PDF Reference: Version 1.4 (3rd Edition)

Book Description:

Adobe Acrobat PDF is the #1 solution for cross-platform exchange of formatted files -- and with Acrobat 5.0/PDF 1.4, PDF becomes even more powerful. Reflecting Adobe’s latest enhancements, The PDF Reference, Third Edition is the definitive technical guide to PDF 1.4. Adobe engineers introduce every key aspect of the PDF format, including the relationship of PDF to PostScript; the Adobe imaging model; file compression; font handling; and PDF architecture. The book covers all four components of a PDF file: objects, file structure, document structure, and page description, and contains practical recommendations for optimizing PDF files. It also introduces Tagged PDF, which allows reliable recovery of text, graphics, and images in PDF documents, supports reliable search and indexing, and enables conversion to RTF, HTML, or even speech. Other key topics include: advanced JBIG2 image compression support; improvements to bookmarking and annotations; new trigger events; forms enhancements; new metadata architecture; and Referenced PDF, which allows PDF documents to reference each others’ content. This book is essential for any developer writing programs that read or generate PDF files, and for any support professional or advanced user working with PDF in business, prepress, graphic design, workflow, or other environments. The CD contains the entire text of the book in PDF.

Reviews

PDF Reference Version 1.4 is a thorough, updated reference for software developers looking to incorporate PDF capabilities into their applications. These could be PDF producer apps (those that "save to" PDF directly) or PDF consumer apps (those that read PDFs and allow users to modify their contents). The book includes all the material covered in the previous edition on version 1.3, as well as items new to 1.4. Those new features include a filter for decoding JBIG2-encoded data, enhancements to encryption and interactive forms, ability to import content from one PDF to another, additional viewer preferences and trigger events, and accessibility support for disabled users.

The book includes a general description of PDF architecture and a comparison to the PostScript language, and explanations of the following: PDF syntax at the object, file, and document level; graphics operators; facilities for presenting text in the form of character shapes or "glyphs" defined by the font; how device-independent descriptions render the page to match the output device; version 1.4’s transparent imaging model (which allows objects to be painted with varying degrees of opacity); interactive features; and how PDFs can incorporate higher-level information useful for the interchange of documents among apps. A PDF version of the entire book is included on the companion CD. Also, the index is lengthy and detailed--a definite plus for any reference.

The book is surprisingly readable despite its highly technical content. However, it’s unlikely that general graphics professionals who only create and print PDFs will need this reference. It tells how PDFs work (right down to the syntax, operators, and PostScript), not how to work with PDFs. On the other hand, developers who are creating applications that will read and/or generate PDFs will find this an essential addition to their bookshelves. --Angelynn Grant

Contents

Preface xix

Chapter 1: Introduction 1

1.1 About This Book 1

1.2 Introduction to PDF 1.4 Features 4

1.3 Related Publications 5

1.4 Intellectual Property 6

Chapter 2: Overview 9

2.1 Imaging Model 10

2.2 Other General Properties 14

2.3 Using PDF 19

2.4 PDF and the PostScript Language 21

Chapter 3: Syntax 23

3.1 Lexical Conventions 24

3.2 Objects 27

3.3 Filters 41

3.4 File Structure 61

3.5 Encryption 71

3.6 Document Structure 81

3.7 Content Streams and Resources 92

3.8 Common Data Structures 98

3.9 Functions 106

3.10 File Specifications 118

Chapter 4: Graphics 131

4.1 Graphics Objects 132

4.2 Coordinate Systems 136

4.3 Graphics State 147

4.4 Path Construction and Painting 161

4.5 Color Spaces 172

4.6 Patterns 219

4.7 External Objects 261

4.8 Images 262

4.9 Form XObjects 281

4.10 PostScript XObjects 289