Technology How To

About PDF/A

PDF/A, defined by ISO 19005-1:2005, is a subset of the PDF electronic document file format that leaves out PDF features not suited for long term preservation.

In addition, the standard places requirements on software products that read PDF/A files. The software must follow certain rules including following color management guidelines, using embedded fonts, and making annotation content available to users.

According to the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) It is important to be aware that:

• PDF/A-1 alone does not guarantee preservation
• PDF/A-1 alone does not guarantee exact replication of source material

PDF/A-1 files must include:

• Embedded fonts
• Device-independent color
• XMP metadata

PDF/A-1 files may not include:

• Encryption
• LZW Compression
• Embedded files
• External content references
• PDF Transparency
• Multi-media
• JavaScript

PDF/A-1a files must include:

• Tagged PDF - to support the structure of the document and allow it to be reflowed to fit different page or screen sizes including hand held device screens.
• Unicode character maps to preserve the document

Resources for Information on the PDF/A Format

• PDF For Long-term Preservation Use (Sustainability of Digital Formats Planning for Library of Congress Collections)
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Transferring Permanent Records in PDF/A-1 to NARA (The National Archives)
• Dusting off the archives with PDF/A (Adobe Acrobat User Community)
• FAQ in support of ISO 19005-1:2005 (From the Association for Information and Image Management, now known as AIIM - The Enterprise Content Management Association)

How to Create PDF/A-1a Files

From MS Word:

• Click File
• Select Save as PDF
• Click Adobe Acrobat PDF Conversion Options
• Check PDF/A Compliant
• Click Save
  

Adobe Acrobat will launch and open the PDF file. To convert the PDF to PDF/A in Adoba Acrobat 8 and higher:

• Select the Advanced Menu
• Select Preflight
• In the Preflight window, expand the Preflight profile for PDF/A compliance
• Select Convert to PDF/A-1a (sRGB)
• Click Execute

Note that the file name of the PDF file has been amended with _A1a.pdf at the end of the file. The file may be closed and the process is complete.

From the Web:

• Begin at the web page to archive and view it in Print Friendly form if possible.
• From the File Menu of the web browser, Click Print
• Next Select the Printer Adobe PDF
• Click Properties
• Click the Adobe PDF Settings Tab
• Select the PDF/A-1b:2005 (sRGB) option in the Default Settings pulldown
• Click OK
• Click OK
• Name the PDF file and choose the location to store the file
• Click Save
  

Adobe Acrobat will launch and open the PDF file. To convert the PDF to PDF/A in Adoba Acrobat 8 and higher:

• Select the Advanced Menu
• Select Accessibility and click Add Tags to Document
• Select Preflight from the Advanced Menu
  
• In the Preflight window, expand the Preflight profile for PDF/A compliance
• Select Convert to PDF/A-1a (sRGB)
• Click Execute

Note that the file name of the PDF file has been amended with _A1a.pdf at the end of the file. The file may be closed and the process is complete.

Common Issues

• All fonts must be embedded in the file. How to embed fonts varying between applications
• Document must be tagged. To tag a PDF file:
  • Click the Advanced Menu
  • Click Accessibility
  • Click Add Tags to Document
• All images must be 250 dpi or higher

Introduction
The Adobe Acrobat software is more than just an application for creating Acrobat files to be read by the Adobe Acrobat Reader and plug-in. It also allows users to annotate files, highlight and copy text, and add notes. Instead of carrying around a bundle of papers with highlights and notes in the margins, researchers can now keep all their research as Acrobat files stored and organized within EndNote.

Print to PDF (File > Print > Adobe PDF)
Use this feature of Acrobat from within your web browser to create a PDF file from any web page that can then be annotated and attached to an EndNote Library.

Copy and Paste (Tools > Advanced Editing > Touch Up Text Tool)
This allows users to copy and paste from a PDF file to an MS Word file. Always place quotation marks around copied text to avoid plagiarism. Also be sure to include citation information for later use.

Recognize Text Using OCR (Document > OCR Text Recognition > OK)
In some cases, copy and paste will not work in an Acrobat file. For example, many electronic InterLibrary Loan items and E-Reserve items are scanned images of pages and have not had the text recognized using OCR. Once the text has been recognized, copy and paste will work.

Note: a scan resolution of 300dpi or higher is required for the original for this option to work properly.

Using The Comment & Markup Menu

• Highlighting (Tools > Comment & Markup > Highlight Text Tool)
  Users can use the highlighting tools to mark up a PDF file. Select the Highlight Text Tool and click, hold and drag over the text to be highlighted.
• Add Sticky Note/Comment (Tools > Comment & Markup > Sticky Note) or (Comments > Add Sticky Note)
  Users can add notes or comments to a PDF file by selecting the Sticky Note tool and clicking in the PDF file where the note should appear. After typing the note, close the note window. The icon will remain to indicate a note is present. Users can point to the icon to see the note text or click on the icon to edit the note.
• Show and Search Comments/Notes and Markup (Tools > Comment & Markup > Show > Show Comments List)
  To see all the notes in the open PDF file click on Tools > Comment & Markup > Show > Show Comments List. Use the search icon in the comment list toolbar to search for terms within comments.
• Add audio clip (Tools > Comment & Markup > Record Audio Comment)
• Adding Drawing Markups (Tools > Comment & Markup then select a drawing tool from the list.)
  Users can use the drawing tools to mark up a document with lines, circles and other shapes. Notes can be added to the pop-up window of any drawing object.
• Using the Typewriter Tool (Tools > Typewriter > Typewriter)
  This tool creates comments that appear directly on the PDF file, not in a callout window.
• Print with comments (File > Print under Comment and Forms pull down Document and Markups)
  To access options for printing with comments and summary click the Summarize Contents button.

Introduction
Adobe Acrobat makes it easy for you to create, fill in, and submit electronic PDF forms. You can design and create an entirely new form, or you can quickly convert your existing paper and electronic forms to PDF and then add PDF form fields. You can create forms with text boxes, buttons, check boxes, combo boxes, list boxes, radio buttons, and signature fields.

Submitting an Adobe Acrobat form
It is more common to submit a form created in Adobe Acrobat than to be the creator of the form. While it is possible to submit a form to a database via the web, it is more common to save the form and email it to the recipient as an attachment.

WFU ThinkPad users and anyone else who has the full version of Adobe Acrobat on their computers can open a PDF file, fill it out and save it back to their hard drives. All other users can open the file, fill it out and print it but CANNOT save it to their computer. (So remember to print out 2 copies if you need one for your records). Additionally, the full version of Adobe Acrobat is required to create forms.

To Fill in the Form Fields
Select the hand tool on the left side of the Acrobat toolbar (as seen in the image above) if it is not already selected. When the hand tool turns into an “I” beam icon, the cursor is over a form field. Move the cursor to the field and double click. Begin typing (please note not all fields have a border).

To Save the Completed Form
Go to the File menu and select Save As or press the floppy disk icon on the Acrobat toolbar (see above).Select a location for the file in the Save As window and click Save. Remember, the Save option only appears when the user has the full version of Adobe Acrobat. Without the full version of Acrobat, users may only print the file, not save the file or create forms.

Creating Forms from a Word Document in Adobe Acrobat

Begin by saving the form in MS Word file as a PDF file. To save the MS Word form as a PDF file, use the “Create PDF” button in the MS Word button bar shown above.

Creating Forms from within Adobe Acrobat
To bring an image or other file type into Acrobat, go to: File>Create PDF select one of the options:

• From File
• From Multiple Files
• From Scanner
• From Web Page

Note: Acrobat 8 includes Adobe LiveCycle Designer for designing XML forms to be rendered as PDF or HTML files. However forms created in LiveCycle can only be edited with that program and are only readable with Acrobat reader 6 and higher.

Creating Form Fields
Once the file is in Adobe Acrobat the form fields must be added. Form fields are drawn with the Text Field Tool.

Text Field Properties
There are seven tabs that control the properties of the various fields.

• General contains the form field name and some common properties. It can also be used to tag a field as required and read only.
• Appearance is used to control what the user sees when filling out the form.
• Options control alignment, size and scrolling among other things.
• Actions allows for a field to generate an action such as launch a file or web page.
• Format is used to distinguish the contents as text, numbers, date, etc.
• Validate can check a field contents against a formula or other calculation
• Calculate allows contents of fields to generate mathematical totals.

Creating Links (Internal and External)
To create an internal link you must follow these steps.

• Step One-click the link tool Tools > Advanced Editing > Link Tool
• Step Two-use the link tool to draw a box anywhere in the document (over text or in white space).
• Step Three-with the Create Link window open, select one of the four choices for link actions.

• Go to page view, select the destination page number for the link, and set the page magnification.
• Open a File, click Browse to select the destination file, and click Select. If the file is an Adobe PDF document, specify how the document should open. Click OK.
• Open a Web Page, provide the URL of the destination Web page.
• Custom Link, click OK to open the Link Properties dialog box. You can set actions associated with the link, such as reading an article, in this dialog box.
  

Setting the Tab Order Between Fields

• Step One-Click the Pages tab in the navigation pane.
• Step Two-Select a page thumbnail, and choose Page Properties from the Options menu.
• Step Three-In the Page Properties dialog box, click Tab Order, and select the tab order

What is Adobe Acrobat?
Adobe® Acrobat® enables you to create Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files - the worldwide standard for secure and reliable document distribution via print, the Web, or mobile devices. With Acrobat documents display and print the way you intended and are protected from unauthorized access and alterations. (courtesy http://www.adobe.com)

What is a PDF file?
PDF (Portable Document Format) is a file format that has captured all the elements of a printed document as an electronic image. PDF files are created using Adobe Acrobat, Acrobat Capture, or similar products. To view and use the files, users need Acrobat Reader. To create PDF file users need the full version of Adobe Acrobat. PDF files are especially useful for documents in which you want to preserve the original graphic appearance online. (courtesy http://www.whatis.com)

Creating PDF files in Word, Excel and PowerPoint
The WFU standard software load includes the full version of Adobe Acrobat. Icons for creating Acrobat file can be found in the button bar of Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. There are two buttons on each toolbar, one for creating a PDF and one for creating a PDF and emailing a PDF.

When you have completed your document in Word, Excel or PowerPoint and are ready to create your PDF, simply click the Create PDF button and Adobe Acrobat will launch (may take a few moments). Once Acrobat is open, you will need to click the save button or go to File Menu > Save As to give the document a name and save it to your hard drive.
Note: If the Adobe Toolbar does not appear in MS Word, go to the File Menu > Print and select Adobe PDF to create a PDF file of the MS Word document.

The Acrobat Tools Menu
Use the Comment & Markup menu under Tools to add notes, comments or highlight text.

Advanced Editing
You can add or replace small amounts of text in a PDF if the font is installed on the system. For extensive changes, edit the original document from which the PDF was created.

• Choose Tools > Advanced Editing > TouchUp Text Tool.
• Select the text you want to edit.
• Type to replace text, or press Delete to remove text.

Inserting Links
Once you have created your PDF, you may want to add in elements such as links.

• Click Tools > Advanced Editing > Link tool.
• Click-hold-drag the crosshairs to select the area of the document you want to be the link. You may want to make the area slightly larger than the text to be sure the link is visible.
• Select from the four radio buttons
  • Go to a page view
  • Open a file
  • Open a web page
  • Custom Link
• Click Next and follow the instruction on the screen.

Creating and Structuring bookmarks
Bookmarks are used to navigate from one section to another within a PDF file. In MS Word Documents, certain styles such as main headings are automatically translated into bookmarks. To manually create a Bookmark inside a PDF file, scroll to the location in the PDF file you wish to bookmark, click the Document > Add Bookmark. Type a name for the bookmark in the bookmark pane on the left.

Inserting Thumbnails
Like Bookmarks, thumbnails can be used to navigate within a PDF file. To ensure thumbnails appear on the web, Click on the Pages tab in the navigation pane, click the Options pull down and click Embed All Page Thumbnails.

Capturing a web site for local use
One great use of Adobe Acrobat is to capture web sites for viewing or demonstrating offline. This procedure will capture all text, images and links and will allow you to navigate through a site when you are NOT connected to the Internet.  Before you capture a web site, however, it is important to spend some time on the page to see how many levels of the site you need for your purposes. Large sites may take a long time to capture, so the fewer levels you can live with, the better.

• To capture a web site, click File > Create PDF > From Web Page.

• Type the URL in the blank provided; you will need to include the http://

• Select how many levels deep you want to go

• Select Get Entire Site ONLY for small sites

• Click the Settings to select advanced download setting

• Click the Create Button.