PDF Technology Center
Welcome to the technology center for developers, systems integrators, and OEMs who are working with the Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF is the international standard (ISO 32000-1) for more secure and reliable distribution and exchange of electronic documents and forms. Together with PDF, the Adobe Acrobat® product family, Adobe Reader® software, and the Adobe LiveCycle product line, and associated developer tools, offer a strong platform on which to automate document processes and data workflows. This combination helps provide better communication and interaction among employees, partners, and customers in enterprises, government agencies, and creative businesses worldwide.
Both the ISO PDF standard and the related Adobe products are available for integration and customization by developers who need to solve specialized document processing problems. In addition, PDF files and the content they contain can be incorporated into other applications. Currently, more than 1,200 companies offer PDF-based solutions — a clear testament to the fact that developing with PDF is easy and valuable. Adobe provides a variety of tools to help leverage PDF files and streamline document processes.
Bookmark this page as your hub for access to extensive information for PDF across Adobe.com and the Adobe Partner Connection.
Purchase ISO 32000-1:2008 from ISO
ISO 32000 specifies a digital form for representing electronic documents to enable users to exchange and view electronic documents independent of the environment in which they were created or the environment in which they are viewed or printed. Document available as of: 2008-07-01 from ISO.
Adobe Supplement to ISO 32000, Base Version 1.7, Extension Level 3
(PDF, 1 MB)
The Adobe Supplement to ISO 32000, BaseVersion 1.7, ExtensionLevel 3 describes Adobe's extensions and implementation notes for Adobe Acrobat 9.0 and LiveCycle ES 8.2. It also includes extensions and implementation notes for BaseVersion 1.7, ExtensionLevel 1 and 2. It is Adobe's intent to submit these extensions to ISO for inclusion in the next revision to ISO 32000.
Adobe PDF Reference, Sixth Edition, version 1.7
(PDF, 31.0 MB)
The PDF Reference, Sixth Edition, is available as a PDF portfolio from Adobe but has been superceded by the ISO 32000-1 document. Both documents provide a description of the PDF file format and are intended primarily for developers of PDF producer applications that create PDF files directly. These documents also contain enough information to allow developers to write PDF consumer applications that read existing PDF files and interpret or modify their contents.
Portable Document Format (PDF) Registry
(PDF, 1 MB)
On behalf of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and in support of ISO 32000 Adobe Systems Incorporated maintains a name, handler and function/extension registry freely open to all PDF developers following the specifications given in Annex E of ISO 32000-1. To avoid conflicts with other PDF names, handlers, extensions and with future versions of PDF, complete and submit this form to register the ones you want to reserve.
PDF Specification Archives
Adobe has submitted these extensions to the United States ISO Committee for inclusion in the next revision to
ISO 32000.
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