As the British representative for 3D PDF standards on behalf of the UK’s BSI, I was again invited to attend PDF week in November 2015 to join peers from around the world to discuss the future advancements of PDF.

The meeting is always an interesting one, and an enjoyable experience to meet up with others equally enthusiastic about PDF technology.

The meeting, hosted at Adobe’s Research Offices in Basel, Switzerland, wasn’t as intense as our spring event at Adobe HQ in San Jose, but equally productive.  And whilst the offices weren’t anywhere near as large as their US centre, the location was stunning.  Overlooking the square, just minutes walk from the French and German borders and the Rheine, a quick glimpse out of the window saw medieval bridges, trams and Christmas markets which provided a pleasant interlude between discussions.

Swiss scenery and evening fondues aside, the discussions were highly constructive.  As one of only three people present who was specifically concerned with the 3D side of PDF, it was good to hear the views of others with an active interest in 3D (including from colleagues in Boeing and the 3D PDF Consortium), and to share my knowledge as the major contributor of 3D PDF insight and expertise.  It was also encouraging to hear how PRC is taking off since it was publicised 2 years ago.

The meeting was attended by 25 of us and the main discussion centred, of course, on the impending PDF V2 and the multi-year effort required to refine the version ready for release.  As ever, I can’t divulge the detail, needless the say that we’re moving forward with plans for 3D with special focus on how the PDF/E standard can be brought up-to-date and used for the archive of documents in the future – a big topic that will most definitely come up many times in the near future.

With my involvement on the 3D PDF standards committee, I will be continuing to forge progress on the standards within PDF and look forward to telling you more as news is released.