PDF Days Europe 2017
www.pdfa.org
Best Practices in Creating
Next Generation PDFs
Matt Kuznicki
Chief Technical Officer – Datalogics
Chairman of the PDF Association
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
1
Agenda
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Best Practices in Next Generation PDF Creation
•
Document adaptability to different user needs
•
Reliable behavior
•
Accessibility and content repurposing
•
Quality verification
•
Closing thoughts
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
2
Quick Note About These Best Practices
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These best practices represent my opinions
based on my experiences and for the goal of
maximum usefulness to the widest possible
audience. Others may have different opinions.
Specific audiences and workflows may warrant
different considerations
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
3
Today’s User Expectations
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Users expect certain behaviors that are not reliably present
in PDFs generated in the past
•
Reflow, read-aloud and screen reader compatibility
•
Style changes such as modified text size and font
•
Reliable extraction of content the same way it appears
on-screen
Users today consume content across many different devices
and in many different circumstances
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
4
Document Adaptability
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Key value in next generation PDF is document adaptability
•
For different screen sizes and orientations
•
For different processing environments
•
For different viewing circumstances
•
For different readers
This adaptability forms the foundation for meeting the
needs of document users – today’s and tomorrow’s needs
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
5
Document Adaptability
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With great power comes great responsibility
•
Adaptable content should be an alternative view of
document content
•
All users in all circumstances should be able to access
all the information in a PDF file
•
Needs of all users should be considered when
authoring next generation PDF files
PDF users expect reliable document behavior
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
6
Reliable Document Behavior
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Next Generation PDF files should not break user
expectations of PDF files
•
Users should be able to print a useful printout at any
time
•
Users should be able to send the document out to
someone else with confidence that the recipient will be
able to see the same information
•
Documents should make it clear to users how and
when the presentation can change
•
Documents should not change over time in dramatic
and unexpected ways
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
7
Reliable Document Behavior
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Next Generation PDF extends the brand promise of a
Portable Document Format - authors should not
•
Create PDFs that immediately ask users to use a
specific or different viewer
•
Create PDFs that are not useful except in specific
viewing circumstances or requiring specific viewer
characteristics
•
Create PDFs where content views differently than it
presents for content extraction, for printing, etc.
•
Assume interactive capabilities from the user
•
Change their presentation over time without making
this clear to users
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
8
Accessibility and Content Repurposing
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Next Generation PDF files are based on Tagged PDF
•
Semantic representation of content “baked into” files
•
Using standardized representation for content and for
content styling
•
Allowing reliable transcription to HTML and other
structured formats
•
Making it easy for viewers to adapt content to different
viewing circumstances
Successful Next Generation PDF documents will make good
use of these capabilities
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
9
Accessibility and Content Repurposing
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Avoid adhering to the rules but not to the spirit
•
Poorly tagged content will be brittle and not adapt well
across different viewers and circumstances
•
Poorly structured content will adapt reliably – to
deliver a reliably poor experience
•
Content without navigation aids will suffer from
performance and usability issues when translated to
HTML
•
Requests to generate alternate representations in nonstandard formats will lead to dropped content
•
Rasterized content will not reflow, read-aloud or index
as users expect
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
10
Content Adaptability Guidelines
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Make adaptability as easy as possible for viewers
•
Every alternate content request may require content
translation – avoid excessive requests
•
Image alternate requests should be kept to standard
OWP formats for HTML views
•
Some PDF features cannot be represented in other
forms without rasterization – be careful in use
•
Divide and section document content to allow
conversion of content as needed
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
11
Content Adaptability Guidelines
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Maximum content adaptability starts with document
authors
•
Use proper markup and structure for content
•
Don’t indicate important information through visual
content styling alone
•
Don’t assume all users are able to have an interactive
experience with your document at all times
•
Don’t assume your audience is visually consuming your
document
•
Don’t assume your audience is entirely humans
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
12
Content Adaptability Guidelines
www.pdfa.org
Next Generation PDF facilitates content
adaptability
But it can’t make up for poorly authored
documents
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
13
Content Adaptability Guidelines
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Most best practices for Next Generation PDF are actually
best practices for PDF files generally
•
Indicate the meaning of content semantically, not just
visually
•
Design with accessibility and content repurposing from
the beginning
•
Design for the widest possible audience
•
But also design optimally for the target audience
Most PDF best practices aren’t specific to PDF at all!
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
14
Document Quality Assurance
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Make sure to verify proper document behavior in all the
different ways users might be consuming
•
If your document adapts to different screen sizes and
orientations, verify proper behavior for all
•
If your document has different view and print
conditions, verify proper behavior for both
•
Verify the suitability and capability to be read-aloud
and of content adaptability
•
Verify the usefulness of the “base” content view – the
non-adapted view
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
15
Closing Thoughts
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Next generation PDF brings the benefits of reliable
documents to a world of changing user expectations
•
Content reliability is still key to users
•
Sharing documents and specific content in documents
is still key to users
•
Adapting presentation to different circumstances does
not mean giving some users a poor experience
•
Best results begin with properly authored content
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
16
Closing Thoughts: Compatibility
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Next Generation PDF files should work across different
viewers – including those without support
•
Don’t create PDFs with a base view that tells the user
their viewer is not supported
•
Don’t create PDFs where alternate presentations are
the only useful views of a document
•
Don’t create PDFs that are only useful when viewed in
specific circumstances
•
Don’t create PDFs that are only useful in a next
generation PDF – capable viewer
Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
17
PDF Days Europe 2017
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Thank you!
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[email protected]
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Matt Kuznicki,
CTO, Datalogics &
Chairman of the
PDF Association
2017-05-16
A PDF Association Presentation · © 2017 by PDF Association · www.pdfa.org
18