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PDF_1_4, PDF Versions 1.0-1.4
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Format Description Properties
• ID: fdd000122
• Short name: PDF_1_4
• Content categories: text, still image
• Format category: file format, wrapper
• Last significant update: 2005-01-22
• Draft status: Partial
Identification and description 
| Full name | PDF (Portable Document Format), versions 1.0-1.4 |
| Description | PDF (Portable Document Format), developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated, is described by Adobe as a general document representation language. PDF represents formatted, page-oriented documents. These documents may be structured or simple. They may contain text, images, graphics, and other multimedia content, such as video and audio. There is support for annotations, metadata, hypertext links, and bookmarks.
Versions through 1.4 are described here together for convenience. Version 1.4 is the basis for the ISO standards for PDF/X and PDF/A.
|
| Production phase | In general, a final-state format for delivery to end users. PDF/X, based on PDF 1.4 is a middle-state format for submission of images to printers (prepress). |
| Relationship to other formats | |
| Subtype of | PDF |
| Has later version | PDF_1_5 |
| Has subtype | PDF/A-1, which is based on PDF 1.4 |
| Has subtype | PDF/X, which is based on PDF 1.4 |
Local use
| LC experience or existing holdings | See PDF |
| LC preference | See PDF |
Sustainability factors
| Disclosure | See PDF |
| Documentation |
See PDF
|
| Adoption | TBD |
| Licensing and patent claims | See PDF |
| Transparency | See PDF |
| Self-documentation | Version 1.4 can include XMP metadata packages. XMP is Adobe's framework for including arbitrary blocks of metadata, using a representation in RDF. |
| External dependencies | None. |
| Technical protection considerations | See PDF |
Quality and functionality factors
| Normal rendering for text | See PDF. |
| Integrity of structure | See PDF. |
| Integrity of layout | See PDF. |
| Integrity of rendering of equations, etc. | See PDF. |
| Beyond normal rendering for text | See PDF |
File type signifiers
| Tag type | Value | Note |
| Filename Extension | pdf | See PDF. |
Notes
| General | |
| History | Documentation of PDF version 1.3 was published in July 2000 in association with the release of Acrobat version 4. PDF 1.4 was published in November 2001, and corresponds to Acrobat version 5. PDF 1.4 is incorporated into the PDF/X and PDF/A ISO standards. |
Format specifications
URLs
• Adobe PDF Specifications (http://partners.adobe.com/asn/tech/pdf/specifications.jsp)
Print
• Adobe Systems Incorporated. PDF Reference, Third Edition, Version 1.4. Addison-Wesley, 2001. ISBN 0-201-75839-3. Also available online as http://partners.adobe.com/asn/acrobat/docs/File_Format_Specifications/PDFReference.pdf.
• Adobe Systems Incorporated. PDF Reference, Second Edition, Version 1.3. Addison-Wesley, 2000. ISBN 0-201-61588-6. Also available online as http://partners.adobe.com/asn/acrobat/docs/File_Format_Specifications/PDFReference13.pdf.
Useful references
URLs
• JHOVE PDF-hul Module (http://hul.harvard.edu/jhove/pdf-hul.html)
• The application/pdf Media Type (http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3778.txt)
Last updated 05/21/2007
