Convert PDF to PDF/A

PDF/A conversion prepares PDF documents for long-term archiving. It enforces preservation rules so documents remain readable and self-contained over time.

Use this workflow when you need to:

• Meet archival or retention requirements
• Preserve document rendering for long-term storage
• Remove external dependencies from PDF files

Prepare the project

Register the SDK license before running conversion operations. For setup details, refer to the getting started with .NET SDK guide.

using GdPicture14;

LicenseManager licence = new LicenseManager();
licence.RegisterKEY(""); // Set your license key

Load the PDF document

Create a GdPicturePDF instance and load the source file:

using GdPicturePDF pdf = new GdPicturePDF();
pdf.LoadFromFile(@"input.pdf");

Convert to PDF/A

Convert the loaded document to PDF/A-2b:

pdf.ConvertToPDFA(@"output.pdf", PdfConversionConformance.PDF_A_2b, false, false);

This conversion writes a preservation-oriented output file with PDF/A conformance settings.

PDF/A conformance levels

The SDK supports multiple conformance levels, including:

• PDF/A-1a
• PDF/A-1b
• PDF/A-2a
• PDF/A-2b
• PDF/A-3a
• PDF/A-3b

Select the level that matches your archival policy.

Conversion behavior

During conversion, the SDK enforces requirements such as:

• Embedded fonts
• Compliant color spaces
• Archival metadata
• Embedded resource validation
• Structure adjustments for preservation

Handle errors

In production, validate:

• Input file availability and format
• Operation status after loading and conversion
• Output conformance with your validation tools

For status-handling patterns, refer to the handling errors with .NET SDK guide.

Common use cases

PDF/A is common in:

• Legal archives
• Government records
• Medical retention workflows
• Financial record retention
• Research and publication archives

Conclusion

This guide converts a standard PDF file to PDF/A for archiving and compliance-oriented document storage.