Operation validate-pdfa
The validate-pdfa operation allows for the validation of a PDF file's compliance with the PDF/A standard.
This operation checks the input file against the specified PDF/A profile for ensuring that a PDF file meets the requirements for long-term preservation and will be consistently rendered over time, even if the software and hardware used to view the file change.
Available Options
| Option Name | Type | Possible Values | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| validation_profile | string | pdfa1a, pdfa1b, pdfa2a, pdfa2b, pdfa2u, pdfa3a, pdfa3b, pdfa3u | The input file is checked for PDF/A compliance to this profile |
| allow_multiple_outputs | boolean | true, false | If the comparison produces more than one output file, by default all of them are compressed in just one file. Set this option to true if you want a download link for each file. |
Options Details
| Profile | Description |
|---|---|
| pdfa1a | This profile requires that all fonts be embedded and that the document's visual appearance be fully self-contained |
| pdfa1b | This profile is similar to pdfa1a, but allows for certain color spaces to be not embedded |
| pdfa2a | This profile is similar to pdfa1a, but allows for the use of transparent objects and requires that the document be tagged with logical structure information |
| pdfa2b | This profile is similar to pdfa2a, but allows for certain color spaces to be not embedded |
| pdfa2u | This profile is similar to pdfa2a, but allows for Unicode encoding of text strings |
| pdfa3a | This profile is similar to pdfa2a, but allows for the use of JPEG 2000 image compression |
| pdfa3b | This profile is similar to pdfa3a, but allows for certain color spaces to be not embedded |
| pdfa3u | This profile is similar to pdfa3a, but allows for Unicode encoding of text strings |
Example
{
"conversion": [{
"category": "operation",
"target": "validate-pdfa",
"options": {
"validation_profile": "pdfa1b"
}
}]
}
Output Details
The output of this operation includes details on the sections of the PDF that do not conform to the specified profile as in the following example:
{
"profile": {
"name": "PDF/A-2B validation profile",
"description": "Validation rules against ISO 19005-2:2011, Level B"
},
"errors": [
{
"error": null,
"rule": "The Catalog dictionary of a conforming file shall contain the Metadata key whose value is a metadata stream as defined in ISO 32000-1:2008, 14.3.2.",
"location": "root/document[0]"
},
{
"error": null,
"rule": "DeviceRGB shall only be used if a device independent DefaultRGB colour space has been set when the DeviceRGB colour space is used.",
"location": "root/document[0]/pages[0](1 0 obj PDPage)/contentStream[0](2 0 obj PDContentStream)/operators[6]/colorSpace[0]"
}
]
}