Secure & archive · guide
What Convert PDF to PDF/A does
Convert PDF to PDF/A creates a PDF/A-2b archival copy, the format archives and public bodies ask for because it is designed to display the same way decades from now. It checks the fonts first: if it finds one that is not embedded in the file, even a standard one like Helvetica, it refuses and names it, rather than produce a file that claims conformance and fails validation. Conversion happens in your browser.
How to convert PDF to PDF/A in your browser
- Choose one PDF Select the PDF to archive. It opens in this browser tab and is not uploaded.
- Convert it Select Convert to PDF/A. The fonts in the file are checked first; if one is not embedded, the tool names it and stops, so re-export the document with fonts embedded and try again.
- Save and validate Save the PDF/A copy. For a formal archive, check it with a validator such as veraPDF, because a browser cannot fully validate PDF/A.
Worked example
Archive a letter for a portal that accepts PDF/A only.
- Starting point
- A letter exported from Word with its fonts embedded, and a second copy numbered with Add page numbers to PDF.
- What to do
- Convert each with Convert to PDF/A, then validate the converted letter in veraPDF, or the validator your archive accepts, against the PDF/A-2B profile.
- Result
- Expect the first to convert, with the summary “Converted to PDF/A-2b”. The numbered copy is refused with a message that begins “This document uses 1 font it does not carry: Helvetica”, because page numbers use a standard font that is not embedded. Conversion is not certification, so validate before relying on it.
If the result is not right
If conversion refuses a file because a font is not embedded, re-export the PDF from its source application with its fonts embedded, then convert and validate the new copy.
Limits worth knowing
- An archive may require a different profile or additional rules. Successful creation alone does not establish conformance for every repository.
Questions and answers
Why does PDF/A conversion refuse my file?
Because the file uses a font it does not contain. PDF/A requires every font to be embedded, including standard ones such as Helvetica, so that the document displays identically anywhere, and the message names up to four of the missing fonts. Re-export the document from Word or the application that made it with fonts embedded, then convert that copy.
Why is a PDF I made with another Filozy tool refused?
Some Filozy tools write text in a standard font that is referenced rather than embedded: the invisible searchable layer OCR PDF adds, the numbers from Add page numbers to PDF, and typed signatures, initials and dates from Sign PDF. PDF/A does not allow that, so those files are refused. A drawn or uploaded signature is an image and adds no font, and a scan without OCR has no fonts at all, so both pass the font check.
Which PDF/A version does it create?
PDF/A-2b only, the level that preserves how the pages look; there is no option for another level such as 1b or 3, so check what your archive asks for. It adds an sRGB colour profile, a file identifier and PDF/A metadata without rewriting the page content, so the pages look exactly as they did.
Will the converted file pass a PDF/A validator?
Not necessarily, which is why the result tells you to check it with a validator such as veraPDF. The converter checks fonts and nothing else, and it finds fonts by reading the file's font objects, so a font stored another way can slip past the check. Other rules can still fail too: a print file built in CMYK colour, for example, does not match the sRGB profile this tool adds, and JavaScript in the file is left in place. Validate before anything goes into a formal archive.
Can I convert a password-protected PDF to PDF/A?
Not as it is: PDF/A does not allow encryption, and this tool cannot open a file that needs a password. Remove the password with Unlock PDF first, then convert the unlocked copy; bear in mind that unlocking leaves bookmarks behind.