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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.

The U.S. Government’s Transition to All-Digital Government

October 2023 by National Archives and Records Administration
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New federal regulations set digitization standards for permanent records and require agencies to manage their permanent records in digital format.

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September 2023 by Thomas Zellmann
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To encourage marketing staff to sign up for the PDF Technology Marketing Working Group we decided to record a recent … Read more

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September 2023 by PDF Association staff
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PDF Week in San Francisco this October is hosting a free industry Symposium on Advancing the PDF Imaging Model! There’s … Read more

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September 2023 by Apryse
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Read Riley Kooh’s vision for the future of PDF technology over the next 25 years.

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August 2023 by Peter Wyatt
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The PDF Association’s PDF cheat sheets are designed to help developers work more efficiently. They are highly condensed summaries, with … Read more

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August 2023 by Duff Johnson
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The PDF industry mourns the passing of the Adobe founder and visionary whose inventions and insights led to the creation … Read more

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August 2023 by Peter Wyatt
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PDF is a large, complex specification! Developers often look for first steps in its implementation. This article offers some suggestions.

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July 2023 by Duff Johnson
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Overcoming ossification requires everyone to agree on the strategy and specific technical changes affecting all stakeholders.

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July 2023 by Matthew Hardy
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The PDF Association is proud to announce the release of “ISO/TS 32005 Document management – Portable Document Format – PDF … Read more

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July 2023 by Paul Rayius (Allyant)
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This update from the PDF/UA Processor LWG includes an example of its work mapping PDF’s structure types to web accessibility … Read more

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July 2023 by Thomas Zellmann
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Why PDF 2.0 is the definition of PDF every developer should use – even if your products don’t support PDF … Read more

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