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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.

Conforming to Both PDF/A and PDF/UA; a new Best Practice Guide

June 2025 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association news


This document provides essential guidance and recommendations for those aiming to create PDF files that adhere to multiple ISO-standardized subsets of PDF, specifically PDF/A (ISO 19005) for archiving and PDF/UA … Read more

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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

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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

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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

PDF Association news

May 2025 by PDF Association staff
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Announcing the Monday keynote speaker for PDF Days Europe 2025, the new poster sessions and Peter Wyatt’s PDF Workshop!

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May 2025 by PDF Association staff
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Submit a Technical Poster to showcase your ideas at PDF Days Europe 2025!

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May 2025 by PDF Association staff
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Accessibility | veraPDF version 1.28.1 | Chrome PDF features updates | Transparency blending | Screen readers and special characters | … Read more

PDF in the Wild

April 2025 by PDF Association staff
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Members gather for PDF Week Boston 2025 in Concord, Massachusetts! Besides sightseeing and socializing there is also some work getting … Read more

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April 2025 by Duff Johnson
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What does it take to build the organizational skills and resources necessary to succeed in ensuring PDF documents are accessible?

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April 2025 by PDF Association staff
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The PDF Accessibility LWG’s 2025-Q2 release focuses on headings, with 9 new techniques and 8 new failure examples.

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April 2025 by PDF Association staff
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AI’s Pirated-Books Problem | Correcting US financial regulations referencing PDF | New crawl limit improves CC’s capture of PDF | … Read more

PDF in the Wild

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