PDF validation
The greatest value of following the PDF standard is in minimizing the risk of incompatibility with PDF files created by other vendors’ products, and with readers from other vendors consuming PDF files that your products have created. You shouldn’t have to conduct in-depth one-to-one testing with everything else that might be used in a workflow involving your own solutions.
But the PDF standard is large and complex, and not every product is robustly tested against the standard. Some vendors simply check that the PDF they produce will open in Adobe Acrobat, despite the business case for Acrobat requiring that it minimize error reporting and only complain when the display of a file may be seriously incorrect.
What should you do if your products make or consume PDF and your customers are complaining about files triggering errors when they try to process them in other software? Or if your products consume PDF and your customers complain that some files won’t process correctly?
The first step should always be to work out whether the problem is in the file or the reader. If it’s in the file and you’re making those files you can then correct your product. In the same way, if it’s your reader that’s wrong, you can fix that.
If it’s the other vendor that’s causing the issue you may find that they’re receptive to a problem report, especially if it’s sufficiently detailed to tell them quickly exactly what they’re doing wrong. Most product managers are usually very grateful for free and expert testing services!
If you need an immediate fix, my experience has been that explaining the issue in detail to your customers can reduce the pressure that they put on you. Even if they don’t understand the details, they may pass your report on to the other vendor and shift the burden to them.
It's also worth remembering that compliance with the standard is primarily a very important first step towards compatibility, and that compatibility, supporting frictionless workflows for your customers, is the real goal. If a major vendor in your sector of the industry is making PDF files that are not strictly valid then often the only sensible approach is to extend your own product to consume those files without error. Unless, of course, your product is a PDF validation tool!
For all of this Martin can help in identifying whether a PDF file is compliant or not, and provide detailed reports on how it might diverge from the requirements of the standard for any issues related to visual appearance. He fulfilled this role at Global Graphics Software for several years, connected with his work in the ISO PDF committees.
