It goes without saying that the use of PDFs differ from industry to industry. Fortunately, the format’s functionality has been made versatile enough that exporting to PDF files that fulfill industry requirements can be done with just a few clicks. Such industry compliant PDF files are regarded as PDF/A, PDF/X and PDF/E files. The PDF/A subset standard is designed to leave out certain content features and make it fit for long-term archiving.
The PDF/X specifically facilitates data exchange and has requirements for professional print publishing workflows. As for PDF/E files, they are used in the engineering industry as exchange formats for sharing complex structural models. With such specific and different uses of digital content, you will need to export to PDF file formats compliant with industry requirements.
To instantly export your file to one of these subset standards in Adobe Acrobat 11 Pro:
- 1Choose Save As Other… from the File menu and select a subset standard from the drop-down menu.
- 2In the Save As dialog, click on Settings to view extra options for creating your PDF. You will be directed to a dialogue with options specific to the format of your choice.
- 3Click on OK and continue to save your new file.
- You can use the Pre-flight tool to check your file against a number of preset profiles.
To Pre-flight your files using Adobe Acrobat 11 Pro:
- You can access the Pre-flight tool through the Tools Pane under the Print Production tools section.
- 1To access them, click on the drop down arrow in the top right hand corner of the Tools Pane.
- 2Select the Print Production menu option.
- The menu section will then appear, providing you with an expanded toolset for your PDF.
- In the Print Production menu:
- 1Choose Pre-Flight from the menu.
- 2In the dialog box, choose the Profiles tab. Here, you can check a number of subset standard requirements including those for the PDF/A, PDF/E and PDF/X. Choose your profile.
- 3Click Analyze or Analyze and fix depending on your file. Your results will appear under the Results tab. If you receive errors, you can go back to the Profiles tab to fix the non-compliant elements in your PDF. Keep analyzing your file as needed.
- 4Once everything passes the analysis to your satisfaction, choose the Standards tab and then save your file in the preferred subset standard format.
