PDF\/A is a kind of PDF made for long-term archiving: the file should look exactly the same on any device, years from now. With PDF24 you create PDF\/A for free \u2013 online in your browser, offline in the PDF24 Toolbox, or directly when printing with the PDF printer \u2013 and check with veraPDF whether a file really follows the rules. This page explains which level to choose, what PDF24 fixes automatically during the conversion and what to do when a validation fails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n PDF\/A is an international standard (ISO 19005). A PDF\/A file contains everything it needs to be displayed and leaves out everything that could change or go missing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You open a PDF\/A file with any PDF program, just like any other PDF. Whether you need PDF\/A, and which level, is decided by whoever receives the file; they usually name the level as well. If in doubt, ask them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The number is the part of the standard, the letter is the conformance level. PDF24 creates level b<\/strong> (\"basic\"): it secures the visual appearance of the pages and is the minimum level of every part. If \"PDF\/A-2\" is required without a letter, PDF\/A-2b meets it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PDF24 does not create levels a<\/strong> (accessible, with structure tags) and u<\/strong> (all text as Unicode). You can still check files against these levels and against PDF\/UA (accessibility) with Check PDF\/A<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The online tools work on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and Android. The free PDF24 Creator<\/a> with the Toolbox and the PDF printer is available for Windows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Below the result PDF24 tells you when it did something you might not expect: \"Created as PDF\/A-3b because the file contains attachments.\" or \"Attachments were removed because PDF\/A-1b does not allow them.\" (PDF\/A-2b only keeps attachments that are PDF\/A themselves). Your files are deleted from the PDF24 server automatically after one hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The general converter Convert PDF to ...<\/a> offers the same with the format PDF\/A. For a Word, Excel or image file, convert it to PDF first (create PDF<\/a>) and then to PDF\/A \u2013 or, on your PC, save it as PDF\/A directly when printing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Behind the cog (\"Additional options\") you can enter \"Title\", \"Subject\", \"Author\" and \"Keywords\"; empty fields keep the values of the file. The \"Profile\" there is the colour profile of the PDF\/A: \"sRGB IEC61966\" (default) for documents that are read on screen or printed in the office, \"ISO coated v2\" or \"ISO coated v2 300%\" for offset printing when a print shop asks for it. To have the content converted to CMYK as well, also set \"Color\" to \"CMYK\".<\/p>\n\n\n\n Files with attachments:<\/strong> choose \"PDF\/A-3\" in the Toolbox \u2013 it does not switch to it by itself like \"Automatic\" online. With \"PDF\/A-1\" a file with attachments fails validation, with \"PDF\/A-2\" it passes only if the attachments are PDF\/A themselves. Removing the attachments the chosen level does not allow comes with the next version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a PDF has a password to open it, the Toolbox asks for it. By default the Toolbox converts with \"PDFBox\". In the Settings under \"Preferred Methods\" you can choose \"Ghostscript\" for \"Create PDF\/A\" instead; this page describes the default.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the document is still open in Word, Excel, your browser or another program, create the PDF\/A in one step:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This way the fonts of the original are used, because they are installed on your PC \u2013 the most reliable way to a clean PDF\/A, especially with unusual fonts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More settings are on the page \"PDF\/A\" on the left (they become available once a PDF\/A standard is selected):<\/p>\n\n\n\n While a PDF\/A standard is selected, the page \"Security\" shows a note: password and permissions are not applied, because PDF\/A does not allow encryption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Create your own profile:<\/strong> in the PDF24 Assistant click \"Output profiles\" at the bottom (in the Toolbox: \"Manage output profiles\"). Under PDF \u203a \"General\" set \"PDF standard\" to the version you need, e.g. \"PDF\/A-2\". At the bottom, next to \"Profiles\", click \"New\", enter a name such as \"Archive\" and click \"Save\". Changes to a profile are only kept when you click \"Save\" in this profile bar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the next printout on, the profile is in the list above \"Save as PDF\". Select it once; the Assistant remembers the choice, and \"Save as PDF\" then always creates PDF\/A.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without any question:<\/strong> in the PDF24 Settings, section \"PDF Printer\", choose \"Automatically save documents after printed\" under \"PDF Printer Tool\", and under \"Auto Save\" select your PDF\/A profile as \"Profile\". Every printout is then saved as PDF\/A without asking (more about automatic saving<\/a>). To keep the Assistant for normal printouts, add a second PDF printer with \"+\", e.g. \"PDF24 Archive\", that saves as PDF\/A automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How to roll out such a profile to many PCs is described on PDF24 Creator silent install and deployment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only a validation shows whether a file really meets the PDF\/A rules. A file that claims to be PDF\/A is not necessarily valid. PDF24 checks with veraPDF<\/strong>, the reference validator of the PDF Association:<\/p>\n\n\n\n How it works:<\/p>\n\n\n\n How to read the report:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The version number is not the PDF\/A level.<\/strong> If a program shows \"PDF 1.7\" or \"PDF 1.4\", that is the version of the PDF format. PDF\/A-2 and -3 are based on PDF 1.7, PDF\/A-1 on PDF 1.4. A file saved from Word is often 1.7 already \u2013 so the number does not tell you whether the conversion worked. Only the validation does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most reasons why a PDF is not PDF\/A are fixed by PDF24 during the conversion:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Text, images, links and bookmarks are kept (except on pages that PDF\/A-1b saves as an image). PDF\/A files are often a little larger than the original because the fonts have to be inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PDF\/A-3 allows attachments of any kind, PDF\/A-2 only attachments that are PDF\/A themselves, PDF\/A-1 none at all. If your PDF has attachments that must be kept, use PDF\/A-3b (online, \"Automatic\" does that for you).<\/p>\n\n\n\n An e-invoice in the ZUGFeRD or Factur-X format<\/strong> is a PDF\/A-3 file with the invoice data inside as XML. Simply attaching an XML to a PDF\/A-3 is not enough: the XML needs a fixed name and matching metadata. The PDF24 e-invoice generator does all of this automatically:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Validate an e-invoice with Validate e-invoice<\/a>; whether its PDF follows the PDF\/A rules is shown by Check PDF\/A<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The PDF24 DocTool converts to PDF\/A without any window, e.g. from a batch file or the Windows Task Scheduler. Use All PDFs of a folder:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Toolbox tools \"Check PDF\/A\" and \"Convert from PDF\" also run from the command line, as a job in a JSON file (manual, chapter 9.1.2<\/a>); all profile options are in chapter 11.1.4<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the file was changed after the conversion, convert it again (see the next point).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watermarks, page numbers, merging, redacting or editing rewrite the file. It often keeps its PDF\/A identification but no longer follows the rules, e.g. because a semi-transparent watermark is not allowed in PDF\/A-1. So always create PDF\/A last<\/strong>: merge, edit and run text recognition (OCR<\/a>) first, then convert to PDF\/A and validate. Add a signature only after that, because converting later would remove it; check the signed file again with Check PDF\/A<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This comes from PDF\/A-1 itself: it allows no transparency, so pages with transparent content are saved as an image. Use PDF\/A-2b unless PDF\/A-1 is explicitly required. If it is required, remove transparent elements (shadows, semi-transparent shapes, images with a transparent background) in the source document and create the PDF again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If possible, create the PDF\/A directly from the original document when printing<\/a>, where the fonts are installed on your PC. For a finished PDF that does not contain a font, PDF24 can only embed a substitute. With some kinds of fonts even that is not possible; then the only fix is to create the PDF again from the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PDF\/A does not allow encryption, neither a password to open the file nor permissions. So a protected PDF is not a valid PDF\/A, and the two do not go together. Create the PDF\/A from the source file before it was protected, e.g. when printing<\/a> from the original document. When you save as PDF\/A in PDF24, no password is set; if you protect a PDF\/A file afterwards, it is no longer a valid PDF\/A. If PDF\/A is required, send the file without a password.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"Check PDF\/A\" needs the component \"OpenJDK (GPL)\", and so does converting with \"PDFBox\" (without Java and Ghostscript, \"Convert from PDF\" reports \"File could not be converted\"). If it was deselected during installation, run the setup of the PDF24 Creator<\/a> again and select it. Or convert and validate online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n PDF\/A must contain all fonts, which makes the file larger, especially for short documents. Reduce large images with Compress PDF<\/a>. Leave \"Strip output intents\" unticked, otherwise the file is no longer a valid PDF\/A, and validate the result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
What is PDF\/A?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Which level: PDF\/A-1b, 2b or 3b?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Which way suits you?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Convert PDF to PDF\/A online<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Offline in the PDF24 Toolbox<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Save as PDF\/A when printing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Always save as PDF\/A<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Validate PDF\/A and read the report<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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What PDF24 fixes automatically<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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PDF\/A-3: attachments and e-invoices (ZUGFeRD)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Command line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
-applyProfile<\/code> and change the PDF standard of an existing profile with -profileParam pdf-standard<\/code>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\"C:\\Program Files\\PDF24\\pdf24-DocTool.exe\" -applyProfile -profile default\/good -profileParam pdf-standard a-2 -silent -outputFile \"C:\\Archive\\contract.pdf\" \"C:\\Inbox\\contract.pdf\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n\"C:\\Program Files\\PDF24\\pdf24-DocTool.exe\" -applyProfile -profile default\/good -profileParam pdf-standard a-2 -silent -expandDirs -includeFileExtensions .pdf -outputDir \"C:\\Archive\" \"C:\\Inbox\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n\n
pdf-standard<\/code> is a-1<\/code>, a-2<\/code>, a-3<\/code> (each level b), a-4<\/code> or a-4f<\/code> (the last two since version 11.31.0).<\/li>\n\n\n-silent<\/code> shows no windows and reports errors through the exit code (0 = success).<\/li>\n\n\n-convertToPDF<\/code> and your own PDF\/A profile: -profile user\/Archive<\/code> (the name you gave the profile when you created it<\/a>).<\/li>\n\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nProblems and solutions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The recipient rejects my PDF\/A (\"not a valid PDF\/A\")<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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The PDF\/A is no longer valid after editing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
With PDF\/A-1 the whole page is an image and the text cannot be selected<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A font is not embedded or characters are missing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"The file is encrypted\" \u2013 PDF\/A with a password<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Check PDF\/A\" says \"For this function no suitable component is installed\"<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The PDF\/A is much larger than the original<\/h3>\n\n\n\n