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Forensic check

HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT

HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT appears on 5.2% of modified results in our corpus. A marker is evidence about the file, not a judgement about the person who sent it.

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Marker profile

Generator Fingerprinting

Fingerprints of PDF editing software.

Share of modified results
5.2%
Frequency rank
#11
Among the 56 markers seen in modified results
Certain confidence
17.8%
Of results with this marker rated certain rather than high
Fires alone
20.8%
Results where it is the only marker found

Marker profile

What HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT tells you

HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT is one of the named findings returned in modification_markers when a PDF is reported as modified. It belongs to the Generator Fingerprinting group of checks. These checks compare the software a file claims to come from with what the file itself shows about how it was produced.

On 20.8% of the modified results that carry HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT it is the only marker. A result with this marker carries 3.5 markers on average. It is most often found together with HTPBE_MULTIPLE_REVISION_LAYERS, on 51.1% of these results.

Example API response

How it appears in a result

When a PDF is reported as modified, HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT is listed in modification_markers next to the verdict and its confidence. Each marker is a named, actionable finding – not a score.

GET /api/v1/result/{id}
{
  "id": "9f3a2c1d-8b47-4e6f-a012-3d5e7f890123",
  "status": "modified",
  "modification_confidence": "high",
  "modification_markers": [
    "HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT"
  ],
  "creator": "Adobe Acrobat Pro DC",
  "has_incremental_updates": true,
  "page_count": 3
}

Full schema in the API reference →

Distributions

What ships alongside HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT

The tools, formats and document traits that appear on the modified results carrying this marker. Shares are of those results.

Common Producers

pdf-lib writes 12.5% of these results – and 97.1% of all modified results naming it carry this marker.

pdf-lib97.1% of its modified12.5%
iText4.7% of its modified8.3%
iLovePDF4.7% of its modified5.9%
macOS Print to PDF2.1% of its modified2.2%
Foxit60.0% of its modified1.1%
iOS Print to PDF2.0% of its modified1.1%
OpenPDF7.1% of its modified1.1%
PDFium2.7% of its modified1.1%

Common Creators

pdf-lib is the Creator on 9.0% of these results.

pdf-lib96.1% of its modified9.0%
wkhtmltopdf23.5% of its modified2.2%
Microsoft Word0.8% of its modified1.7%
JasperReports6.3% of its modified1.5%
Chrome (Print to PDF)6.2% of its modified1.3%
Nitro PDF85.7% of its modified1.1%
PDFium2.4% of its modified1.1%
Scanner Ricoh8.3% of its modified0.7%

Often found together with

HTPBE_MULTIPLE_REVISION_LAYERS sits next to HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT more often than any other marker.

Document origin

Unknown47.8%
Institutional27.9%
Consumer software14.2%
Scanned2.8%
Online editor2.6%

Creator → Producer pairs

pdf-lib → pdf-lib7.9%
JasperReports → iText1.5%
Chrome (Print to PDF) → Skia/PDF1.1%
PDFium → PDFium0.9%
wkhtmltopdf → pdf-lib0.9%
wkhtmltopdf → Qt0.9%
pdf-lib → HTPBE0.7%
airSlate → SignNow0.6%

Detected origin software

macOS / iOS (Quartz)3.1%
Free HTML-to-PDF renderer3.0%
Browser (Print to PDF)2.4%
Microsoft Word1.3%
Google Chrome1.1%
Nitro PDF1.1%
Pdftools SDK1.1%
iLovePDF0.7%

Confidence of the verdict

Certain16.4%
High75.8%

When these results were checked

February 20262.8%
March 20264.8%
April 202655.4%
May 20266.8%
June 20262.0%
July 20265.4%
August 20266.3%
September 20266.3%
October 20266.6%
November 20263.7%

Document length

1 page23.1%
2–5 pages13.3%
6–20 pages53.0%
21–100 pages3.0%

File size

Under 100 KB17.9%
100 KB – 1 MB76.8%
1 – 5 MB5.0%
Over 5 MB0.4%

PDF versions

PDF 1.789.7%
PDF 1.41.3%
PDF 1.30.9%

Year the document says it was created

20000.6%
20210.6%
20240.7%
20252.6%
202636.9%

Long tail

Notable observations

Smaller cuts of the results carrying HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT – useful context, but treat each row as a single data point rather than a strong signal.

Digitally signed
1.1%

Of files carry at least one digital signature

Saved revisions
50.4%

Of files contain earlier saved revisions

Embedded JavaScript
0%

Of files contain JavaScript code

Embedded files
0.2%

Of files have attachments inside

Avg pages per document
10.1
Markers per result
3.5

Average number of markers on these results

Related checks

Other Generator Fingerprinting checks

Checks from the same group. Each card links to its own reference page.

HTPBE_TOOL_VS_STRUCTURE_MISMATCHStructural evidence that contradicts the file’s stated origin
Share of modified14.8%
Seen together6.1%
HTPBE_FONT_VS_TOOL_MISMATCHFont handling that points to a different producer
Share of modified0.1%
HTPBE_RESIDUAL_PRIOR_GENERATOREvidence of an earlier production history behind the current file
Share of modified0.4%
HTPBE_DOCUMENT_RESTAMPED_AFTER_CREATIONDocument re-saved by another tool after its original creation
Share of modified0.1%
HTPBE_ONLINE_EDITOR_ORIGINSigns of processing by an online PDF editing or conversion service
Share of modified2.2%
HTPBE_SELECTIVE_IDENTITY_EDITOrigin information partly removed or edited
Share of modified0.3%
HTPBE_IDENTITY_OVERWRITTENOrigin information replaced with that of different software
Share of modified0.1%
HTPBE_UNKNOWN_IDENTITY_CLAIMMetadata showing signs of having been rewritten
Share of modified1.5%
HTPBE_SCRIPTING_ON_REEMITTEDActive scripting added to the document after its original creation
Share of modified<0.1%
HTPBE_LAYERED_IDENTITY_DISAGREEMENTClaims about the producing software that do not hold up
Share of modified0.5%
HTPBE_IMPOSSIBLE_TOOL_PIPELINEAn implausible chain of production softwareHTPBE_IDENTITY_BLANKEDIdentifying details stripped from the document after production
Share of modified14.5%
Seen together47.4%
HTPBE_DESIGN_TEMPLATE_ASSEMBLYPage content composed from separately produced parts
Share of modified16.5%
Seen together11.4%
HTPBE_ALTERED_TYPEFACE_IDENTITYA font whose identity appears alteredHTPBE_TOOLCHAIN_DEFAULT_METADATA_RESIDUETraces of other software in the document’s productionHTPBE_PRINT_PIPELINE_TAMPERINGSigns of alteration in a document that was re-printed to PDFHTPBE_FONT_LAYER_INCONSISTENT_WITH_ISSUERTypography indicating the document was not produced by its stated issuer
Share of modified0.1%
HTPBE_PRODUCER_IDENTITY_FORGEDFabricated origin details that misstate how the document was produced
Share of modified0.1%

FAQ

HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT: common questions

What does HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT mean?

HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT is a named finding in an HTPBE? result: fingerprints of PDF editing software. It is returned in the modification_markers list of a modified result and belongs to the Generator Fingerprinting group of checks.

Does HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT mean the document is fake?

No. A marker is evidence about the file, not a judgement about the person who sent it. It records that the file shows this pattern; it does not say why, and it does not assess what the document states. Read it together with the verdict and any other markers on the same result.

What should I do when a result contains HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT?

Ask the sender for the original file straight from the issuing system, or request a fresh copy from the issuer. Check whether the document went through a later step such as re-saving, merging or converting, and verify it with the issuer before relying on it for a decision.

How common is HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT?

HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT appears on 5.2% of the modified results in the HTPBE? corpus. The corpus consists of PDFs people chose to submit for checking, so it skews towards documents someone had a reason to doubt and is not a sample of all PDFs.

Where do I see HTPBE_EDITING_TOOL_FINGERPRINT?

In the modification_markers list of the result returned by the HTPBE? API, and on the result page of a modified document. Other checks in the Generator Fingerprinting group are listed below on this page; all 63 checks are listed on the how-it-works page.

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