PDF Terminology Glossary
Master the complexities of the Portable Document Format. From archival standards to compression techniques, we break down the terms every professional should know.
PDF/A
StandardsAn ISO-standardized version of the Portable Document Format (PDF) specialized for use in the archiving and long-term preservation of digital documents.
OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
FeaturesThe technology used to distinguish printed or handwritten text characters inside digital images of physical documents, such as scanned paper documents.
PDF Flattening
EditingThe process of merging multiple layers of a PDF document into a single layer. This is often used to ensure that all elements (like form fields or annotations) are permanent parts of the document.
Lossless Compression
OptimizationA class of data compression algorithms that allows the original data to be perfectly reconstructed from the compressed data. Crucial for text and financial documents.
Metadata (PDF)
StandardsInformation stored within a PDF file that describes the document, such as the author, title, creation date, and keywords. Can be a privacy risk if not managed correctly.
Linearization
OptimizationAlso known as "Fast Web View," this is a way of organizing a PDF file so that it can be displayed in a web browser before the entire file has been downloaded.