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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.

5 reasons to attend PDF Days in 2025

July 2025 by Duff Johnson
PDF Association news


Here’s what previous PDF Days attendees have told me about this event, and why attending is a good investment.

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July 2025 by Paul Rayius (Allyant)
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Experience since PDF/UA-1 was published has revealed that some rules were too prescriptive. In some situations the semantic significance of … Read more

Article

July 2025 by PDF Association staff
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This recently published report from ISO/IEC JTC 1 SC 34 presents an analysis of related standards, the current status and … Read more

For members only

June 2025 by Patrick Gallot (Datalogics)
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PDF has long relied on Flate for general-purpose data compression. Today, Brotli has emerged as a promising new approach that … Read more

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June 2025 by PDF Association staff
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If you use a word processor creating Tagged PDF is your default. | FOGRA’s summary of developments in print | … Read more

PDF in the Wild

June 2025 by PDF Association staff
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Berlin ist calling! Are you ready for the big city?

PDF Association news

June 2025 by Patrick Gallot (Datalogics)
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This article explains the options in allowing, limiting, and/or preventing data scraping from occurring when AI and text data mining … Read more

Article

June 2025 by PDF Association staff
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This document provides essential guidance and recommendations for those aiming to create PDF files that adhere to multiple ISO-standardized subsets … Read more

PDF Association news

June 2025 by PDF Association staff
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In support of the International Archives Week theme and its four subthemes, the PDF Association is announcing its forthcoming Best … Read more

Article

June 2025 by PDF Association staff
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Tickets for PDF Days Europe 2025 and the PDF Workshop are now available! Space is limited and demand is high, … Read more

PDF Association news

June 2025 by PDF Association staff
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2 keynotes, 21 presentations, 2 poster sessions, briefings from working-group chairs, the elevator pitch session and more. Check out the … Read more

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