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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.

October 2023: PDF Week & the Symposium on Advancing PDF’s Imaging Model

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 still time to register!

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

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September 2023 by PDF Association staff
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Funky (but legit!) PDF, sneaky malware PDF, poisoned PDF, PDF for LEGO, NASA does PDF… it’s a wild PDF world … Read more

PDF in the Wild

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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August 2023 by PDF Association staff
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LLMs and generative artificial intelligence, as much (or more) than everything else computers can do, is subject to the iron … Read more

PDF in the Wild

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 Peter Wyatt
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PDF Association members now have a new resource: advance previews of targeted test cases highlighting differences between implementations, including in-depth … Read more

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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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