How can a browser read DOCX metadata without Word?

A .docx file is really a ZIP archive of XML parts. The tool reads the ZIP's central directory, inflates the docProps/core.xml and docProps/app.xml entries with the browser's built-in decompression, and parses the standard Dublin Core and Office metadata fields. No server is involved.

What is the revision count?

The revision number is incremented by Word each time the document is saved. A high revision count suggests heavy editing; a count of 1 means the file was saved only once since creation, which can be a useful forensic signal.

Why are some fields blank?

Word only writes a property if it was set. Anonymous templates, files cleaned of metadata, or documents created by other tools may leave creator, company or title empty. Blank simply means the field was not stored.

Can this detect who really wrote a document?

It shows the creator and last-modified-by names recorded in the file, which come from the Word account or login of the author. These can be edited or spoofed, so treat them as evidence, not proof of authorship.

Does it work on old .doc files?

No. The classic binary .doc format is not a ZIP and uses a completely different OLE structure. This tool only reads the modern Office Open XML .docx format. Convert .doc to .docx first.

What is the DOCX Metadata Viewer?

Free DOCX metadata viewer. Unzips a .docx in your browser and reads docProps/core.xml for creator, last modified by, created and modified dates, revision count, title and word stats. Useful for document forensics — nothing is uploaded. It runs free in your browser on Gera Tools, with nothing uploaded.

DOCX Metadata Viewer

Name: DOCX Metadata Viewer
Creator: Gera Tools
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

A DOCX metadata viewer reveals the hidden properties stored inside a Word document — who created it, who last edited it, when, and how many times it was saved. That information is invaluable for document forensics, due diligence, and checking that a file has been scrubbed before you share it. This tool reads everything locally in your browser, so sensitive documents never get uploaded.

How it works

A modern Word .docx file is a ZIP archive (Office Open XML) containing several XML parts. The metadata lives in two of them:

docProps/core.xml — Dublin Core fields: dc:creator, cp:lastModifiedBy, dcterms:created, dcterms:modified, dc:title, cp:revision, cp:keywords.
docProps/app.xml — Office application fields: Application, Company, Words, Pages, TotalTime (editing minutes).

The tool reads the ZIP central directory at the end of the file to find those entries, inflates each one with the browser’s native DecompressionStream("deflate-raw") (ZIP uses raw deflate), then parses the XML and pulls out each tag’s text.

What each field tells you

Field	Source	What it means
Creator	`dc:creator`	Username of the person who created the document — typically their Windows or Microsoft 365 account name
Last modified by	`cp:lastModifiedBy`	Username of whoever made the last save
Created	`dcterms:created`	UTC timestamp of the first save
Modified	`dcterms:modified`	UTC timestamp of the most recent save
Revision	`cp:revision`	Increments on each save — a high number means heavy editing history
Total time	`Application:TotalTime`	Cumulative minutes the document was open for editing across all sessions
Words / Pages	`Application:Words`	Word and page count as Word reported them at the last save
Application	`Application:Application`	The Word version that last saved the file (e.g. “Microsoft Office Word”)
Company	`Application:Company`	The organisation name from the author’s Office account

Forensic use cases

Due diligence. When reviewing contracts received from counterparties, the creator and company fields can confirm the document originated where the sender claims. A file created at a template company or third-party drafter is worth questioning.

Ghostwriting detection. A Creator field different from the supposed author, or a TotalTime of only a few minutes for a long document, can indicate the document was not written from scratch.

Date verification. Comparing created and modified timestamps against the stated date of a document can reveal backdating. A creation date later than the stated signing date is a strong signal. Note that timestamps are in UTC and reflect the system clock at save time, which can be set incorrectly.

Metadata scrubbing check. Before emailing a document externally, run it through this tool to confirm that the creator name, company, and revision history have been removed. Word’s built-in File → Info → Inspect Document → Remove Personal Information will clear these fields.

Tips and notes

The TotalTime field accumulates across all editing sessions and all machines. A 50-page document with a TotalTime of two minutes is a strong signal it was generated rather than drafted.
A creation date later than the modification date can indicate the file was copied with the creation date reset, or its metadata was altered — a classic forensic flag.
If Creator is empty, the file may have been created by a tool other than Microsoft Word, or metadata was scrubbed, or the author saved from a template with no identity set.
Only the standard docProps/ parts are read here. Tracked changes, comments, and custom XML parts are not parsed by this tool.