PDF Association logo

Discover pdfa.org

Key resources

Get involved

How do you find the right PDF technology vendor?
Use the Solution Agent to ask the entire PDF communuity!
The PDF Association celebrates its members’ public statements
of support
for ISO-standardized PDF technology.

Member Area

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.

Forensic tools for PDF

June 2024 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association news


A new members-only resource supports forensic experts tasks with examination of PDF files.

PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff's profile.

June 2024 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff‘s profile.

What do “first class companies” do? Japanese media covers the PDF Association in Tokyo. Firefox adds experimental alt. text generation … Read more

PDF in the Wild

June 2024 by Peter Wyatt
Peter Wyatt
Visit Peter Wyatt‘s profile.

Peter Wyatt’s latest article focuses on improving the user experience for website visitors needing to access specific content in longer … Read more

Article

June 2024 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff‘s profile.

Private data is everywhere is in almost every broadly-adopted file format. This Application Note answers questions about private data in … Read more

PDF Association news

May 2024 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff‘s profile.

Microsoft deepens its investment in Tagged PDF. We talked PDF with NISO. Both Android and iOS improve PDF handling. A … Read more

PDF in the Wild

May 2024 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff‘s profile.

While PDF/X establishes rules for representing page content for print purposes, it doesn’t describe the specific requirements of the finished … Read more

PDF Association news

May 2024 by Peter Wyatt
Peter Wyatt
Visit Peter Wyatt‘s profile.

LOGIN REQUIRED: These synthetic files are intended for user experience and human-computer interaction (HCI) specialists to assess the behavior of … Read more

Article, For members only

May 2024 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff‘s profile.

The latest ISO Extension to PDF 2.0 offers backwards-compatible integrity protection via Message Authentication Code (MAC).

PDF Association news

May 2024 by Peter Wyatt
Peter Wyatt
Visit Peter Wyatt‘s profile.

Accurately understanding the kinds of data that can be in a PDF and how it is stored can be very … Read more

Article

May 2024 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff‘s profile.

The second PDF Week event of 2024 arrives May 6-10 in Tokyo! Members can attend remotely if they cannot join … Read more

PDF Association news

April 2024 by PDF Association staff
PDF Association logo
Visit PDF Association staff‘s profile.

Hugging Face.AI examines PDF. New PDF support in Android. Google reinvents a 31 year-old PDF feature. FireFox wants you to … Read more

PDF in the Wild

Member News

WordPress Cookie Notice by Real Cookie Banner