PDF Association logo

Discover pdfa.org

Key resources

Get involved

How do you find the right PDF technology vendor?
Use the Solution Agent to ask the entire PDF communuity!
The PDF Association celebrates its members’ public statements
of support
for ISO-standardized PDF technology.

Member Area

PDF/A and external references

November 2025 by Peter Wyatt

PDF/A ensures reliable long-term rendering by embedding fonts, images, and color profiles, but URLs can still appear in text, hyperlinks, bookmarks, annotations, metadata, and embedded files.

Link annotations and URI Actions define clickable destinations, but PDF/A restricts certain action types to prevent external dependencies.

Guided by clear policies, comprehensive audits of both visible and hidden references help maintain authenticity, accessibility, and long-term integrity of PDF/A documents and digital collections.

PDF/A ensures reliable long-term rendering by embedding fonts, images, and color profiles, but URLs can still appear in text, hyperlinks, bookmarks, annotations, metadata, and embedded files.

Link annotations and URI Actions define clickable destinations, but PDF/A restricts certain action types to prevent external dependencies.

Guided by clear policies, comprehensive audits of both visible and hidden references help maintain authenticity, accessibility, and long-term integrity of PDF/A documents and digital collections.

Technical side and requirements of PDF/X

May 2017 by Peter De Bruyne
Article


Even as the first part of PDF/X was published as ISO 15930-1 in 2001, others were already in development. PDF/X rapidly expanded into a fami.ly of standards supporting a wide … Read more

Visit Peter De Bruyne's profile.

May 2017 by Dietrich von Seggern
Visit Dietrich von Seggern‘s profile.

PDF/X is a subset of PDF – see “Technical side and requirements of PDF/X” for an overview. As such, conforming … Read more

Article

March 2017 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff‘s profile.

How will the PDF 2.0 interop workshops work? This article explains the process of building the test-matrix to establish possibilities … Read more

Article

March 2017 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff‘s profile.

With over 35 informative sessions across a wide range of topics spanning the future of PDF technology, this year’s PDF … Read more

Article

February 2017 by Duff Johnson
Duff Johnson
Visit Duff Johnson‘s profile.

As we reported yesterday, those in the crypto world are well-aware that Google and others have proven that SHA-1, the … Read more

Article

February 2017 by PDF 2.0 interop events: risk management and efficiency

Some customers will decide to make the jump to PDF 2.0. Others will be blissfully unaware that it’s heading toward … Read more

Article

December 2016 by Matt Kuznicki
Visit Matt Kuznicki‘s profile.

Designed around the subjects of archiving and accessibility, PDF Day Australia brought a number of international PDF experts together for … Read more

Article

November 2016 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff‘s profile.

Postscript took off like a rocket, but PDF took its time. Many people wondered “What’s it for?” In this video, … Read more

Article

August 2016 by Duff Johnson
Duff Johnson
Visit Duff Johnson‘s profile.

ECM needs a common portable container to move information management to the next level.

Article

August 2016 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff‘s profile.

You missed the PDF Days Europe 2016? Never mind!

Article

August 2016 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff‘s profile.

My interview with Nikos Andronikos, who chairs the W3C’s SVG Working Group (WG), about SVG and PDF.

Article

Member News

WordPress Cookie Notice by Real Cookie Banner