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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.

Helping government understand PDF

July 2016 by PDF Association staff
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Governments have a special interest in PDF. The PDF Association helps them understand and address PDF technology in policies and regulations.

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June 2016 by PDF Association staff
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This year, PDF Days Europe is well-established as the world’s top PDF event. Over 150 attendees came to Berlin for … Read more

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June 2016 by PDF Association staff
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I’m honored to have been elected as chairman of the PDF Association’s board of directors in June 2016. Here, I’d … Read more

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June 2016 by PDF Association staff
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About 150 attendees from all over the world visited the PDF Days Europe 2016 in Berlin.

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June 2016 by PDF Association staff
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Browsers are taking over document viewing. Even so, minimum support for PDF viewing should mean full support for PDF rendering

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June 2016 by PDF Association staff
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For those unable to come to Berlin to attend the «PDF Days Europe 2016», several sessions of the event will … Read more

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June 2016 by PDF Association staff
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PDF 2.0 is nearly finished. Now is an excellent time to help the ISO committee understand your ideas for the … Read more

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May 2016 by PDF Association staff
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Many organizations use PDF merely to offload printing to end-users. They miss out, because not only does PDF offer a … Read more

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May 2016 by PDF Association staff
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The variety in screen sizes and shapes is a challenge for web technology in general, and for PDF in particular. … Read more

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May 2016 by PDF Association staff
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PDF and EPUB meet different needs in different ways. Neither can replace the other.

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May 2016 by PDF Association staff
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The Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) has awarded its Thomas Bagg Standards Award to Duff Johnson.

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