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Portable Document Format
(PDF) is the de facto standard for the secure and reliable
distribution and exchange of electronic documents and forms
around the world, with a ten-year track record. PDF is a
universal file format that preserves the fonts, images,
graphics, and layout of any source document, regardless of the
application and platform used to create it. Adobe® PDF files are
compact and complete, and can be shared, viewed, and printed by
anyone with free Adobe Reader® software. To date, more than 500
million copies of the software have been distributed. You can
convert any document to Adobe PDF using Adobe Acrobat® software
products, enabling business, engineering, and creative
professionals to create, distribute, and exchange secure and
reliable Adobe PDF documents. For more information, see the
Adobe Acrobat family.
Governments and enterprises around the
world have adopted PDF to streamline document management,
increase productivity, and reduce reliance on paper. For
example, PDF is the standard format for the electronic
submission of drug approvals to the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), and for electronic case filing in U.S.
federal courts. It is also used by the governments of the United
Kingdom and Germany for electronic document exchange. Finally,
the ISO's PDF/X specification is the standard file format used
for the digital distribution of advertisements for publication.
An open file format specification, PDF
is available to anyone who wants to develop tools to create,
view, or manipulate PDF documents. Indeed, more than 1,800
vendors offer PDF-based solutions, ensuring that organizations
that adopt the PDF standard have a variety of tools to leverage
the Portable Document Format and to customize document
processes.
Consumers benefit from PDF's platform
ubiquity as well, because Adobe Reader lets them view rich-media
PDF slide shows and electronic cards created using Adobe
Photoshop® Album software. |
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Common problems |
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Adobe PDF solutions |
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Recipients can't
open files because they don't have the applications used
to create the documents.
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Anyone, anywhere
can open a PDF file. All you need is free Adobe Reader
software. |
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Combined paper
and electronic archives are difficult to search, take up
space, and require that the application in which a
document was created be available for future access.
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PDF files are
compact and fully searchable, and can be accessed at any
time using Adobe Reader. Interactive hyperlinks make PDF
files easy to navigate. |
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Documents do not
display correctly on handheld devices. |
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Tagged Adobe PDF
allows text to reflow for display on mobile platforms,
such as Palm OS®, Symbian, and Pocket PC devices.
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Businesses
revert to paper exchange of documents and forms due to a
lack of verifiable and auditable electronic processes.
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PDF documents
may have special access rights applied and may be
digitally signed. |
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Documents with
complex formatting are not accessible to visually
impaired readers. |
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Tagged PDF files
contain information on content and structure, which
makes them accessible with the help of screen readers.
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