PDF Reference

sixth edition

Adobe® Portable Document Format

Version 1.7

Adobe Systems Incorporated

© 1985–2006 Adobe® Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved.
PDF Reference, sixth edition: Adobe Portable Document Format version 1.7.
Edition 1.0, October 2006
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 Contents

Preface 23

Chapter 1: Introduction 25
1.1 About This Book 25
1.2 Introduction to PDF 1.7 Features 28
1.3 Related Publications 31
1.4 Intellectual Property 32

Chapter 2: Overview 33
2.1 Imaging Model 34
2.2 Other General Properties 38
2.3 Creating PDF 43
2.4 PDF and the PostScript Language 45

Chapter 3: Syntax 47
3.1 Lexical Conventions 48
3.2 Objects 51
3.3 Filters 65
3.4 File Structure 90
3.5 Encryption 115
3.6 Document Structure 137
3.7 Content Streams and Resources 151
3.8 Common Data Structures 155
3.9 Functions 166
3.10 File Specifications 178

Chapter 4: Graphics 193

4.1 Graphics Objects 194
4.2 Coordinate Systems 199
4.3 Graphics State 210
4.4 Path Construction and Painting 224
4.5 Color Spaces 235
4.6 Patterns 289
4.7 External Objects 332
4.8 Images 334
4.9 Form XObjects 355
4.10 Optional Content 364

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Contents

Chapter 5: Text 387

5.1 Organization and Use of Fonts 388
5.2 Text State Parameters and Operators 396
5.3 Text Objects 404
5.4 Introduction to Font Data Structures 410
5.5 Simple Fonts 412
5.6 Composite Fonts 433
5.7 Font Descriptors 455
5.8 Embedded Font Programs 465
5.9 Extraction of Text Content 469

Chapter 6: Rendering 477

6.1 CIE-Based Color to Device Color 478
6.2 Conversions among Device Color Spaces 480
6.3 Transfer Functions 484
6.4 Halftones 486
6.5 Scan Conversion Details 508

Chapter 7: Transparency 513

7.1 Overview of Transparency 514
7.2 Basic Compositing Computations 516
7.3 Transparency Groups 530
7.4 Soft Masks 545
7.5 Specifying Transparency in PDF 547
7.6 Color Space and Rendering Issues 561

Chapter 8: Interactive Features 577

8.1 Viewer Preferences 577
8.2 Document-Level Navigation 581
8.3 Page-Level Navigation 594
8.4 Annotations 604
8.5 Actions 647
8.6 Interactive Forms 671
8.7 Digital Signatures 725
8.8 Measurement Properties 744
8.9 Document Requirements 751

Chapter 9: Multimedia Features 755

9.1 Multimedia 755
9.2 Sounds 782
9.3 Movies 784
9.4 Alternate Presentations 786
9.5 3D Artwork 789
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Contents

Chapter 10: Document Interchange 841

10.1 Procedure Sets 842
10.2 Metadata 843
10.3 File Identifiers 847
10.4 Page-Piece Dictionaries 848
10.5 Marked Content 850
10.6 Logical Structure 855
10.7 Tagged PDF 883
10.8 Accessibility Support 935
10.9 Web Capture 946
10.10 Prepress Support 962

Appendix A: Operator Summary 985

Appendix B: Operators in Type 4 Functions 989

B.1 Arithmetic Operators 989
B.2 Relational, Boolean, and Bitwise Operators 990
B.3 Conditional Operators 990
B.4 Stack Operators 990

Appendix C: Implementation Limits 991

Appendix D: Character Sets and Encodings 995

D.1 Latin Character Set and Encodings 997
D.2 PDFDocEncoding Character Set 1001
D.3 Expert Set and MacExpertEncoding 1010
D.4 Symbol Set and Encoding 1013
D.5 ZapfDingbats Set and Encoding 1016

Appendix E: PDF Name Registry 1019

Appendix F: Linearized PDF 1021

F.1 Background and Assumptions 1022
F.2 Linearized PDF Document Structure 1024
F.3 Hint Tables 1039
F.4 Access Strategies 1051

Appendix G: Example PDF Files 1057

G.1 Minimal PDF File 1057
G.2 Simple Text String Example 1060
G.3 Simple Graphics Example 1062
G.4 Page Tree Example 1065
G.5 Outline Hierarchy Example 1070
G.6 Updating Example 1074
G.7 Structured Elements That Describe Hierarchical Lists 1082
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Contents

Appendix H: Compatibility and Implementation Notes 1095

H.1 PDF Version Numbers 1095
H.2 Feature Compatibility 1098
H.3 Implementation Notes 1099

Appendix I: Computation of Object Digests 1131

I.1 Basic Object Types 1131
I.2 Selective Computation 1133

Color Plates 1139

Bibliography 1151

Index 1159