# PDF Attachments - View, Extract, Add & Remove Embedded Files

> Free PDF attachment manager: list embedded files with size and description, download one or all as ZIP, attach new files or remove old ones. Runs locally.

- URL: https://qilingtools.com/en/pdf/attachments
- Category: PDF Tools (https://qilingtools.com/en/pdf)
- Tags: [PDF](https://qilingtools.com/en/tags/pdf), [Documents](https://qilingtools.com/en/tags/document)
- Last updated: 2026-10-26
- Price: Free, no sign-up
- Privacy: Runs locally in the browser; files are never uploaded

A PDF can carry attachments just like an email: e-invoices embed XML data, tenders include price sheets, papers ship with raw data and drawings come with their source files. Yet many readers hide attachments deep in a side panel, and phones often don’t show them at all. This tool reads both document-level attachments (EmbeddedFiles) and attachment icons placed on pages (FileAttachment annotations), and lists each file’s name, type, size, description, modification date and page. Download any of them individually or grab them all as a ZIP. To attach files, pick anything—spreadsheets, images, archives, source code—add an optional description for each, and after saving, recipients can open them from the attachments panel in Acrobat, macOS Preview, Chrome or Edge; non-Latin file names display correctly. Attachments you mark for removal are purged from the file rather than merely unlinked, so the file gets smaller, while the pages stay exactly as they were. Everything runs locally in your browser and the file is never uploaded.

## How to use

1. Upload a PDF; all of its attachments are listed automatically
2. Click Download for a single file or Download all (ZIP); mark attachments to remove or choose new files to attach and add descriptions
3. Click Save PDF to download the updated file

## Features

- Reads document attachments and page attachment icons
- Shows name, type, size, description, date and page
- Download individually or as a ZIP
- Attach files of any type with descriptions
- Unicode file names display correctly
- Removed attachments are purged from the file
- Page content left unchanged
- Processed locally, never uploaded

## FAQ

### Why can’t I see the attachments in my PDF reader?

Attachments usually live in the reader’s attachments sidebar (the paperclip in Acrobat, the attachments panel in Chrome or Edge), and phones and some readers don’t show them. Upload the file here to see every attachment, including icons placed on pages, and download them directly.

### What kinds of files can I attach, and is there a size limit?

Any file type works—Excel, Word, images, ZIP archives, source code and more. There is no fixed limit, but attachments make the PDF correspondingly larger and processing is bound by browser memory, so keep each file under a few hundred MB.

### Can a removed attachment be recovered from the file?

No. When saving, the tool rebuilds the attachment list and purges objects that are no longer referenced, so the attachment’s data is removed from the PDF rather than just its entry, and it can’t be extracted afterwards.

### Are my files uploaded?

No. Reading, extracting, adding and removing attachments all happen in your browser with no network upload.

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