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The PDF Association celebrates its members’ public statements
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How to read ISO publications about PDF

April 2024 by Peter Wyatt (PDF Association)

ISO standards are not tailored to their domain; the same set of rules applies to all ISO standards, regardless of industry or subject.

For those unfamiliar with “ISO-ese” nuances are easily overlooked, which can result in malformed files, erroneous implementations, and problems with interoperability.

Many sentences in ISO-standardized PDF specifications are carefully crafted in an attempt to accurately communicate a very specific meaning. These nuances may be difficult to recognize if the reader does not have a good understanding of how ISO standards are written.

It is therefore important that developers engaging with ISO standards – especially those developers for whom English is not a primary language – understand how to interpret “ISO-ese”.

This article provides some basic information about ISO’s language and offers a short list of things to remember when reviewing ISO standards for PDF.

ISO 14289-2 (PDF/UA-2), the “gold standard” for accessibility in PDF 2.0, has arrived

March 2024 by PDF Association staff (PDF Association)
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Based on WTPDF, ISO 14289-2 serves to assure institutions that the PDF Association’s requirements for creating and validating accessible PDF 2.0 files are now ISO-standardized.

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December 2023 by PDF Association staff (PDF Association)
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PDF Week Online 2024 consists of 16 PDF Association Working Group meetings and 2 ISO working group meetings.

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November 2023 by PDF Association staff (PDF Association)
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The new VSCode extension by the PDF Association provides PDF syntax awareness to this popular editor, and is designed to … Read more

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September 2023 by Peter Wyatt (PDF Association)
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PDF developers everywhere have a new resource; targeted test cases highlighting differences between implementations.

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June 2023 by PDF Association staff (PDF Association)
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The PDF Association is pleased to announce no-cost availability of ISO/TS 32003, adding support for AES-GCM to PDF 2.0.

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June 2023 by PDF Association staff (PDF Association)
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To celebrate the 30th anniversary of PDF technology the PDF Association has released a trailer for its forthcoming documentary.

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April 2023 by PDF Association staff (PDF Association)
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Now anyone can download the latest PDF specification, ISO 32000-2, at NO COST! What are you waiting for?

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September 2022 by PDF Association staff (PDF Association)
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The PDF Association publishes new guidance to aide in optimizing PDF files for maximally-efficient rendering and print.

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May 2022 by PDF Association
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33 educational sessions plus 2 keynotes in 2 days of networking opportunities at PDF Days Europe 2022, live in Berlin … Read more

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March 2022 by PDF Association staff (PDF Association)
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Members and non-members alike are welcome to submit proposals to present at the world’s premiere PDF technology event this September!

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February 2022 by PDF Association staff (PDF Association)
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Set aside September 12-13 2022 for PDF Days Europe 2022, in-person in Berlin and live-streamed online! PDF developers should consider … Read more

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