I need to create and submit a my work in a PDF/A file as opposed to a regular PDF file. I don't have Adobe Acrobat. How can I create a PDF/A file on a Mac without Adobe ?
Are there ways around this?
See link below for definition:
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2)
Here are some PDF/A, and PDF/X output solutions for macOS Sierra:
PDF v1.3, v1.4, v1.5, X-1a, X-3, X-4
PDF v1.3, v1.4, v1.5, X-1a, X-3, X4, Postscript
Apple's Preview is based on PDFKit, which is still mired in the PDF v1.3 specification. Open PDF/A-1a, and PDF/X standard documents in Preview, and 1) it will display them, but is completely ignorant of these standards requiring newer v1.4 or later PDF specs, and 2) will autosave any annotations, overwriting these documents with PDF v1.3 - thus damaging their standards functionality.
Strictly use Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for best PDF/A, and PDF/X standard viewing. Acrobat Reader will present a pale blue banner for a PDF/A standard document, and a thin, red display border around X/3 documents. Its properties custom tab will not show the PDF/A version, but will for PDF/X series PDF.
Here are some PDF/A, and PDF/X output solutions for macOS Sierra:
PDF v1.3, v1.4, v1.5, X-1a, X-3, X-4
PDF v1.3, v1.4, v1.5, X-1a, X-3, X4, Postscript
Apple's Preview is based on PDFKit, which is still mired in the PDF v1.3 specification. Open PDF/A-1a, and PDF/X standard documents in Preview, and 1) it will display them, but is completely ignorant of these standards requiring newer v1.4 or later PDF specs, and 2) will autosave any annotations, overwriting these documents with PDF v1.3 - thus damaging their standards functionality.
Strictly use Adobe Acrobat Reader DC for best PDF/A, and PDF/X standard viewing. Acrobat Reader will present a pale blue banner for a PDF/A standard document, and a thin, red display border around X/3 documents. Its properties custom tab will not show the PDF/A version, but will for PDF/X series PDF.
By following the restrictions outlined in the Wikipedia article. Unfortunately, Adobe holds all the rights to PDFs so either you use Acrobat or use an editor that can save a file in PDF format. Most editors can do that these days via the Save As option (hold down Option key in the File Save dialog) or their Print dialog.
Thank you so much! After trying the above options over time, I think the one that worked best for me was the LibreOffice - it allowed specifically for the PDF-A format that the different platforms I needed to work with accepted.
How to create a PDF/A file on a Mac
