If multiple PDF files all contain similar content such as dates, years, months, or reference numbers, opening and deleting them one by one is very inefficient. This article uses HeSoft Doc Batch Tool as an example to explain how to use the "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF" feature in PDF tools. By adding multiple PDFs to a list at once, using formulas for fuzzy text search, and leaving the replacement keyword list empty, you can batch delete April, May, and 4-digit years. The article includes screenshots to illustrate the changes before and after processing, the purpose and expected outcome of each step, and supplements with notes on wildcard rules, backup procedures, and the risk of accidental deletion.
Many office workers encounter the following issue when organizing PDF materials: a batch of PDF files originate from the same template and all contain similar content such as dates, version numbers, years, months, and project numbers. When these files need to be sent out or re-archived, there is a desire to delete these fields. If there is only one PDF, manually opening and editing it is acceptable; but with dozens or hundreds of PDFs, searching and deleting them one by one becomes low-value, repetitive labor.
This article uses "batch deleting date-related keywords in multiple PDFs" as an example to explain how to complete the operation with the help of HeSoft Doc Batch Tool . The example files include 4 PDFs, and a date like "April 13, 2017" appears on the pages. Our goal is not to delete the entire sentence or the entire page, but to use wildcards or formula-based fuzzy search to delete the English month "April" or "May", and the 4-digit year "2017". After processing, the month and year positions are cleared, while the "13," in the middle is retained.
This case can be extended to many similar needs, such as batch deleting years in PDFs, batch deleting months in PDFs, batch deleting fixed-format numbers, and batch cleaning old version fields in PDFs. The value of office software lies in freeing users from repeating the same task, allowing them to set rules and let the software process multiple files at once.
Applicable Scenarios: Batch Deleting PDF Dates, Years, Months, and Numbers
When the content to be deleted in a PDF exhibits certain patterns, wildcard or formula-based fuzzy search is more efficient than ordinary search. For example, date information often consists of a month, day, and year; numbers might be composed of letters and digits; version numbers might include a fixed prefix and variable digits. Listing all possible texts one by one is a huge workload and prone to omissions.
This tutorial is particularly suitable for the following situations:
- Multiple PDF covers have publication dates, requiring the unified deletion of English months and years.
- PDF reports contain old annual information, such as 2017, 2018, 2020, which needs to be cleaned according to rules.
- Contracts, notices, and project materials contain fixed-format numbers that need batch fuzzy deletion.
- The number of PDFs is large, making manual processing costly, and there is a desire to import them at once for batch execution.
- The content to be deleted is not an identical fixed word, but rather "one of several words" or "consecutive digits."
It is important to note that this article discusses text search and deletion within PDF content. If your files are Word documents, you can process .doc and .docx files using the corresponding Word tool in the software; for Excel spreadsheets, use the Excel tool for .xls and .xlsx files. The entry points for different file formats vary, but the batch processing idea is consistent: first select the files, then set the rules, and finally execute in batch.
Effect Preview: From 4 PDFs to Unified Cleaning of Date Fields
Before Processing: Multiple PDFs Waiting to be Processed in the Folder
From the screenshot, you can see that before processing, there are four PDF files in the folder: 1.pdf, 2.pdf, 3.pdf, and 4.pdf. These files need to undergo the same cleaning rules. For a batch task, the key point is not that there are only 4 files, but that it demonstrates a scalable processing method: when the number of files grows to 40 or 400, they can still be processed uniformly by importing the folder.
Opening one of the PDFs reveals the date "April 13, 2017" on the page. In the screenshot, "April" and "2017" are highlighted with red boxes, and these are the targets for this deletion. Because "April" might be "May" in other files, and the year might not be 2017, it is more suitable to use fuzzy rules rather than searching for one exact fixed date.
After Processing: Months and Years Deleted, Other Content Retained
The processed screenshot shows that the original positions of "April" and "2017" have become blank, while "13," still exists. This indicates that the set rules matched the month and the 4-digit year, without deleting the date numeral "13" along with them.
This type of processing result is very useful for data masking, template cleaning, and date field removal. It does not crudely delete an entire block of content, but instead locates the target text based on search rules and then replaces that target text with emptiness.
Operation Steps: Using HeSoft Doc Batch Tool to Batch Delete Date Keywords in PDFs
Step 1: Find the Find and Replace Function in the PDF Tools
After opening HeSoft Doc Batch Tool , the tool category area is on the left, where you can see the "PDF Tools" category. After clicking on PDF tools, the main area displays multiple PDF-related functions, such as PDF add watermark, delete pages in PDF, and PDF to Word.
This task requires content-level search and deletion, so select "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF". In the screenshot, this function is the first item in the PDF tools list, described as batch finding and replacing keywords in PDF file content.
Operation purpose: Enter the batch PDF keyword find and replace module. Expected result: The page switches to a wizard-style task interface, allowing subsequent addition of PDF files and setting of keyword rules.
Step 2: Add PDF Files or Import from a Folder
After entering the "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF" page, the first stage is "Select records to be processed". The top right of the interface provides two common entry points: "Add Files" and "Import Files from Folder."
If only a few files are being processed, you can click "Add Files"; if the files are already centrally located in a folder, it is more recommended to use "Import Files from Folder." This reduces repetitive selection operations and is more aligned with a batch file processing workflow.
In the screenshot, 4 records have been added, corresponding to 1.pdf, 2.pdf, 3.pdf, and 4.pdf. The list also shows the path, extension, creation time, and modification time, making it easy for users to confirm the files are correct. The summary section below shows the record count is 4.
Operation purpose: Add all PDFs that need date keyword deletion into the same task. Expected result: All target PDFs appear in the file list, and the record count matches expectations.
Step 3: Click Next to Enter the Processing Options Setup
After confirming the files are correct, click "Next" at the bottom. The page enters the 2nd stage, "Set Processing Options". From the top flow, you can see the entire task is divided into four stages: Select Records, Set Processing Options, Set Save Location, and Start Processing. This step-by-step process helps users avoid omissions.
In "Set Keyword Options," you first need to determine the search method. The screenshot shows "Exact Text Search" and "Use Formula for Fuzzy Text Search." Because this example needs to match multiple possible months and any 4-digit year, select "Use Formula for Fuzzy Text Search."
Operation purpose: Enable a more flexible search method, allowing the software to identify target content based on rules. Expected result: The expressions filled in the keyword list will be used for fuzzy matching of PDF text.
Step 4: Enter Fuzzy Matching Rules in the Keyword List
In the "Keyword list to find", each line can hold one search rule. In the example, two lines are filled in:
- April|May: Indicates matching April or May.
- \d{4}: Indicates matching 4 consecutive digits, often used for matching years.
With this setup, the software will search for the English months April or May, and also look for 4-digit numbers like 2017 when processing the PDFs. Compared to manually entering complete dates, this method is more suitable for handling situations where dates are not entirely consistent across multiple files.
If the months in your PDFs are not just April and May, you can adjust the first rule based on the actual content; if you do not want to delete all 4-digit numbers, you must use "\d{4}" cautiously, as it might match numbers other than years. Before batch processing, it is best to check sample files first to confirm the rules will not mistakenly delete other information.
Step 5: Leave Replacement Content Empty to Delete Matched Results
The area on the right is the "Replaced keyword list." The screenshot contains a clear prompt: "Leave blank to delete." Therefore, if the goal is to delete keywords rather than replace them with another word, do not enter any content on the right side.
In this example, the left side contains the month and year rules to find, and the right side is kept empty. During processing, the software will replace the matched April, May, and 4-digit year texts with empty content, ultimately causing this text to disappear from the PDF.
Operation purpose: Achieve batch deletion by using the "find content has value, replace content is empty" method. Expected result: All target texts matching the rules are cleaned from the PDF.
Step 6: Set the Save Location and Start Processing
After completing the processing options, continue by clicking "Next". According to the page flow at the top, the next step is to "Set Save Location", followed by "Start Processing." The save location is a very important step in batch processing, as it determines how output files are managed.
It is recommended to save the processed PDFs to a new folder, such as "Processed" or "Cleaned", which preserves the original PDFs for easy comparison and verification. If the original files are overwritten directly and a rule is set improperly, the recovery cost will be higher. Batch office software can save time, but the premise is that the rules and output location are clearly set.
After starting the process, wait for the task to complete, then open the output PDFs for spot-checking. Priority can be given to checking the first page, pages containing date fields, and positions with different date formats in different files to ensure the deletion effect meets expectations.
Common Issues and Notes
1. What does "April|May" mean?
From its use in the example, it is used to match April or May, meaning either one of the two candidate words. For scenarios requiring the batch deletion of multiple possible keywords, this syntax is more convenient than setting them up individually.
2. Will "\d{4}" delete all 4-digit numbers?
It will match any sequence of 4 consecutive digits. Therefore, it is very suitable for deleting years, but if the PDF also contains 4-digit numbers, page numbers, or parts of report numbers, they may also be matched. Confirm the content patterns of the file before use, and if necessary, test with a small number of PDFs first.
3. Why is "13," still there after processing?
Because the current rules only matched the month and the 4-digit year, they did not match the "13" in the date. This is precisely the advantage of rule-based deletion: it only deletes the text types you specify, while other content can be retained.
4. Can more keywords be deleted simultaneously?
As seen from the keyword list in the screenshot, multiple search contents can be entered line by line. In actual use, rules can be added according to the task needs, but it is advisable not to write too many or overly complex rules at once. It is safer to test first and then expand the processing scope.
5. Can text be deleted from scanned PDFs this way?
If the text on a PDF page is an image, it may not be found and replaced like normal text. This article's example targets PDF content that can be recognized as text. When encountering scanned documents, use a test file first to confirm whether the tool can find the target text.
Summary: Achieving Batch PDF Keyword Deletion by Replacing with Empty
Batch deleting dates, months, and years in multiple PDFs can essentially be achieved through "find and replace with empty." HeSoft Doc Batch Tool provides a batch processing flow for office scenarios: first select "Find and Replace Keywords in PDF" in the PDF tools, then import multiple PDF files, choose "Use Formula for Fuzzy Text Search," fill in the rules to be matched, and finally, keep the replacement content empty.
In the example of this article, 4 PDF files were added to one task, and through the two types of rules "April|May" and "\d{4}", the English months and 4-digit years were deleted. The processing result showed that the target text was cleaned while non-target content was retained. For users who need to batch clean date fields, delete years, or delete multiple similar keywords in PDFs, this method is more stable and efficient than manual processing.
It is recommended to prepare backup files before actual operation, verify the rules with a small number of PDFs, and then perform batch processing on the full folder. This allows you to enjoy the efficiency gains of batch office software while avoiding erroneous deletions caused by improper rule settings.