How to Change a PDF Title: 4 Methods for Windows, Mac & Mobile

Here's the distinction most guides skip: the filename is what your operating system shows in a folder, while the title is a metadata field baked inside the PDF. When a PDF exported from Word shows "Document1" in a browser tab even though you renamed the file, you're looking at a stale title, not a filename problem. Renaming the file does nothing to it. This guide covers four ways to fix the title itself — with the original source file, without it, from a phone, and by resetting it at the source — across Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.

If you're editing more than the title, this is one task inside the broader workflow of how to edit a PDF.

Part 1. Which Method Fits Your Situation

Part 2. Change a PDF Title in Properties (Windows & Mac)

This is the method that works in the widest range of cases: it edits the title directly inside the PDF, so you don't need the program that created the file.

Step 1. Open the document in UPDF — if you don't have it yet, download UPDF for free and install it in under a minute — then click Open File and select your PDF.

Step 2. Right-click anywhere on the page and select Document Properties. (Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + D on Windows, Cmd + D on Mac.)

Step 3. Click the Info tab. You'll see the editable metadata fields: Title, Author, Subject, and Keywords.

Step 4. Clear the old Title and type the new one. While you're here, you can correct the Author or add Keywords, which help the file surface in document searches.

Step 5. Close the Properties window and save. Click Save, or use Save → Save As Other if you want to keep the original untouched and write a renamed copy.

UPDF changes the title for free; on the free plan, saving adds a trial watermark to the export. A watermark-free save is included in UPDF Pro, which runs US$49.99/year or US$79.99 for a lifetime license.

Download UPDF for free to try changing a PDF title on your own file — installation is free, and Pro features are available when you need watermark-free export or advanced tools.

Part 3. Change the Title at the Source, Then Re-Export

If the PDF was exported from Word (or Pages, LibreOffice, Google Docs, etc.) and you still have that source document, you can correct the title upstream so the source and the PDF stay consistent. The steps differ between Windows and Mac versions of Word, so they're split below.

On Windows (Microsoft Word):

Step 1. Open the source document in Word.

Step 2. Click File → Info.

Step 3. Under Properties on the right, find Title and type the correct text. (If Title isn't visible, click Show All Properties at the bottom.)

Step 4. Re-export: File → Save As → choose PDF. The new PDF carries the corrected title.

On Mac (Microsoft Word):  

Step 1. Open the source document in Word.

Step 2. Click File → Properties, then open the Summary tab.

Step 3. Type the correct text in the Title field and click OK.

Step 4. Re-export: File → Save As → choose PDF. The new PDF inherits the Title from the document properties. (Alternatively, use File → Print → the PDF button → Save as PDF if you want to set the title only for the exported copy.)

Part 4. Change a PDF Title From Your Phone

Here's the honest platform picture, because it's where most articles get mobile wrong. On iOS and Android, the UPDF mobile apps are full PDF editors — text, images, links, OCR, conversion, annotation — but they don't expose a per-file Properties → Info metadata panel the way the desktop apps do. So there are two realistic mobile routes, depending on what you actually need to change.

Route A — Edit the real title metadata (via UPDF Cloud)

Because one UPDF account works across all four platforms, the title field is best edited on desktop even when the file lives on your phone.

Step 1. In the UPDF mobile app, open the file and upload it to UPDF Cloud (or import it there).

Step 2. On your Windows or Mac computer, sign in to the same UPDF account and open that file from UPDF Cloud.

Step 3. Follow Part 2 — right-click → Properties → Info → edit the Title → save. The updated file syncs back to your phone.

Route B — Fix a title that's printed on the page (on mobile)

Sometimes what people call "the title" is the visible heading text at the top of page 1, not the metadata field. That you can edit directly on your phone.

On iOS/Android: open the PDF, tap the Edit icon, then tap the heading text to change it, and save from the … menu.

Part 5. Change a PDF Title in Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Acrobat can edit the title too, but only in the paid Acrobat Pro tier — the free Reader can't.

Step 1. Open the PDF in Acrobat.

Step 2. Go to File → Document properties (or Ctrl/Cmd + D).

Step 3. On the Description tab, edit the Title field, then click OK and save.

Part 6. Filename vs. Title vs. Header — What's the Difference?

These three get confused constantly, and picking the wrong one is why a "fixed" title keeps coming back wrong:

• Filename — the label your operating system shows in a folder (report.pdf). Lives outside the file; renaming it changes nothing inside the PDF.
• Title — a metadata field stored inside the PDF. This is what a browser tab, a screen reader, and a library catalog display.
• Header / on-page heading — the visible text printed at the top of a page. Part of the document's content, not its metadata.

Think of it like a book: the filename is the label on the spine sticker a librarian adds, the title is what's printed on the copyright page that catalogs use, and the header is the chapter heading on the page you're reading. Change the one your problem actually points to.

Why the metadata title matters beyond tidiness: under WCAG 2.4.2 (Page Titled), a document needs a title that describes its topic, and the PDF accessibility standard PDF/UA (ISO 14289) requires that title to be exposed to assistive technologies. That's the mechanism behind the fact that a screen reader announces the PDF's title instead of its filename — so an accurate title is an accessibility requirement, not just a nicety.

Part 7. Method Comparison

Part 8. Edge Cases

• The Info fields are greyed out and won't accept typing. The PDF has a permissions (owner) password restricting edits. You'll need to remove that restriction first, and only do so on a file you own or are authorized to edit.
• You re-exported from Word but the PDF title didn't update. Word only writes the Title into the PDF if the Title property was set before export. Set it in File → Info first, then export — re-saving alone won't inject it.
• Two files look identical but one has the right title. The title is invisible in normal reading view. Open Properties → Info on each to see which carries the correct metadata before you send the wrong one.

Part 9. FAQ

Conclusion

Changing a PDF title comes down to one principle: edit the layer your problem actually lives in — the metadata title inside the file, not the filename outside it or the heading printed on the page. For nearly every case, opening the PDF in UPDF and editing the Info fields under Properties is the fastest route, and it works even when the original source document is gone. When the file is only on your phone, UPDF Cloud lets you make that same edit from a desktop and sync it back.

Download UPDF for free to try changing a PDF title on your file — installation is free, and Pro features are available when you need watermark-free export or advanced tools.