Creating a PDF/A Document

PDF/A is a version of PDF intended to support long-term archiving of electronic documents. Compliance with the standard guarantees that PDF/A documents can be viewed and reproduced in exactly the same way for years to come, regardless of future changes to the PDF format.

Within PDF/A there are a few different forms such as PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2b. These are all intended for different archival purposes as they have settings.

To create PDF/A-1b using the PDF from File tool:

    1. On the Home tab, in the Create group, click the arrow under PDF, then select From File
    2. On the Create PDF Files dialog, click the Add Files button, and then select the files to convert.
    3. Click the Settings button, and then check the PDF/A1-b compatibility checkbox.
    4. In the Folder menu, select one of the following:
      • If you would like to specify a single folder in which to place the created PDF(s), click Specific folder. Click the Browse button to select a folder
      • If you would like the created PDF(s) to be placed in the same folder as the original file, click Folder of original file
      • If you would like to specify a location for each file as it is converted, click Ask during the process

5. Click Create.

To convert a PDF file to PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2b, or PDF/A-2u:

    1. Open a regular PDF file in Nitro Pro.
    2. On the Convert tab, in the Formats group, Click To PDF/A button.
    3. Select from PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2b, or PDF/A-2u from the button menu.
    4. Enter a name for the new file and choose a destination to save it.
    5. Click Save.

Additional resources:

Want to know more? Check out this training guide and video for further information.

How to Create and Convert a PDF
Creating a PDF/A Document