Almost all businesses create at least a few PDFs to use on their website, print business documents, send to customers, and preserve records.
But, it can be confusing to know the difference between each type of PDF.
If you are like most people, you have at least a few PDFs lying around the internet. But, do you know how to explain the different types of PDFs? See below for a quick PDF guide. Keep on reading!
Regular PDFs
Regular PDFs are the most common form of PDFs. They contain no interactive elements or any special document features. Regular PDFs, at the simplest level, are designed to be read and printed.
As such, they are a great choice for documents that need to be printed, emailed, or read on computers or devices.
Regular PDFs are best for static documents, such as office documents like letters, agendas, or summaries, scanned documents, edited web pages, digital books, and any document that contains graphics or text that cannot be rearranged.
They are one of the most reliable ways to share files between different operating systems since their rendering stays the same regardless of the platform or device.
Form PDFs
Form PDFs are one of the most common types of PDFs you need to know. Form PDFs allow people to fill out and send forms electronically, eliminating the need for paper.
Those who are required to send forms must first download the file, fill in the necessary information, save the PDF with the new data, and send it back.
Form PDFs contain special fields that can be filled with information, and add the data to the overall document. Once the form is complete, users can save it and email it back out or print it out to mail it in.
Form PDFs are useful when digital signatures are needed, or when physical signatures cannot be obtained. Using this type of PDF allows people to process, complete and send back forms faster and easier.
Security PDFs
Security PDFs can be used to restrict access to a document, control who can view, edit or print a document, and even set up encryption to protect its contents.
They can also be used to control access to online documents and help protect files from malware and other malicious threats.
Furthermore, security PDFs can be used to sign, authenticate, and validate digital documents, ensuring that the contents are from a legitimate source and not altered or tampered with.
Apache PDFBox
Apache PDFBox is an open-source software library that can be used to work with PDF documents. It provides a robust set of utilities to create, view, extract, modify, and merge PDF documents, as well as perform several other PDF-related tasks.
It is highly extensible and supports the vast majority of popular standards and formats, making it one of the most versatile and useful types of PDFs you need to know.
All About PDF Guide That You Need to Know
This PDF guide has provided a piece of thorough information on the fundamentals you need to know about PDF. Now take the knowledge and get creative with the tools available. Create, edit, and collaborate with powerful PDF solutions!
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