Adobe PDF history

Invented by Adobe Systems and perfected over 17 years, Portable Document Format (PDF) is the global standard for capturing and reviewing rich information from almost any application on any computer system and sharing it with virtually anyone, anywhere. With the launch of Adobe® Acrobat® X software, PDF is more secure and dynamic than ever. That’s why individuals, businesses, and government agencies around the world trust and rely on PDF files to communicate their ideas and vision.

An open standard — PDF is a formal open standard known as ISO 32000. Maintained by the International Organization for Standardization, ISO 32000 will continue to be developed with the objective of protecting the integrity and longevity of PDF, providing an open standard for the more than one billion PDF files in existence today.

Multiplatform — PDF files are viewable and printable on virtually any platform, including Windows®, Mac OS, and mobile platforms such as Android™.

Extensible — More than 2,000 vendors worldwide offer PDF-based solutions including creation, plug-in, consulting, training, and support tools.

Trusted and reliable — More than 150 million PDF documents publicly available on the web today, along with countless PDF files in government agencies and businesses around the world, serve as evidence of the number of organizations that rely on PDF to capture information.

Rich in file integrity — PDF files look like original documents and preserve source file information — text, drawings, multimedia, video, 3D, maps, full-color graphics, photos, and even business logic — regardless of the application used to create them and even when compiled from multiple formats into a single PDF Portfolio.

More secure — You can digitally sign or password-protect PDF documents created with Acrobat or Adobe LiveCycle® ES2 software.

Searchable — Text-search features in documents and metadata make PDF documents easily searchable.

Accessible — PDF documents work with assistive technology to help make information accessible to people with disabilities.

PDF Technology Center on Adobe Developer Connection

Refer to the hub of information about PDF and related technology, products, and solutions.

Adobe Acrobat software development kit (SDK)

Use the SDK, available free of charge, to create software and plug-ins to interact with and customize Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader® software.

PDF Library SDK

Develop powerful, flexible PDF solutions in desktop environments as well as on a wide range of server platforms.