Portable Document Format (PDF)

An open standard

The standard for more secure, dependable electronic information exchange, PDF is recognized, and often required, by industries and governments around the world. Invented by Adobe in the ‘90s, PDF is and has always been an open specification. This means that other companies may build products and services that create and read PDF files. PDF files and forms also work with assistive technologies to help make information accessible to people with disabilities.

As of January, 2007, Adobe is working with an ISO Technical Committee to submit PDF 1.7 to ISO for approval as a formal, open standard, named ISO 32000. ISO 32000 will be maintained and further developed by this technical committee with the objective of protecting the integrity and longevity of PDF. This will provide a formal, open standard for the billion+ PDF files in existence today. For more information on ISO 32000, please visit the ISO PDF FAQ.

The trusted format

Over the past decade, PDF has become one of the world’s most trusted technologies, currently read by more than a half billion people. PDF files and forms can easily be created to include password protection and digitally signatures. PDFs can also be hosted on a server so that only members of a workgroup can access, review and comment on documents.

Cross-platform from desktop to mobile device

PDF files and forms can be created, viewed and printed from almost any platform including Apple Macintosh OS X®, Microsoft® Windows®, UNIX® and LINUX® as well as numerous mobile platforms and devices. When sharing information across platforms, a PDF file will look exactly like original document, preserving the text, layout, drawings, 3D graphics, full-color graphics, photos, source file information and even business logic, regardless of the application used to create the PDF or the operating system on which the PDF will be viewed.

Open, cross-platform, and more secure

PDF is the gold standard for publishing, viewing, and printing sensitive documents and forms. Companies across the globe have chosen PDF to reliably deliver information to their customers and partners. As both a ubiquitous and truly cross-platform technology, PDF has unprecedented reach, easily viewed by more than a half billion people on a variety of operating systems, applications, and devices.

PDF recipients can be enabled to confidently act on information, digitally signing, viewing, and verifying document authenticity. PDF digital signatures can be used to accelerate the closing of new contracts and transactions while reducing business operations costs. Users can be enabled to fill forms, mark up drafts, and share comments.

Trusted by the United States Internal Revenue Service and the Food and Drug Administration, PDF is the choice for electronic document collaboration and exchange. An ISO standard, PDF is the internationally relied upon format for the distribution and archiving of sensitive and confidential information.

Increasing control across the extended enterprise

PDF enables IT departments to increase control of sensitive information, contracts, and electronic documentation across the extended enterprise. IT managers can be empowered to determine which users will be enabled to view, edit, comment on, or digitally sign documents, assuring control of confidential information. Documents can be protected with passwords to control the distribution of confidential information, inside and outside the firewall. Digital certificates and keys can be centrally managed, leveraging existing identity management systems to simplify integration, optimize security, and reduce total costs.

PDF enables the deployment of a consistent, cross-platform experience, viewable on multiple operating systems and devices and in a wide variety of languages.

Integrate PDF into your applications

An open specification since 1993, PDF enables developers to integrate the creation, manipulation, and viewing of documents and forms into your applications and workflows to improve and accelerate critical business processes. The PDF Library SDK lets developers implement the latest PDF features as described by the open specification that is published as part of the PDF Reference.

PDF 1.7, the latest release of the PDF Specification, supports RSS and E4X, the ECMAScript for XML standard. PDF/A, the PDF archiving subset, is the ISO standard for the long-term preservation of electronic documents. Take a closer look at the numerous resources available to developers to take advantage of the PDF standard.