ISO 32000-2:2020
(Main)Document management — Portable document format — Part 2: PDF 2.0
Document management — Portable document format — Part 2: PDF 2.0
This document specifies a digital form for representing electronic documents to enable users to exchange and view electronic documents independent of the environment in which they were created or the environment in which they are viewed or printed. It is intended for developers of software that creates PDF files (PDF writers), software that reads existing PDF files and (usually) interprets their contents for display (PDF readers), software that reads and displays PDF content and interacts with the computer users to possibly modify and save the PDF file (interactive PDF processors) and PDF products that read and/or write PDF files for a variety of other purposes (PDF processors). (PDF writers and PDF readers are more specialised classifications of interactive PDF processors and all are PDF processors). This document does not specify the following: ? specific processes for converting paper or electronic documents to the PDF file format; ? specific technical design, user interface implementation, or operational details of rendering; ? specific physical methods of storing these documents such as media and storage conditions; ? methods for validating the conformance of PDF files or PDF processors; ? required computer hardware and/or operating system.
Gestion de documents — Format de document portable — Partie 2: PDF 2.0
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INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 32000-2
Second edition
2020-12
Document management — Portable
document format —
Part 2:
PDF 2.0
Gestion de documents — Format de document portable —
Partie 2: PDF 2.0
Reference number
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
©
ISO 2020
---------------------- Page: 1 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO 2020
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting
on the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address
below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved
---------------------- Page: 2 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
Contents Page
Foreword . vii
Introduction . viii
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 2
3 Terms and definitions . 7
4 Notation . 15
4.1 General . 15
4.2 Established notations . 15
5 Version designations . 17
6 Conformance . 18
6.1 General . 18
6.2 Conforming PDF documents . 18
6.3 PDF processors . 18
7 Syntax . 20
7.1 General . 20
7.2 Lexical conventions . 21
7.3 Objects . 24
7.4 Filters . 34
7.5 File structure . 53
7.6 Encryption . 71
7.7 Document structure . 96
7.8 Content streams and resources . 110
7.9 Common data structures . 114
7.10 Functions . 123
7.11 File specifications . 132
7.12 Extensions dictionary . 141
8 Graphics . 145
8.1 General . 145
8.2 Graphics objects . 145
8.3 Coordinate systems . 149
8.4 Graphics state . 156
8.5 Path construction and painting . 169
8.6 Colour spaces . 177
8.7 Patterns . 219
© ISO 2020 – All rights reserved iii
---------------------- Page: 3 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
8.8 External objects . 253
8.9 Images . 254
8.10 Form XObjects . 270
8.11 Optional content . 276
9 Text. 293
9.1 General . 293
9.2 Organisation and use of fonts . 293
9.3 Text state parameters and operators . 300
9.4 Text objects . 306
9.5 Introduction to font data structures . 311
9.6 Simple fonts . 313
9.7 Composite fonts . 327
9.8 Font descriptors . 343
9.9 Embedded font programs . 351
9.10 Extraction of text content . 355
10 Rendering . 360
10.1 General . 360
10.2 Raster output device native colour. 361
10.3 CIE-Based colour to device colour . 361
10.4 Conversions among device colour spaces . 361
10.5 Transfer functions . 364
10.6 Halftones . 366
10.7 Scan conversion details . 382
10.8 Rendering for separations . 385
11 Transparency . 387
11.1 General . 387
11.2 Overview of transparency . 387
11.3 Basic compositing computations . 389
11.4 Transparency groups. 402
11.5 Soft masks . 414
11.6 Specifying transparency in PDF . 415
11.7 Colour space and rendering issues . 425
12 Interactive features . 437
12.1 General . 437
12.2 Viewer preferences . 437
12.3 Document-level navigation . 441
12.4 Page-level navigation . 458
12.5 Annotations . 465
iv © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved
---------------------- Page: 4 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
12.6 Actions . 506
12.7 Forms . 528
12.8 Digital signatures . 567
12.9 Measurement properties . 595
12.10 Geospatial features . 601
12.11 Document requirements . 606
13 Multimedia features . 614
13.1 General . 614
13.2 Multimedia. 614
13.3 Sounds . 637
13.4 Movies . 638
13.5 Alternate presentations . 640
13.6 3D Artwork . 642
13.7 Rich media . 700
14 Document interchange . 713
14.1 General . 713
14.2 Procedure sets . 713
14.3 Metadata . 714
14.4 File identifiers . 719
14.5 Page-piece dictionaries . 719
14.6 Marked content . 720
14.7 Logical structure . 722
14.8 Tagged PDF . 745
14.9 Repurposing and accessibility support . 796
14.10 Web capture . 802
14.11 Prepress support . 814
14.12 Document parts. 834
14.13 Associated files . 838
Annex A (informative) Operator Summary . 844
Annex B (informative) Operators in Type 4 Functions. 848
Annex C (informative) Advice on maximising portability . 850
Annex D (normative) Character sets and encodings . 853
Annex E (normative) Extending PDF . 877
Annex F (normative) Linearized PDF . 879
Annex G (informative) Linearized PDF access strategies . 901
Annex H (informative) Example PDF files . 905
Annex I (normative) PDF versions and compatibility . 936
Annex J (informative) XObject comparison . 938
© ISO 2020 – All rights reserved v
---------------------- Page: 5 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
Annex K (normative) XFA forms . 944
Annex L (normative) Parent-child relationships between the standard structure elements in the
standard structure namespace for PDF 2.0 . 947
Annex M (informative) Differences between the standard structure namespaces . 973
Annex N (informative) Best practice for halftones . 974
Annex O (normative) Fragment identifiers . 977
Annex P (informative) An algorithm to determine the actual blending colour space of a
transparency group . 980
Annex Q (normative) Method for determining transparency on a page . 982
Bibliography . 984
vi © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved
---------------------- Page: 6 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national
standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally
carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a
technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee.
International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in
the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all
matters of electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following
URL: www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 171, Document management
applications, Subcommittee SC 2, Application issues, in collaboration with Technical Committee ISO/TC
130, Graphic technology.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 32000-2:2017), which has been
technically revised.
A list of all the parts of ISO 32000 can be found on the ISO website. Changes from previous parts and
editions are listed in the Introduction (clauses 0.3 and 0.4).
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body.
A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
© ISO 2020 – All rights reserved vii
---------------------- Page: 7 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
Introduction
0.1 PDF
PDF enables users to exchange and view electronic documents easily and reliably, independent of the
environment in which they were created or the environment in which they are viewed or printed.
1
At the core of PDF is an advanced imaging model derived from the PostScript® page description
language. This PDF Imaging Model enables the description of text and graphics in a device-independent
and resolution-independent manner at a complete, precise and professional level. Unlike PostScript,
which is a programming language, PDF is based on a structured binary file format that is optimised for
high performance in interactive viewing.
PDF includes objects such as annotations and hypertext links that are not part of the page content itself
but are useful for interactive viewing and document interchange. PDF also includes data structures
such as tagged PDF, XMP and an associated files mechanism, that are useful for document management
and content reuse.
PDF files can be created natively in PDF form, converted from other electronic formats. Since PDF
supports a wide range of image and compression technologies, it is a suitable format for documents
digitised from paper, microform, or other hard copy formats. Businesses, governments, libraries,
archives and other institutions and individuals around the world use PDF to represent considerable
bodies of important information. Since its introduction in 1993, aided by the explosive growth of the
Internet, PDF has become widely used for the electronic exchange of documents.
There are several specific applications of PDF that have evolved in which limiting the use of some
features of PDF while requiring the use of others, enhances the usefulness of PDF. The following
International Standards address specialised uses of PDF:
• PDF/X (ISO 15930) is the industry standard for the intermediate representation of printed
material in electronic prepress systems for conventional printing applications.
• PDF/A (ISO 19005) is the industry standard for the archiving of digital documents.
• PDF/UA (ISO 14289) is the industry standard for accessible PDF documents and processors.
• PDF/E (ISO 24517) provides a mechanism for representing engineering documents and
exchanging engineering data.
• PDF/VT (ISO 16612-2 and ISO 16612-3) is for high volume printing of personalised
documents including variable data.
• ISO 19593 describes a method for storing data in a PDF file that correspond to the processing
steps of printed products (such as cutting, folding, glueing, Braille, printed white, and printed
varnish).
• ISO 21812 describes how document part metadata in a PDF file can be used to communicate
the intended appearance of print products and their components.
As corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions streamline their operations by
1
PostScript® is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. This information is given for the convenience of users of this document and
does not constitute an endorsement by ISO of the product named.
viii © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved
---------------------- Page: 8 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
replacing paper-based workflows with electronic exchange of information, the impact and opportunity
for the application of PDF will continue to grow at a rapid pace.
PDF, together with software for creating, viewing, printing and processing PDF files in a variety of
ways, fulfils a set of requirements for electronic documents including:
• preservation of document fidelity independent of the device, platform, and software,
• merging of content from diverse sources — Web sites, word processing and spreadsheet
programs, scanned documents, photos, and graphics — into one self-contained document
while maintaining the integrity of all original source documents,
• an extensible metadata model at the document and object level,
• collaborative editing of documents from multiple locations or platforms,
• digital signatures to certify authenticity,
• security and permissions to allow the creator to retain control of the document and associated
rights,
• accessibility of content to those with disabilities,
• extraction and reuse of content for use with other file formats and applications, and
• electronic forms to gather and/or represent data within business systems.
0.2 ISO 32000 and PDF
PDF was developed and specified by Adobe Systems Incorporated beginning in 1993 and continuing
until 2007 when ISO 32000-1 was first prepared. The Adobe Systems version PDF 1.7 was the basis for
ISO 32000-1. The ISO 32000 series has been created as a multi-part document, of which this is Part 2.
This allows future parts to be created without rendering ISO 32000, or applications based on it,
obsolete. See clause 5, "Version designations" for how the version numbers of PDF (1.0, 1.1, 1.2, […]
2.0) relate to one another.
The primary purpose of this document is to define well-formed PDF documents (conforming PDF files).
In carefully specifying what constitutes a well-defined PDF document, it is natural to describe why a
particular feature is to be included in the PDF file and what effect it is designed to have on PDF
processing software. So, although the primary objective of this document is to describe the content of
conforming PDF files, it also serves secondary purposes of defining exactly how a PDF component is
constructed, suggesting why a producer might choose to use the various PDF constructs, as well as
what behaviour is elicited from software consuming that PDF file. The choice of which specific set of
features a particular PDF processor supports is not specified.
PDF files represent electronic documents. Over time, it was natural to add features that take advantage
of PDF’s nature, and the power of computer viewing devices. The size of the PDF documentation has
more than quadrupled since its first introduction, and the number of features that a PDF processor is
expected to support has grown to be large.
0.3 Changes introduced in ISO 32000-2:2017
Starting with ISO 32000-2:2017 (PDF 2.0) the term "conforming reader" is no longer used. The terms
"interactive PDF processor", "PDF reader" and "PDF writer" are used instead, and have a conditional
© ISO 2020 – All rights reserved ix
---------------------- Page: 9 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
conformance definition. See 6, "Conformance" for further discussion of this change.
This document includes many changes from ISO 32000-1:2008, however only significant new features
are marked as being new in PDF 2.0.
PDF 2.0 includes the following new features:
• 7.6.7, "Unencrypted wrapper document"
• 8.6.5.9, "Use of black point compensation";
• 12.5.6.24, "Projection a
...
FINAL
INTERNATIONAL ISO/FDIS
DRAFT
STANDARD 32000-2
ISO/TC 171/SC 2
Document management — Portable
Secretariat: ANSI
document format —
Voting begins on:
2020-09-21
Part 2:
Voting terminates on:
PDF 2.0
2020-11-16
Gestion de documents — Format de document portable —
Partie 2: PDF 2.0
RECIPIENTS OF THIS DRAFT ARE INVITED TO
SUBMIT, WITH THEIR COMMENTS, NOTIFICATION
OF ANY RELEVANT PATENT RIGHTS OF WHICH
THEY ARE AWARE AND TO PROVIDE SUPPOR TING
DOCUMENTATION.
IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS
Reference number
BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL, TECHNO-
ISO/FDIS 32000-2:2020(E)
LOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND USER PURPOSES,
DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS MAY ON
OCCASION HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE
LIGHT OF THEIR POTENTIAL TO BECOME STAN-
DARDS TO WHICH REFERENCE MAY BE MADE IN
©
NATIONAL REGULATIONS. ISO 2020
---------------------- Page: 1 ----------------------
ISO/FDIS 32000-2:2020(E)
COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO 2020
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting
on the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address
below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8
CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva
Phone: +41 22 749 01 11
Email: copyright@iso.org
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved
---------------------- Page: 2 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
Contents Page
Foreword . vii
Introduction . viii
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 2
3 Terms and definitions . 7
4 Notation . 15
4.1 General. 15
4.2 Established notations . 15
5 Version designations . 17
6 Conformance . 18
6.1 General. 18
6.2 Conforming PDF documents . 18
6.3 PDF processors . 18
7 Syntax . 20
7.1 General. 20
7.2 Lexical conventions . 21
7.3 Objects . 24
7.4 Filters . 34
7.5 File structure . 53
7.6 Encryption . 71
7.7 Document structure . 96
7.8 Content streams and resources . 110
7.9 Common data structures . 114
7.10 Functions . 123
7.11 File specifications . 132
7.12 Extensions dictionary . 141
8 Graphics . 145
8.1 General. 145
8.2 Graphics objects . 145
8.3 Coordinate systems . 149
8.4 Graphics state . 156
8.5 Path construction and painting . 169
8.6 Colour spaces . 177
8.7 Patterns . 219
© ISO 2020 – All rights reserved iii
---------------------- Page: 3 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:20xx(E)
8.8 External objects . 253
8.9 Images . 254
8.10 Form XObjects . 270
8.11 Optional content . 276
9 Text . 293
9.1 General . 293
9.2 Organisation and use of fonts . 293
9.3 Text state parameters and operators . 300
9.4 Text objects . 306
9.5 Introduction to font data structures . 311
9.6 Simple fonts . 313
9.7 Composite fonts . 327
9.8 Font descriptors . 343
9.9 Embedded font programs . 351
9.10 Extraction of text content . 355
10 Rendering . 360
10.1 General . 360
10.2 Raster output device native colour . 361
10.3 CIE-Based colour to device colour . 361
10.4 Conversions among device colour spaces . 361
10.5 Transfer functions . 364
10.6 Halftones . 366
10.7 Scan conversion details . 382
10.8 Rendering for separations . 385
11 Transparency . 387
11.1 General . 387
11.2 Overview of transparency . 387
11.3 Basic compositing computations . 389
11.4 Transparency groups . 402
11.5 Soft masks . 414
11.6 Specifying transparency in PDF . 415
11.7 Colour space and rendering issues . 425
12 Interactive features . 437
12.1 General . 437
12.2 Viewer preferences . 437
12.3 Document-level navigation . 441
12.4 Page-level navigation . 458
12.5 Annotations . 465
iv © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved
---------------------- Page: 4 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
12.6 Actions . 506
12.7 Forms . 528
12.8 Digital signatures . 567
12.9 Measurement properties . 595
12.10 Geospatial features . 601
12.11 Document requirements . 606
13 Multimedia features . 614
13.1 General. 614
13.2 Multimedia. 614
13.3 Sounds . 637
13.4 Movies . 638
13.5 Alternate presentations . 640
13.6 3D Artwork . 642
13.7 Rich media . 700
14 Document interchange . 713
14.1 General. 713
14.2 Procedure sets . 713
14.3 Metadata . 714
14.4 File identifiers. 719
14.5 Page-piece dictionaries . 719
14.6 Marked content . 720
14.7 Logical structure . 722
14.8 Tagged PDF . 745
14.9 Repurposing and accessibility support . 796
14.10 Web capture . 802
14.11 Prepress support . 814
14.12 Document parts . 834
14.13 Associated files . 838
Annex A (informative) Operator Summary . 844
Annex B (informative) Operators in Type 4 Functions . 848
Annex C (informative) Advice on maximising portability . 850
Annex D (normative) Character sets and encodings . 853
Annex E (normative) Extending PDF. 877
Annex F (normative) Linearized PDF . 879
Annex G (informative) Linearized PDF access strategies. 901
Annex H (informative) Example PDF files . 905
Annex I (normative) PDF versions and compatibility . 936
Annex J (informative) XObject comparison . 938
© ISO 2020 – All rights reserved v
---------------------- Page: 5 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:20xx(E)
Annex K (normative) XFA forms . 944
Annex L (normative) Parent-child relationships between the standard structure elements in the
standard structure namespace for PDF 2.0 . 947
Annex M (informative) Differences between the standard structure namespaces . 973
Annex N (informative) Best practice for halftones. 974
Annex O (normative) Fragment identifiers . 977
Annex P (informative) An algorithm to determine the actual blending colour space of a
transparency group. 980
Annex Q (normative) Method for determining transparency on a page . 982
Bibliography. 984
vi © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved
---------------------- Page: 6 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national
standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally
carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a
technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee.
International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in
the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all
matters of electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following
URL: www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 171, Document management
applications, Subcommittee SC 2, Application issues, in collaboration with Technical Committee ISO/TC
130, Graphic technology.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 32000-2:2017), which has been
technically revised.
A list of all the parts of ISO 32000 can be found on the ISO website. Changes from previous parts and
editions are listed in the Introduction (clauses 0.3 and 0.4).
Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body.
A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.
© ISO 2020 – All rights reserved vii
---------------------- Page: 7 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:20xx(E)
Introduction
0.1 PDF
PDF enables users to exchange and view electronic documents easily and reliably, independent of the
environment in which they were created or the environment in which they are viewed or printed.
1
At the core of PDF is an advanced imaging model derived from the PostScript® page description
language. This PDF Imaging Model enables the description of text and graphics in a device-independent
and resolution-independent manner at a complete, precise and professional level. Unlike PostScript,
which is a programming language, PDF is based on a structured binary file format that is optimised for
high performance in interactive viewing.
PDF includes objects such as annotations and hypertext links that are not part of the page content itself
but are useful for interactive viewing and document interchange. PDF also includes data structures
such as tagged PDF, XMP and an associated files mechanism, that are useful for document management
and content reuse.
PDF files can be created natively in PDF form, converted from other electronic formats. Since PDF
supports a wide range of image and compression technologies, it is a suitable format for documents
digitised from paper, microform, or other hard copy formats. Businesses, governments, libraries,
archives and other institutions and individuals around the world use PDF to represent considerable
bodies of important information. Since its introduction in 1993, aided by the explosive growth of the
Internet, PDF has become widely used for the electronic exchange of documents.
There are several specific applications of PDF that have evolved in which limiting the use of some
features of PDF while requiring the use of others, enhances the usefulness of PDF. The following
International Standards address specialised uses of PDF:
• PDF/X (ISO 15930) is the industry standard for the intermediate representation of printed
material in electronic prepress systems for conventional printing applications.
• PDF/A (ISO 19005) is the industry standard for the archiving of digital documents.
• PDF/UA (ISO 14289) is the industry standard for accessible PDF documents and processors.
• PDF/E (ISO 24517) provides a mechanism for representing engineering documents and
exchanging engineering data.
• PDF/VT (ISO 16612-2 and ISO 16612-3) is for high volume printing of personalised
documents including variable data.
• ISO 19593 describes a method for storing data in a PDF file that correspond to the processing
steps of printed products (such as cutting, folding, glueing, Braille, printed white, and printed
varnish).
• ISO 21812 describes how document part metadata in a PDF file can be used to communicate
the intended appearance of print products and their components.
As corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions streamline their operations by
1
PostScript® is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. This information is given for the convenience of users of this document and
does not constitute an endorsement by ISO of the product named.
viii © ISO 2020 – All rights reserved
---------------------- Page: 8 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:2020(E)
replacing paper-based workflows with electronic exchange of information, the impact and opportunity
for the application of PDF will continue to grow at a rapid pace.
PDF, together with software for creating, viewing, printing and processing PDF files in a variety of
ways, fulfils a set of requirements for electronic documents including:
• preservation of document fidelity independent of the device, platform, and software,
• merging of content from diverse sources — Web sites, word processing and spreadsheet
programs, scanned documents, photos, and graphics — into one self-contained document
while maintaining the integrity of all original source documents,
• an extensible metadata model at the document and object level,
• collaborative editing of documents from multiple locations or platforms,
• digital signatures to certify authenticity,
• security and permissions to allow the creator to retain control of the document and associated
rights,
• accessibility of content to those with disabilities,
• extraction and reuse of content for use with other file formats and applications, and
• electronic forms to gather and/or represent data within business systems.
0.2 ISO 32000 and PDF
PDF was developed and specified by Adobe Systems Incorporated beginning in 1993 and continuing
until 2007 when ISO 32000-1 was first prepared. The Adobe Systems version PDF 1.7 was the basis for
ISO 32000-1. The ISO 32000 series has been created as a multi-part document, of which this is Part 2.
This allows future parts to be created without rendering ISO 32000, or applications based on it,
obsolete. See clause 5, "Version designations" for how the version numbers of PDF (1.0, 1.1, 1.2, […]
2.0) relate to one another.
The primary purpose of this document is to define well-formed PDF documents (conforming PDF files).
In carefully specifying what constitutes a well-defined PDF document, it is natural to describe why a
particular feature is to be included in the PDF file and what effect it is designed to have on PDF
processing software. So, although the primary objective of this document is to describe the content of
conforming PDF files, it also serves secondary purposes of defining exactly how a PDF component is
constructed, suggesting why a producer might choose to use the various PDF constructs, as well as
what behaviour is elicited from software consuming that PDF file. The choice of which specific set of
features a particular PDF processor supports is not specified.
PDF files represent electronic documents. Over time, it was natural to add features that take advantage
of PDF’s nature, and the power of computer viewing devices. The size of the PDF documentation has
more than quadrupled since its first introduction, and the number of features that a PDF processor is
expected to support has grown to be large.
0.3 Changes introduced in ISO 32000-2:2017
Starting with ISO 32000-2:2017 (PDF 2.0) the term "conforming reader" is no longer used. The terms
"interactive PDF processor", "PDF reader" and "PDF writer" are used instead, and have a conditional
© ISO 2020 – All rights reserved ix
---------------------- Page: 9 ----------------------
ISO 32000-2:20xx(E)
conformance definition. See 6.1, "Conforming PDF documents" for further discussion of this change.
This document includes many changes from ISO 32000-1:2008, however only significant new features
are marked as being new in PDF 2.0.
PDF 2.0 includes the following new features:
• 7.6.7, "Unencrypted wrapper document"
• 8.6.5.9, "Use of black point compensation";
• 12.5.6.24, "Projection annotations";
• 12.8.3.4, "CAdES sign
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