | High | Preserve, Remove, Replace | Word |
| Tracked Changes Date | Timestamps on tracked changes | High | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Comments Author | The author name attached to each comment | Low | Preserve, Remove, Replace | PDF, Word |
| Comments Date | Timestamps on comments | Low | Preserve, Remove | PDF, Word |
Document Content
Document content that may contain hidden, embedded, or sensitive material.
| Metadata type | Description | Risk | Actions | File types |
|---|
| Attached Files | Files embedded or attached to the document | Medium | Preserve, Remove | PDF |
| Bookmarks | Bookmarks used for navigation — may reveal document structure | Medium | Preserve, Remove | PDF, Word |
| Form Fields | Interactive form fields — flattening converts them to static text | Low | Preserve, Remove, Flatten | PDF |
| Hidden Text | Hidden text not visible in normal view | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Highlighted Text | Highlighted text in the document | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Hyperlinks | Hyperlinks that may point to internal or sensitive URLs | Low | Preserve, Remove | PDF |
| Obfuscated Text | Text obfuscated by color (e.g. white text on white background) | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| OLE Objects | Embedded objects (e.g. Excel spreadsheets, Visio diagrams) | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Small Text | Very small text that may be used to hide content | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| XML Comments | XML comments embedded in the document structure | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
Application-specific, custom, and miscellaneous metadata.
| Metadata type | Description | Risk | Actions | File types |
|---|
| Custom Property | Custom document properties added by users or applications | Medium | Preserve, Remove | PDF, Word |
| Custom UI | Custom UI elements (ribbon customisations) stored in the document | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Custom XML | Custom XML data stored within the document | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
| Digital Signature | Cryptographic signatures — removing invalidates document authenticity | Low | Preserve, Remove | PDF |
| Unclassified | Metadata that does not fit into any other category | Low | Preserve, Remove | PDF, Word |
| VBA Code | VBA macro code — can pose security risks if shared externally | Low | Preserve, Remove | Word |
Configurable per profile
All metadata types listed above can be individually configured within cleaning profiles. Each metadata type can be set to its supported action on a per-profile basis, giving you full control over what is removed, preserved, or replaced for each document type.
Where a metadata type supports Replace, you can specify a custom replacement value — for example, replacing individual author names with your firm name, or replacing document titles with a generic label.
