Information Technology Policies and Standards

Title
Portable Document Format (PDF) Standard
Type
Standard
Related Policy
Purpose & Commitment to Quality Policy
Category
Web
Status
Superseded
Approved
08/27/2003
Revised
04/07/2005
To Be Reviewed
04/07/2007
Scope
This policy ensures a professional City of Albuquerque web presence that meets current conventions in government website management.
Standard
The Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf) is appropriate when a document is to be printed by the user. Acceptable scenarios include:
  • A form that is to be completed by the user and mailed back to the City
  • Documents requiring digital signatures
  • Documents already available in print whose intended usage is offline reading by users
Unacceptable scenarios include:
  • Replacement of content that could otherwise be rendered as HTML
  • Replacement of content to ensure document layout

PDF’s must always be compressed as far as possible without losing quality in an effort to reduce file size.

When linking to a PDF, developers must ensure that the user is informed that the link refers to a PDF by including the file type in the link (e.g. “Planning report (.pdf)”).

File size should be noted if the file exceeds the City’s maximum page size of 100k (e.g. “Planning Report (.pdf) 150k”).
A link to the free Adobe Reader plug-in must always be provided on pages that contain links to PDF documents. The link to the plug in must be accompanied by the current Adobe Reader logo.

When a PDF exceeds 400k in size, developers should think carefully to make sure that there is no other way of rendering the document before putting it out on the web. Possible strategies for dealing with large documents include:
  • Breaking the document into smaller PDF’s. This might be on a per chapter basis, or per subject as understood by the user. If a document is split into smaller sections, then the full document must also be available to download in one go.
  • Minimize the amount of binary content. Wherever possible text should be embedded as text and not as binary content such as images. In other words, it is generally inappropriate to scan in a document containing large amounts of text as an image and then convert it directly to a PDF.

No assumptions shall be made concerning the availability of resources such as fonts on a client device. Extra resources must be embedded within the PDF.

The City will begin exploring accessible PDF generation in an effort to comply with the City’s Accessibility Policy.
Rationale
The PDF format is a valuable tool when used correctly. However incorrect usage can detract from the user-friendly nature of the City’s website for the following reasons:
  • Most PDF’s currently available on the City’s website do not comply with the City’s Accessibility Policy
  • PDF’s can be very large documents. This large size has the following disadvantages:
    • Long download times when using slower connection speeds such as dial-up connections
    • Memory constraints on small devices. Exceeding memory constraints may cause device instability or even cause the device to crash.
  • PDF’s are more difficult to search via the City’s search engine
  • The user loses the City of Albuquerque navigation within the PDF environment, which can be quite confusing if the user “enters” the website directly from a PDF
  • Many users express frustration or confusion with the PDF environment
  • PDF’s require a plug-in that may not be available in all browser configurations
  • Device configurations vary considerably with regard to the resources (e.g. fonts) that are available. Fonts available on one device may not be present on another.

Contact: Mark T. Leech, (505) 768-3731