List the files carried inside a PDF, save them out, strip the ones that should not travel, or embed new ones.
PDF Attachments
List the files carried inside a PDF, save them out, strip the ones that should not travel, or embed new ones.
The document is unpacked, read and rewritten inside this tab. Neither the PDF nor anything embedded in it is sent anywhere, including files flagged as programs.
A PDF is a container as much as a page, and most readers make very little of it. The spreadsheet behind a report, the XML of an electronic invoice, the members of a portfolio that opens as a file browser rather than a document — all of that rides inside the file, in two quite separate places: the document-level attachments panel, and paperclip annotations pinned to a particular page. Both are listed here with a name, a type, a size, a description and the dates recorded for them, and a file that appears in both shows up once with the page it is pinned to. Save one, or take the selection as a ZIP. Mark what should not travel with the document and it goes, paperclip included.
Features
Lists the attachments panel and paperclip annotations together, with the page each paperclip sits on
Type, size, description and recorded dates read straight out of the file
Files named like programs — .exe, .js, .bat, .ps1 and the rest — flagged in red before you open them
Save a single attachment, or the selection as a ZIP with safe, distinct names
Mark attachments for removal, and take the mark back before you save
Attach new files of any type, each with a description of its own
Removing every attachment turns a portfolio back into an ordinary PDF
Names containing brackets or non-Latin letters are written so readers do not choke on them
How to use the PDF Attachments
Drop the PDF in and read what it is carrying
Save what you want, and tick whatever should be removed
Drop in any new files to embed, with a description each
Save a new copy of the PDF
Example
Input
invoice-4831.pdf — an electronic invoice from a supplier
Output
1 attachment · factur-x.xml · XML · 4.2 kB · in the attachments panel
The machine-readable invoice travels inside the human-readable one.
Common errors & troubleshooting
My reader never showed me these files. — Most readers keep the attachments panel closed, and viewers built into browsers often have none at all. The files are in the document regardless of whether anything offered to show them.
The PDF opens as a list of files instead of a page. — It is a portfolio: the attachments are the point and its own pages are only a cover sheet. Remove every attachment and it becomes an ordinary document again.
One entry cannot be saved. — That entry is a pointer to a file on somebody else's disk rather than an embedded copy. The name was recorded in the document; the bytes were never put in it.
An attachment is named like a program. — Treat it as hostile unless you know exactly where the document came from. Remove it here, then run the file through PDF Sanitizer to see what else inside it can act on its own.
Frequently asked questions
Where inside a PDF are attached files actually kept?
In two places. The document-level list is what a reader's attachments panel shows, and it is the usual home. A file can also hang off a paperclip annotation on one page, which some readers only reveal when you click the paperclip. Both are listed together here.
What is a PDF portfolio, and why does mine open as a file browser?
A portfolio is a PDF whose purpose is to carry a set of files. A flag in the document tells readers to present the collection first, so its own pages act as a cover sheet. Strip the attachments and the flag goes with them.
Can any kind of file be attached to a PDF?
Yes — the format puts no restriction on it, which is exactly why an embedded file deserves suspicion. Anything can be packed in, including something executable, and the recorded type is only what the author chose to claim.
Does removing an attachment make the PDF smaller?
Usually yes, and often dramatically, because embedded files are stored whole. The document is rewritten without them and without the entries that pointed at them, so the bytes really do leave the file.
Is it safe to open a file attached to a PDF from a sender I do not know?
No safer than any other unexpected file. The PDF is merely the envelope. Anything flagged here as a program should not be opened at all, and the rest deserves the same caution you would give an email attachment.
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