https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/fdd/fdd000360.shtml Digital Preservation Home | Digital Formats Home Sustainability of Digital Formats: Planning [ Search this site ] for Library of Congress Collections [Go] --------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction | Sustainability Factors | Content Categories | Format Descriptions | Contact Format Description Categories >> Browse Alphabetical List PDF/A-3, PDF for Long-term Preservation, Use of ISO 32000-1, With Embedded Files >> Back Table of Contents * Identification and description * Local use * Sustainability factors * Quality and functionality factors * File type signifiers * Notes * Format specifications * Useful references Format Description Properties Explanation of format description terms * ID: fdd000360 * Short name: PDF/A-3 * Content categories: text * Format Category: file-format, encoding * Other facets: unitary, binary, structured, symbolic * Last significant FDD update: 2020-10-12 * Draft status: Full Identification and description Explanation of format description terms +------------------------------------------------------------+ | Full name | ISO 19005-3. Document management - | | | Electronic document file format for | | | long-term preservation - Part 3: Use of | | | ISO 32000-1 with support for embedded | | | files (PDF/A-3) | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | Description | PDF/A-3 is a constrained form of Adobe | | | PDF version 1.7 (as defined in ISO | | | 32000-1) intended to be suitable for | | | archiving of page-oriented documents | | | for which PDF is already being used in | | | practice. PDF/A-3 adds a single and | | | highly significant feature to its | | | predecessor PDF/A-2 (ISO 19005-2) | | | specification, to permit the embedding | | | within a PDF/A file a file, or files, | | | in any other format, not just other PDF | | | /A files (as permitted in PDF/A-2). | | | | | | See PDF/A_family for more information | | | about the PDF/A family of standards. | | | See PDF/A-2 for information about the | | | version of the PDF/A standard that PDF/ | | | A-3 extends. | | | | | | As in PDF/A-2, the PDF/A-3 standard | | | defines three levels of conformance: | | | conformance level A satisfies all | | | requirements in the specification; | | | level B is a lower level of | | | conformance, satisfying requirements | | | intended to be those minimally | | | necessary to ensure that the rendered | | | visual appearance of a conforming file | | | is preservable over the long term. The | | | specification notes that "Level B | | | conforming files might not have | | | sufficiently rich internal information | | | to allow for the preservation of the | | | document's logical structure and | | | content text stream in natural reading | | | order, which is provided by Level A | | | conformance." An intermediate level of | | | conformance, Level U conformance | | | corresponds to Level B conformance with | | | the additional requirement that all | | | text in the document have Unicode | | | equivalents. | | | | | | PDF/A-3 allows for embedding of files | | | of any type, but imposes requirements | | | beyond those in "regular" PDF 1.7 files | | | as defined by ISO 32000-1. Files that | | | comply with these requirements are | | | termed "associated" files; an explicit | | | association must be made between each | | | embedded files and the containing PDF | | | or object or structure (e.g., image, | | | page, or logical section) within the | | | PDF. See Notes below for more detail on | | | the association mechanism. Predefined | | | values for relationships for associated | | | files (in the required AFRelationship | | | key) are Source, Data, Alternative, | | | Supplement, and Unspecified. MIME types | | | must be provided for associated files. | | | The PDF/A-3 specification requires the | | | use of application/octet-stream if a | | | more specific MIME type is not known. | | | The compilers of this resource have not | | | determined whether more explicit | | | characterization necessary to support | | | long-term preservation (e.g., version) | | | can be indicated. Comments welcome. | | | Human-readable descriptions for the | | | associated files can be provided and | | | are recommended. Conforming readers | | | must provide a mechanism for a user to | | | choose to extract and save (not open) | | | associated files. | | | | | | See Notes below for use cases and | | | examples that illustrate motivation for | | | adding support for embedded files to | | | the PDF/A-3 standard. | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | Production phase | A final-state format for delivery to | | | end users and long-term preservation of | | | the document as disseminated to users. | |------------------------------------------------------------| | Relationship to other formats | |------------------------------------------------------------| | Subtype of | PDF_family, Portable Document Format | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | Subtype of | PDF_1_7, PDF, Version 1.7 (ISO | | | 32000-1:2008) | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | Extension of | PDF/A_family, PDF for Long-term | | | Preservation | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | | PDF/A-2, PDF for Long-term | | Extension of | Preservation, Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF | | | 1.7) | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | Has subtype | PDF/A-3a, PDF/A-3u, PDF/A-3b, not | | | separately described at this website. | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | Has later | PDF/A-4, PDF for Long-term | | version | Preservation, Use of ISO 32000-2 | +------------------------------------------------------------+ Local use Explanation of format description terms +------------------------------------------------------------+ | LC experience or | LC was represented on the working group | | existing | for the original PDF/A standard and | | holdings | continues to participate in the | | | development of new versions. | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | LC preference | One way in which the Library of | | | Congress expresses preferences for | | | formats for content (primarily in | | | physical form) for its collections is | | | through the "Best Edition" | | | specification from the U.S. Copyright | | | Office in Circular 7b. Circular 7b (as | | | revised in September 2017) listed | | | formats acceptable for mandatory | | | deposit of Electronic Serials available | | | only online, in order of preference. | | | For page-oriented renditions, PDF/A | | | appears first on the list. Other forms | | | of PDF are acceptable, preferably with | | | searchable text. The preference for PDF | | | /A was established before PDF/A-3 was | | | published, and the preference should | | | not be interpreted as acceptance for | | | copyright deposit of any files embedded | | | in a PDF/A-3 file. The Library has not | | | expressed a preference regarding PDF/ | | | A-3, pending community-wide experience | | | with this version of the PDF/A format. | | | | | | See PDF/A_family for information about | | | the second way in which the Library of | | | Congress expresses preferences for | | | digital formats, the Recommended | | | Formats Statement. | +------------------------------------------------------------+ Sustainability factors Explanation of format description terms +------------------------------------------------------------+ | Disclosure | Open standard, published by ISO in | | | October 2012. Developed under the | | | auspices of ISO/TC 171 SC2 WG5, | | | Document Imaging Applications, | | | Application Issues, PDF/A, for which | | | AIIM (The Association for Information | | | and Image Management) was acting as | | | secretariat at the time of | | | publication. | |--------------------+---------------------------------------| | Documentation | ISO 19005-3:2012. Document management | | | -- Electronic document file format | | | for long-term preservation -- Part 3: | | | Use of ISO 32000-1 with support for | | | embedded files (PDF/A-3). The | | | standard cannot be used without ISO | | | 32000-1. Document management -- | | | Portable document format -- Part 1: | | | PDF 1.7, which it uses as a normative | | | reference. | |--------------------+---------------------------------------| | Adoption | See Notes below for use cases | | | presented by proponents of the | | | extension to allow embedding of files | | | in other formats in a PDF/A document. | | | One important motivation was to | | | support the German ZUGFeRD standard | | | for electronic invoices, in which a | | | visible, printable PDF document has a | | | machine-processable version of the | | | invoice based on an XML schema | | | embedded in the PDF file. In March | | | 2020, identical versions of ZUGFeRD | | | (v 2.1) and the French equivalent | | | Factur-X (v 1.0) were published. See | | | Factur-X V1.0 - ZUGFeRD 2.1 common | | | publication (EN). These agencies are | | | now developing a similar standard | | | (Order-X), also based on a PDF | | | document with embedded structured | | | data in XML. See Order-X - A common | | | standard for electronic orders in | | | Germany and France. Because this is | | | an important application, it is | | | widely supported, often in | | | specialized applications. For | | | example, see TX Text Control. An | | | open-source project is available at | | | https://www.mustangproject.org/. | | | | | | Another application of PDF/A-3 is as | | | one of the component formats in the | | | new publishing framework, known as | | | "V3", for RFCs from the IETF | | | (Internet Engineering Task Force). V3 | | | uses an XML document as the master | | | format from which plain text, HTML, | | | and PDF versions are derived. The PDF | | | is a PDF/A-3u document with the XML | | | master embedded. The first RFC | | | published in the new format was RFC | | | 8650, published in November 2019. For | | | more background on this choice, see | | | RFC 7995: PDF Format for RFCs | | | (December 2016) and additional Useful | | | References below. | | | | | | Another important use case for PDF/A | | | with embedded files, is in | | | manufacturing. See PDF in | | | Manufacturing: The future of 3D | | | documentation, developed and | | | published jointly by the 3D PDF | | | Consortium and the PDF Association in | | | May 2020. A PDF/A-3 file can present | | | an interactive 3D model in the | | | document and related files can be | | | embedded, creating what is sometimes | | | called a "technical data package" or | | | TDP. Changes introduced with PDF/ | | | A-4e, a PDF/A-4 profile intended as a | | | successor to the PDF/E-1 standard, | | | are likely to increase adoption of | | | PDF/A in this domain. | | | | | | The embedding of arbitrary files in a | | | PDF poses challenges for archival | | | institutions both for ingestion | | | workflows and for long-term | | | preservation management and access. | | | The British Library's PDF Format | | | Preservation Assessment Part 2: PDF/A | | | Profile recommends that "Receipt or | | | deposit of PDF/A is recommended to | | | prefer the PDF/A-1 profile rather | | | than PDF/A-2 and 3 to reduce the risk | | | concerning attached files." Several | | | lists of preferred formats from | | | archival institutions list PDF/A-1 | | | and PDF/A-2 as preferred formats for | | | textual content but explicitly do not | | | list PDF/A-3. These include the U.S. | | | National Archives and Records | | | Administration (NARA); Library and | | | Archives Canada; and the Canadian | | | Government's National Heritage | | | Digitization Strategy -- Digital | | | Preservation File Format | | | Recommendations. The fact that the | | | specification for PDF/A-3 provides no | | | straightforward mechanism for quickly | | | identifying that a compliant document | | | has one or more embedded files is | | | also problematic. The Benefits and | | | Risks of the PDF/A-3 File Format for | | | Archival Institutions, a 2014 report | | | from the National Digital Stewardship | | | Alliance, strongly recommended that | | | tools that create PDF/A-compliant | | | documents use PDF/A-2 rather than PDF | | | /A-3 for documents with no embedded | | | files or with only PDF/A files | | | embedded. The PDF/A-3 Overview from | | | PDF Tools AG also argues that PDF/A-3 | | | should only be used if non PDF/A | | | documents are embedded. See Useful | | | References below for some links to | | | blog posts that generated extensive | | | and illuminating comments, including | | | All In! Embedded Files in PDF/A, a | | | 2012 post in The Signal, a blog from | | | the Library of Congress. | | | | | | Most mainstream commercial PDF | | | creation, editing, and conversion | | | applications and libraries support | | | PDF/A-3, for example: pdflib; | | | products from Callas software, | | | particularly pdfaPilot; 3-Heights PDF | | | to PDF/A Converter from PDF-Tools; | | | PhantomPDF and a PDF SDK, which has a | | | PDF/A Compliance add-on, from Foxit | | | Software; iText 7 Core; and DocBridge | | | Conversion Hub from Compart. Products | | | that focus on archiving documents in | | | a corporate or government setting | | | using PDF/A-3 include: PDFreactor. | | | Some products that focus on OCR or | | | scanning to PDF claim to provide | | | support for PDF/A-3b or PDF/A-3u, | | | including: ABBYY FineReader Engine; | | | iText pdfOCR; and PDF Creator from | | | pdfforge. | | | | | | See PDF/A_family for a discussion of | | | adoption of PDF/A in general, bearing | | | in mind that much written about PDF/A | | | considers primarily PDF/A-1 and PDF/ | | | A-2. Comments welcome. | |--------------------+---------------------------------------| | Licensing and | No concerns for PDF/A_family per se. | | patents | Licensing or patent concerns may | | | arise for embedded files. | |--------------------+---------------------------------------| | Transparency | See PDF/A_family in relation to PDF/ | | | A-1 and PDF/A-2. For PDF/A-3, | | | transparency and characterization of | | | embedded files are primary concerns | | | for long-term preservation. | |--------------------+---------------------------------------| | Self-documentation | See PDF/A_family. | |--------------------+---------------------------------------| | External | See PDF/A_family. | | dependencies | | |--------------------+---------------------------------------| | Technical | See PDF/A_family. | | protection | | | considerations | | +------------------------------------------------------------+ Quality and functionality factors Explanation of format description terms +------------------------------------------------------------+ | Text | |------------------------------------------------------------| | Normal rendering | See PDF/A_family. | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | Integrity of | See PDF/A_family. | | document | | | structure | | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | Integrity of | See PDF/A_family. | | layout and | | | display | | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | Support for | In PDF/A-3u as an archival format for | | mathematics, | Accessible mathematics, Ross Moore | | formulae, etc. | discusses ways to embed mathematics as | | | MathML or LaTeX source in a PDF/A-3u | | | document. See also PDF/A_family. | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | Functionality | See PDF/A_family. | | beyond normal | | | rendering | | +------------------------------------------------------------+ File type signifiers and format identifiers Explanation of format description terms +-------------------------------------------------------------+ | Tag | Value | Note | |-----------+-----------+-------------------------------------| | Filename | pdf | The standard does not indicate that | | extension | | a different extension should be | | | | used to distinguish PDF from PDF/A. | |-----------+-----------+-------------------------------------| | Internet | See | See PDF/A_family. | | Media | related | | | Type | format. | | |-----------+-----------+-------------------------------------| | Magic | See | See PDF/A_family. | | numbers | related | | | | format. | | |-----------+-----------+-------------------------------------| | Indicator | See | The standard specifies that the PDF | | for | note. | /A version and conformance level of | | profile, | | a file shall be specified using the | | level, | | PDF/A Identification extension | | version, | | schema defined in the standard. | | etc. | | This schema has two mandatory | | | | elements: pdfaid:part (integer) and | | | | pdfaid:conformance (closed list of | | | | text values). A PDF/A-3 file should | | | | have the integer value 3 for | | | | pdfaid:part. | |-----------+-----------+-------------------------------------| | Pronom | fmt/479 | There is no PRONOM entry | | PUID | fmt/481 | specifically for PDF/A-3. See | | | fmt/480 | https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk | | | | /PRONOM/fmt/479 for profile PDF/ | | | | A-3a. See https:// | | | | www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/PRONOM/ | | | | fmt/481 for profile PDF/A-3u. See | | | | https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk | | | | /PRONOM/fmt/480 for profile PDF/ | | | | A-3b. | |-----------+-----------+-------------------------------------| | Wikidata | Q26547917 | There is no Wikidata Title ID | | Title ID | Q26549229 | specifically for PDF/A-3. See | | | Q26548590 | https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/ | | | | Q26547917 for profile PDF/A-3a. See | | | | https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/ | | | | Q26549229 for profile PDF/A-3u. See | | | | https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/ | | | | Q26548590 for profile PDF/A-3b. | +-------------------------------------------------------------+ Notes Explanation of format description terms +------------------------------------------------------------+ | General | Requirements associated with embedded | | | files: Annex E of ISO 19005-3:2012 | | | specifies that each embedded file in a | | | PDF/A-3 file must be identified in a | | | file specification dictionary (as | | | described in section 7.11.3 of ISO | | | 32000-1). The inclusion (in a Desc key) | | | of a human-readable description of the | | | file is recommended. The associated | | | embedded bitstream dictionary | | | (essentially a header for the embedded | | | bitstream itself) must include a MIME | | | type (in a Subtype key), using | | | application/octet-bitstream if a more | | | precise MIME type is not known. The | | | embedded bitstream dictionary must also | | | include a Params key that contains at | | | least a ModDate key to indicate the | | | latest modification date of the file | | | embedded. The specification for the | | | Params key (in section 7.11.4.1 of ISO | | | 32000-1) does not seem to allow for | | | embedding file characteristic details | | | more specific than a MIME type. | | | Comments welcome. | | | | | | Relationships for associated files must | | | be expressed in a new key introduced | | | for PDF/A-3 (and expected to be in the | | | forthcoming ISO 32000-2 standard for | | | regular PDF). This AFRelationship key | | | is located in the file specification | | | dictionary. It indicates a relationship | | | type of Source, Data, Alternative, | | | Supplement, and Unspecified. | | | Relationship links are established from | | | the document or parts of the document | | | by use of the AF key, which contains an | | | array of file specification | | | dictionaries (as described above). | | | Files associated with the entire | | | document are represented by an AF key | | | in the Catalog for the PDF file. Files | | | associated with a page are represented | | | by an AF key in the relevant Page | | | dictionary. Files associated with an | | | Image XObject or A Form XObject are | | | represented by an AF key in the | | | attributes dictionary for the object. | | | Similarly, a file associated with a | | | logical structure (such as an article | | | or a table) or an annotation is | | | represented by an AF key in the | | | structure dictionary or annotation | | | dictionary. A mechanism also exists to | | | relate an associated file to a marked | | | section of content; however, use of | | | relationships to structures is | | | preferred. | | | | | | Motivation for extension of PDF/A to | | | allow arbitrary embedded files: The | | | specification does not present the | | | motivation for extending the PDF/A-2 | | | format to support the embedding of | | | files of any type. A single | | | illustrative example appears in Annex | | | E. This example is a PDF text document | | | that displays a mathematical equation | | | and includes a chart based on a | | | spreadsheet. Associated files that | | | might be embedded in the PDF/A-3 | | | include a word-processing file (with | | | relationship Source to the whole | | | document), a MathML expression of the | | | equation (with relationship Supplement | | | to the structure or Form Xobject that | | | displays the equation), and a | | | spreadsheet file and CSV file (both | | | associated with the same chart with | | | relationship Data). A richer expression | | | of use cases is made in a recording of | | | a webinar, from vendor Luratech, | | | entitled PDF/A-3, All change for | | | document based processes! The webinar | | | makes statements about the intent of | | | the standard that are not found in the | | | standard itself. Most significantly, | | | the presenter indicates that in a PDF/ | | | A-3 file, the embedded files should be | | | considered "non-archival." In other | | | words, the source or supplementary | | | material is considered as only of | | | short-term or temporary use. What | | | should be considered as "archived" for | | | the long term is only the primary PDF | | | content with its visible page display. | | | Secondly, uses cases chosen for what | | | was primarily a marketing presentation | | | with existing customers in mind | | | indicate workflows and use contexts | | | during the primary lifecycle of a | | | document that could have benefits for | | | entities responsible for longer-term | | | archiving. These use cases included: | | | | | | * Hybrid archiving. If every revision | | | of a document is accompanied by | | | storing a PDF/A-3 file with the | | | source word-processing file | | | embedded, the document is | | | archive-ready whenever editing | | | stops; | | | * Embedding richer metadata in | | | "native" discipline-specific or | | | application-specific format: | | | Although PDF/A already requires and | | | supports XMP, many metadata schemes | | | have rich XML representations that | | | are not easily converted to RDF, on | | | which XMP is based. However, rich | | | metadata in a well-known | | | application-specific format could | | | be embedded and associated with the | | | document as a whole -- in addition | | | to XMP metadata using built-in | | | schema. | | | * German ZUGFeRD standard under | | | development at the time of the | | | webinar for electronic invoice | | | exchange format based on PDF/A-3. | | | The invoice data can be represented | | | in machine-readable form as an XML | | | file embedded in a human-readable | | | PDF/A-3. | | | | | | What is PDF/A-3 good for?, an April | | | 2018 presentation by Dietrich von | | | Seggern, also described use cases for | | | PDF/A-3. He mentioned the plan by the | | | Ministry of Transport of Quebec to | | | archive engineering documents as PDF/ | | | A-3 with embedded CAD files and | | | presented the use case of what he terms | | | a "digital dossier," using PDF/A-3 as a | | | container for project documentation. | | | See also his System-independent | | | archiving of project files with PDF/A-3 | | | , also from 2018. | | | | | | See also PDF/A_family. | |------------------+-----------------------------------------| | History | PDF/A-3 is equivalent to PDF/A-2 except | | | for allowing files in any format to be | | | embedded. The primary difference | | | between PDF/A-1 and PDF/A-2 was the use | | | of a later underlying version of PDF. | | | Added capabilities, all in compliance | | | with ISO 32000-1, included: | | | | | | * Improvements to tagged PDF (for | | | enhanced accessibility) | | | * Compressed Object and XRef streams | | | (for smaller file sizes) | | | * Support for embedding of PDF/ | | | A-compliant file attachments, | | | portable collections and PDF | | | packages | | | * Support for transparency in images | | | * Support for JPEG 2000 compression | | | for images | | | | | | PDF/A-4, a version of PDF/A based on | | | PDF 2.0 (ISO 32000-2) was published as | | | ISO 19005-4:2020 in November 2020. In | | | early presentations it was referred to | | | as PDF/A-NEXT. | | | | | | See also PDF/A_family. | +------------------------------------------------------------+ Format specifications Explanation of format description terms * ISO 19005-3:2012. Document management -- Electronic document file format for long-term preservation -- Part 2: Use of ISO 32000-1 with support for embedded files (PDF/A-3) (https://www.iso.org/ standard/57229.html). Catalog record, preview, and opportunity to purchase * ISO 32000-1. Document management -- Portable document format -- Part 1: PDF 1.7 (https://www.iso.org/standard/ 51502.html). Catalog record, preview, and opportunity to purchase. Useful references URLs * Wikipedia entry for PDF/A (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF/A). * Webinar from Luratech: PDF/A-3, All change for document based processes! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-tJRSsZHyc). Webinar offered soon after publication of PDF/A-3 specification as ISO 19005-3:2012 * Digital preservation staff at the Library of Congress have seen the differences between PDF/A-3 and the other PDF/A versions as significant enough to raise the question of the suitability of PDF/A-3 as an archival format in its blog, The Signal, dedicated to digital preservation topics and issues. + All In! Embedded Files in PDF/A (https://blogs.loc.gov/ digitalpreservation/2012/11/all-in-embedded-files-in-pdfa /). Posted soon after publication of the standard. + New NDSA Report: The Benefits and Risks of the PDF/A-3 File Format for Archival Institutions (https://blogs.loc.gov/ digitalpreservation/2014/02/ new-ndsa-report-the-benefits-and-risks-of-the-pdfa-3-file-format-for-archival-institutions /). Posted to announce publication of the report, in Februrary 2014. * Resources related to challenges for archival institutions posed by the arbitrary embedded files permitted in PDF/A-3 and misgivings about the format's suitability for long-term preservation and access. + PDFA Embedded (2009) (https://web.archive.org/web/ 20090813091851/http://pdf.editme.com:80/ PDFAEmbedded). Discussion among PDF/A WG members on pros and cons of allowing embedded files + PDF/A-3: Do its Benefits for 'Compound' Records Outweigh its Drawbacks? (2013) | presentation at Digital Preservation Coalition meeting (https://www.dpconline.org/component/docman /doc_download/829-pdfa3dpcfresko). By Marc Fresko. Suggests valuable use cases, but recognizes drawbacks without additional constraints or guidelines. + The Benefits and Risks of the PDF/A-3 File Format for Archival Institutions (https://www.digitalpreservation.gov/ ndsa/working_groups/documents/ NDSA_PDF_A3_report_final022014.pdf). Published in February 2014 by the National Digital Stewardship Alliance. + What do we mean by "embedded" files in PDF? (2013) | blog post from the Open Preservation Foundation (https:// openpreservation.org/blogs/what-do-we-mean-embedded-files-pdf /comment-page-1/#comments). The comments are illuminating. + Preserving PDF files with multimedia content (2015) | thread from Digital Preservation Q&A (https://qanda.digipres.org/918 /preserving-pdf-files-with-multimedia-content). + Preservation with PDF/A | DPC Technology Watch Report 17-01 July 2017 (https://www.dpconline.org/docs/ technology-watch-reports/1707-twr17-01-revised/file). By Betsy Fanning + PDF Format Preservation Assessment Part 2: PDF/A Profile (2019) | British Library (https://wiki.dpconline.org/images/2 /22/PDFA_Assessment_v1.0.pdf). * PDF/A-3 Overview | from PDF-tools.com (https://www.pdf-tools.com/ pdf20/en/resources/pdf-iso-standards/pdfa-3-overview /). Recommends that PDF/A-3 only be used when non-PDF/A files are actually embedded. * PDF/A-3 vs. PDF (2014) (https://www.pdfa.org/pdfa-3-vs-pdf /). Brief post about what PDF/A-3 offers. Cites some use cases, including archiving of email.. * What is PDF/A-3 good for? | video of presentation by Dietrich von Seggern (April 2018) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= rue1MPhSLlg). * The German ZUGFeRD Format for Electronic Invoices | from pdflib (https://www.pdflib.com/pdf-knowledge-base/pdfa/zugferd-invoices /). * Ministry of Transportation in Quebec Goes Digital for Their Engineering Drawings and Plans (May 2018) (http://notarius.com/ wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Case-study-MTQ.pdf). Mentions adoption after a pilot, of archiving engineering drawings and plans as PDF /A-3 with AutoCAD or BIM Files embedded. * Resources related to the new V3 publishing framework for RFCs published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which includes generating a PDF/A-3u instance that has the XML master source embedded. Cutover to use of V3 for new RFCs was in late 2019. + IETF RFC 7995: PDF Format for RFCs (Dec 2016) (https:// www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7995). Discusses options and requirements for the PDF rendering of RFCs in the RFC Series + New RFC Format: What to expect | Infographic (2016) (https:// www.rfc-editor.org/wp-content/uploads/ format_infographic.pdf). Describes new process and tools for authors. + RFC Format Change FAQ (https://www.rfc-editor.org/rse/ format-faq/). Describes new framework and transition plan. + IETF RFC 7990: RFC Format Framework (Dec 2016) (https:// www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7990). + Publish smarter - the Internet Standards Series (September 2020) | article from pdfa.org (https://www.pdfa.org/ publish-smarter-the-internet-standards-series/). * The UK National Archives has records in PRONOM for the three profiles of PDF/A-3. + PRONOM entry for fmt/479 - Acrobat PDF/A - Portable Document Format 3a (https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/PRONOM/fmt/ 479). Information in PRONOM from UK National Archives about PDF/A-3a. PUID: fmt/479 + PRONOM entry for fmt/481 - Acrobat PDF/A - Portable Document Format 3u (https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/PRONOM/fmt/ 481). Information in PRONOM from UK National Archives about PDF/A-3u. PUID: fmt/481 + PRONOM entry for fmt/480 - Acrobat PDF/A - Portable Document Format 3b (https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/PRONOM/fmt/ 480). Information in PRONOM from UK National Archives about PDF/A-3b. PUID: fmt/480 * Wikidata has entries for the three profiles of PDF/A-3 + Wikidata entry for Q26547917 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/ Q26547917). Information in Wikidata about PDF/A-3a. Wikidata Title ID: Q26547917 + Wikidata entry for Q26549229 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/ Q26549229). Information in Wikidata about PDF/A-3u. Wikidata Title ID: Q26549229 + Wikidata entry for Q26548590 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/ Q26548590). Information in Wikidata about PDF/A-3b. Wikidata Title ID: Q26548590 * See also PDF/A_family. Last Updated: 12/30/2020 Digital Preservation Home | Digital Formats Home