TU Berlin, University Library: Guidelines for PDF files (November 2022)
Page 14 of 19
PDF/A validation
During PDF/A validation the file is checked for compliance with the ISO standards for
PDF and PDF/A. Different validation tools may produce different results because the
underlying standards are interpreted differently. The final validation of your file is done
by the University Library staff.
PDF/A validation with PDF/A Conversion (option for members of TU Berlin)
Members of TU Berlin can use PDF/A Conversion (based on the software pdfaPilot by
Callas) to check files for compliance with the PDF/A standard and/or to convert them
to PDF/A.
• Login with TU account: https://conversion.ub.tu-berlin.de/
• See also detailed info: https://conversion.ub.tu-berlin.de/pdfa/help.php?lang=en
Log in to PDF/A Conversion and upload a file → “Validate as PDF/A” → choose
respective PDF/A standard → “Validate”
The result is “OK” if the validated file is a long-term archivable PDF/A file.
Additionally, please check whether the text can be copied correctly to other
applications (e.g. copy and paste to text editor or Word).
The result is “Failure” if the validated file is not compliant with the selected PDF/A
standard. Details are provided for errors (e. g. font not embedded, device-dependent
colours used). In this case, it is recommended to convert the file to PDF/A (cf.
Converting to PDF/A).
After you have finished processing the file, please delete it.
