Editing PDF (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of PDF}}

The development of PDF began in 1991 when [[John Warnock]] wrote a paper for a project then code-named Camelot, in which he proposed the creation of a simplified version of PostScript called Interchange PostScript (IPS).<ref name="Pfiffner_Page_137">{{cite book |last1=Pfiffner |first1=Pamela |title=Inside the Publishing Revolution: The Adobe Story |date=2003 |publisher=Peachpit Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=0-321-11564-3 |page=137}}</ref> Unlike traditional PostScript, which was tightly focused on rendering [[print job]]s to output devices, IPS would be optimized for displaying pages to any screen and any platform.<ref name="Pfiffner_Page_137" />

[[Adobe Systems]] made the PDF specification available free of charge in 1993. In the early years PDF was popular mainly in [[desktop publishing]] workflows, and competed with several other formats, including [[DjVu]], [[Envoy (WordPerfect)|Envoy]], Common Ground Digital Paper, Farallon Replica and even Adobe's own PostScript format.

PDF was a [[proprietary format]] controlled by Adobe until it was released as an [[open standard]] on July 1, 2008, and published by the [[International Organization for Standardization]] as ISO 32000-1:2008,<ref name="iso-standard">{{cite web |url=http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=51502 |title=ISO 32000-1:2008 – Document management – Portable document format – Part 1: PDF 1.7 |publisher=ISO |date=July 1, 2008 |access-date=February 21, 2010 |archive-date=December 6, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206175751/http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=51502 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Orion |first=Egan |title = PDF 1.7 is approved as ISO 32000 | work =[[The Inquirer]] |date=December 5, 2007 
|url = http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/12/05/pdf-approved-iso-32000 |access-date=December 5, 2007 |url-status=dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071213004627/http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/12/05/pdf-approved-iso-32000 |archive-date=December 13, 2007}}</ref> at which time control of the specification passed to an ISO Committee of volunteer industry experts. In 2008, Adobe published a Public Patent License to ISO 32000-1 granting [[royalty-free]] rights for all patents owned by Adobe necessary to make, use, sell, and distribute PDF-compliant implementations.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.adobe.com/pdf/pdfs/ISO32000-1PublicPatentLicense.pdf|title= Public Patent License, ISO 32000-1: 2008 – PDF 1.7|publisher =Adobe Systems Inc.|year=2008|access-date=January 12, 2023|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618144613/http://www.adobe.com/pdf/pdfs/ISO32000-1PublicPatentLicense.pdf|archive-date=June 18, 2009}}</ref>

PDF 1.7, the sixth edition of the PDF specification that became ISO 32000-1, includes some proprietary technologies defined only by Adobe, such as [[Adobe XML Forms Architecture]] (XFA) and [[JavaScript]] extension for Acrobat, which are referenced by ISO 32000-1 as [[normative]] and indispensable for the full implementation of the ISO 32000-1 specification.<ref>{{cite web|date= June 25, 2013|title= Guide for the procurement of standards-based ICT – Elements of Good Practice, Against lock-in: building open ICT systems by making better use of standards in public procurement|url= https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SWD:2013:0224:FIN:EN:PDF|access-date= January 12, 2023|publisher= European Commission|quote= Example: ISO/IEC 29500, ISO/IEC 26300 and ISO 32000 for document formats reference information that is not accessible by all parties (references to proprietary technology and brand names, incomplete scope or dead web links).|archive-date= September 19, 2020|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200919174545/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=SWD:2013:0224:FIN:EN:PDF|url-status= live}}</ref> These proprietary technologies are not standardized, and their specification is published only on Adobe's website.<ref name= "iso-meeting-n603">{{cite web|title=ISO/TC 171/SC 2/WG 8 N 603 – Meeting Report|date=June 27, 2011|url=http://pdf.editme.com/files/pdfREF-meetings/ISO-TC171-SC2-WG8_N0603_SC2WG8_MtgRept_SLC.pdf | work = Edit me | via = Archive |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121126013025/http://pdf.editme.com/files/pdfREF-meetings/ISO-TC171-SC2-WG8_N0603_SC2WG8_MtgRept_SLC.pdf |url-status=dead|archive-date= November 26, 2012 |quote=XFA is not to be ISO standard just yet. The Committee urges Adobe Systems to submit the XFA Specification, XML Forms Architecture (XFA), to ISO for standardization The Committee is concerned about the stability of the XFA specification Part 2 will reference XFA 3.1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=PLOS ONE |date=2013|volume=8|number=9|title=Embedding and publishing interactive, 3-dimensional, scientific figures in Portable Document Format (PDF) files|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0069446.s001|quote=the implementation of the U3D standard was not complete and proprietary extensions were used.|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="rosenthol-adobe-2012">{{cite web |url = http://cdn.parleys.com/p/5148922a0364bc17fc56c6e5/iSUM2012_00_LRO_presentation.pdf |title= PDF and Standards |first=Leonard |last=Rosenthol | publisher = Adobe Systems |year= 2012 |access-date=October 20, 2013 |url-status=dead | via = Parleys |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130902000323/http://cdn.parleys.com/p/5148922a0364bc17fc56c6e5/iSUM2012_00_LRO_presentation.pdf |archive-date=September 2, 2013 }}</ref> Many of them are not supported by popular third-party implementations of PDF.

ISO published version 2.0 of PDF, ISO 32000-2 in 2017, available for purchase, replacing the free specification provided by Adobe.<ref name=nowfree/> In December 2020, the second edition of PDF 2.0, ISO 32000-2:2020, was published, with clarifications, corrections, and critical updates to normative references<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pdfa.org/iso-32000-22020-is-now-available/ |title=ISO 32000-2:2020 is now available |publisher=PDFA |date=December 14, 2020 |access-date=February 3, 2021 |archive-date=December 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204112238/https://www.pdfa.org/iso-32000-22020-is-now-available/ |url-status=live }}</ref> (ISO 32000-2 does not include any proprietary technologies as normative references).<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://www.iso.org/standard/75839.html|title=ISO 32000-2 – Document management — Portable document format — Part 2: PDF 2.0|date=January 5, 2021 |publisher=ISO|access-date=February 3, 2021|archive-date=January 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128003836/https://www.iso.org/standard/75839.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
In April 2023 the PDF Association made ISO 32000-2 available for download free of charge.<ref name=nowfree>{{cite press release| title=Announcing no-cost access to the latest PDF standard: ISO 32000-2 (PDF 2.0)| publisher=PDF Association| url=https://pdfa.org/sponsored-standards| date=16 June 2023| orig-date=Updated; originally published 5 April 2023| access-date=October 6, 2023| archive-date=September 23, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923202322/https://pdfa.org/sponsored-standards/| url-status=live}}</ref>