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New Application Note Illuminates PDF’s Flexible Options for Custom Metadata

October 2025 by PDF Association staff

The PDF Association has released a new Application Note titled “Including Custom Metadata Structures in PDF.”

This document addresses the need for organizations to use custom metadata beyond standard XMP schemas in their PDF workflows. It provides guidance on designing custom metadata schemas, embedding them interoperably, best practices for versioning and extensibility, and strategies for exposing metadata to applications and tools.

The document’s objective is to enhance interoperability and efficiency by allowing custom metadata to travel seamlessly within PDF documents, eliminating the need for separate “sidecar files.”

The Note is now available on the PDF Association website.

The PDF Association has released a new Application Note titled “Including Custom Metadata Structures in PDF.”

This document addresses the need for organizations to use custom metadata beyond standard XMP schemas in their PDF workflows. It provides guidance on designing custom metadata schemas, embedding them interoperably, best practices for versioning and extensibility, and strategies for exposing metadata to applications and tools.

The document’s objective is to enhance interoperability and efficiency by allowing custom metadata to travel seamlessly within PDF documents, eliminating the need for separate “sidecar files.”

The Note is now available on the PDF Association website.

Adobe Standards Support Endowment renewed for 2025

January 2025 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association news


Adobe, a Partner member of the PDF Association, has renewed its Standards Support Endowment for 2025, marking the 7th year in which Adobe has provided this support.

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January 2025 by Peter Wyatt
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What’s the smallest possible fully compliant and validatable PDF file? We set out to answer the question.

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January 2025 by PDF Association staff
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Doom in a PDF | PDF Week Boston 2025 | The EAA is coming! | AI and accessibility standards | … Read more

PDF in the Wild

January 2025 by Peter Wyatt
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Triggered by our own experience in preparing the cheat sheet collection, this article explores the capabilities of PDF collections and … Read more

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January 2025 by PDF Association staff
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A list of PDF Association members’ free and commercial software that exposes the relationship between a PDF’s page content and … Read more

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January 2025 by PDF Association staff
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These new Techniques for Accessible PDF are designed to help software developers, document authors, and remediators create accessible PDF files … Read more

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December 2024 by PDF Association staff
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We’re bringing back PDF Days by popular demand! Join the world’s PDF experts in Berlin this coming September for two … Read more

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December 2024 by PDF Association staff
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The PDF Association is now recognizing, on an annual basis, a single volunteer who has made major contributions to the … Read more

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December 2024 by Duff Johnson
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Most people searching for “pdf” are interested in a document, not the file format. Google Trends data offers a window … Read more

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December 2024 by PDF Association staff
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A close-up look at how PDF does text | What would Patton think? | Word bug blocks PDF/UA validators, Happy … Read more

PDF in the Wild

December 2024 by Duff Johnson
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The PDF Association looks back at industry activities, events and accomplishments in 2024.

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