Switchboard: PDF/A & PDF/UA

The Actions in the PDF/A & PDF/UA group are used to convert and optimize the PDF/A (long-term archiving) and PDF/UA (universally accessible PDF) standards.

The “PDF/A” Action

The PDF/A Action lets you convert PDF files to PDF/A in line with your desired compliance level.

In pdfaPilot standalone, open the switchboard via Tools > Switchboard in the menu or use the keyboard shortcut Cmd+2.

If you are using pdfaPilot as an Acrobat plug-in, you can open the switchboard via Plug-Ins > pdfaPilot <version number> Switchboard.

  1. Under Level, you can specify the compliance level of the PDF/A file to be created. The effects of each setting are shown in brackets after the name.
  2. The If regular conversion fails section offers a number of alternatives for processing (Re-convert via PostScript; Convert pages with problems into images; Convert all pages into images.)
    • If pages are to be converted into images, the desired Image resolution can also be set in ppi.
    • When converting pages into images, the program automatically generates an invisible text copy (where possible) to ensure that the PDF remains searchable.
  3. Click Execute to convert the current PDF document using the specified settings.
  4. Click Batch to process batches of PDF files within a single folder using the specified settings.

The “Office to PDF/A” Action

pdfaPilot also allows you to convert Office documents to PDF/A.

  1. Under Office document, select the desired file by clicking Browse and using Finder or Explorer to locate the file.
  2. Under Level, you can specify the compliance level of the PDF/A file to be created. The effects of each setting are shown in brackets after the name.
  3. The Embed source file option is available when converting to PDF/A-3. This means that the original Office document will be embedded into the PDF/A-3 file.
  4. Click Execute to convert the current PDF document using the specified settings. A Save dialog will ask you to enter the name and storage location for the new file.
  5. Click Batch to process batches of Office files within a single selectable folder using the specified settings.