Feature list for PDFlib 10
The table below lists features for generating PDF. New and improved features are marked. Note that improved PDF output (e.g. smaller files) and programming convenience features are not listed individually.
Topic | Features |
PDF flavors | PDF 1.4 – PDF 1.7 extension level 8 and PDF 2.01 Linearized (web-optimized) PDF for byteserving over the Web High-volume output and PDF file size beyond 10 GB |
ISO standards for PDF | ISO 32000-1: standardized version of PDF 1.7 ISO 32000-2 including dated revision ISO 32000-2:20201: PDF 2.0 ISO 15930: PDF/X-3/4/5 for the graphic arts industry ISO 19005-1/2/3: PDF/A-1/2/3 for archiving ISO 16612-2: PDF/VT-1 for variable and transactional printing ISO 14289-1: PDF/UA-1 for universal accessibility |
| Fonts | TrueType fonts (TTF and TTC) OpenType fonts with PostScript or TrueType outlines (TTF, OTF, OTC) OpenType color fonts in the formats SVG, Microsoft COLR and Apple sbix1 WOFF and WOFF21 fonts (Web Open Font Format) User-defined (Type 3) fonts for bitmap, logo and color fonts Support for OpenType layout features1 for Western and CJK text, e.g. ligatures, small caps, oldstyle numerals, swash characters, simplified/traditional forms, vertical alternates Access fonts which are installed on Windows or macOS Font embedding and subsetting EUDC and SING fonts (glyphlets) for CJK Gaiji characters Fallback fonts: substitute missing glyphs with glyphs from another font |
| Text output | Text output in different fonts; underlined, overlined, and strikeout text Glyphs in a font can be addressed by numerical value, Unicode value, or glyph name Kerning for improved character spacing Variation selectors and emoji variation sequences1 Artificial bold, italic, and shadow text Text on a path Flexible stamping method |
Textflow Formatting | Format text into one or more rectangular or arbitrarily shaped areas with hyphenation (user-supplied hyphenation points required), font and color changes, justification methods, tabs, leaders, control commands, tags1 Advanced line-breaking with language-specific processing, e.g. for Thai Flexible image placement and formatting Wrap text around images or image clipping paths |
Table formatting | Table formatter places rows and columns, and automatically calculates their sizes according to a variety of user preferences. Tables can be split across multiple pages. Table cells can hold text, images, SVG graphics, PDF pages, path objects, annotations and form fields Table cells can be formatted with ruling and shading options Matchbox concept for referencing the coordinates of placed images or other objects |
Interactive elements | Form fields1 with all field options and JavaScript (todo hyperlink for footnotes) PDF annotations1 (comments) such as PDF links, launch links (other document types), Web links PDF 2.0 annotation attributes, e.g. opacity1 Non-rectangular annotations and Link annotations with multiple rectangles1 Create actions for bookmarks, annotations, page open/close and other events Create bookmarks with a variety of options and controls Page transition effects, such as shades and mosaic Named destinations for links, bookmarks, and document open action Create page labels (symbolic names for pages) |
| Multimedia | Embed 3D animations in PDF and control it with JavaScript Sound and video can be embedded or referenced from an external file or Web server with Screen annotations and Rendition actions1 |
| Internationalization | Support for Unicode 14 including supplementary characters outside the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP) and Unicode normalization forms CJK fonts for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean text Ideographic variation sequences (IVS) for CJK variant glyphs Vertical writing mode for Chinese, Japanese and Korean text Character shaping for complex scripts, e.g. Arabic, Thai, Devanagari Bidirectional text formatting for right-to-left scripts, e.g. Arabic and Hebrew |
| SVG vector graphics | Import vector graphics in SVG format; ICC profiles, CMYK and spot colors in SVG, CSS1, network resources1 |
| Images | Load BMP, PNG, TIFF, JBIG2, JPEG, JPEG 2000, and CCITT raster images Query image information (pixel size, resolution, ICC profile, clipping path, etc.) Use clipping path in TIFF and JPEG images Use alpha channel (transparency) in TIFF and PNG images Image masks (transparent images with a color applied), colorize images with spot or DeviceN color |
| Color | Grayscale, RGB (numerical, hexadecimal, HTML color names), CMYK, CIE L*a*b* color Integrated PANTONE® and HKS® spot colors1 DeviceN (n-colorant) color space based on process or spot colors User-defined spot colors Color shadings (smooth shadings) between process colors or spot colors; pattern fills and strokes |
| Color management | ICC-based color with ICC profiles1 Rendering intent for text, graphics, and raster images Embedded or externally referenced ICC profiles as output intent for PDF 2.0, PDF/A and PDF/X Multicolor (xCLR) externally referenced output intent ICC profiles for PDF/X-5n/ Output intent ICC profiles on document or page level for PDF 2.0 |
Archiving | PDF/A-1a/1b, PDF/A-2a/b/u and PDF/A-3a/b/u including XMP extension schemas |
Graphic arts | PDF/X-3, PDF/X-4, PDF/X-4p, PDF/X-5n Settings for overprint, text knockout, black point compensation1, etc. |
Accessibility | Tagged PDF for accessibility Tagging of interactive elements, e.g. annotations and form fields1 Automatic table1 and artifact tagging PDF/UA-1 for universal accessibility Tagging in Textflow1 PDF 2.0 tag namespaces (tagsets)1 PDF 2.0 structure types, attributes and tag nesting rules1 Structure destinations, i.e. links point to a specific structure element1 |
Variable Document Printing (VDP) | PDF/VT-1 for variable and transactional printing |
Vector graphics | Common vector graphics primitives1: lines, curves, arcs, ellipses, rectangles, etc. Smooth shadings (color blends) between multiple process or spot colors, pattern fills and strokes Transparency (opacity) and blend modes Reusable path objects1 and clipping paths imported from images |
Layers | Optional page content which can selectively be displayed Annotations and form fields can be placed on layers |
Security | Encrypt PDF document or attachments Unicode passwords Document permission settings, e.g. printing or copying not allowed |
Georeferenced PDF | PDF with geospatial reference information |
Metadata | Document information: common fields (Title, Subject, Author, Keywords) and user-defined fields Synchronize XMP metadata from document info fields or XMP streams User-supplied custom XMP metadata Process XMP image metadata in TIFF, JPEG, JPEG 2000 and SVG |
Programming | Language bindings for C, C++, Java, .NET, Objective C, Perl, PHP, Python, RPG, Ruby Helper method for downloading content from the Internet1 Virtual file system for supplying data in memory, e.g., images from a database Generate PDF documents on disk file or directly in memory |
1. New or considerably improved in PDFlib 10
Additional features in PDFlib+PDI and the pCOS Interface
The table below lists features in PDFlib+PDI and PPS in addition to the basic PDF generation features in the first table.
| Topic | Features |
PDF input (PDI) | Import pages from existing PDF documents Import all PDF versions up to PDF 2.0 Import annotations and form fields including actions1; annotation rectangles are transformed, e.g. scaled or rotated, to match the placed page; link annotations remain functional even if pages are arranged in different order Fill imported form fields1 Import JavaScript and other actions on document or page level1 Import encrypted documents Delete redundant objects (e.g. identical fonts) across multiple imported PDF documents Repair malformed input PDF documents Copy PDF/A or PDF/X output intent from imported PDF documents Tagged PDF content aggregation: import pages from Tagged PDF documents including structure elements Import layer definitions (optional content) Improved performance for importing content from very large documents1 |
| pCOS interface | pCOS interface for querying details about PDF documents and pages (see separate pCOS datasheet) Additional pCOS pseudo objects for querying PDF details, e.g. PDF standards, form fields, signatures and ICC profiles1 |
1. New in PDFlib+PDI 10
Additional features in the PDFlib Personalization Server (PPS) and the Block Plugin
The table below lists features which are only available in the PDFlib Personalization Server (PPS) in addition to the basic PDF generation features in the first table and the PDF import features in the second table.
| Topic | Features |
Variable Document Printing (VDP) | PDF personalization with PDFlib Blocks for text, image, PDF data or SVG vector graphics Create PDFlib Blocks programmatically with PPS Copy PDFlib Blocks from imported documents |
| PDFlib Block Plugin | PDFlib Block Plugin for creating PDFlib Blocks interactively in Acrobat on Windows and macOS Preview PPS Block filling in Acrobat Filter Blocks for Display and Preview based on Block name, type, size or position1 Copy Blocks to Preview file Snap-to-grid for interactively creating or editing Blocks in Acrobat Move Blocks by small or large increments for simple yet precise positioning1 All graphics state properties, e.g. overprint settings, available as Block properties1 Clone PDF/A, PDF/UA or PDF/X status of the Block container Convert PDF form fields to PDFlib Blocks for automated filling Textflow Blocks can be linked so that one Block holds the overflow text of a previous Block PANTONE® and HKS® spot color names integrated in the Block Plugin1 Tagging for Block contents1 |
1. New or improved in Block Plugin 6