How to Convert Scanned Documents to PDF/A Without Losing Bookmarks
Question details
The user needs to convert scanned documents to PDF/A format while maintaining existing bookmarks and resolving font embedding errors identified during Preflight validation.
- Product
- PDF Editor
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Attempting to create a compliant PDF/A archive from a scanned document but facing issues with disappearing bookmarks and non-embedded fonts.
- Observed behavior
- During PDF/A conversion, the document's bookmarks are completely removed, and the Preflight tool reports errors indicating that fonts are not embedded.
Ensure you have the proper licenses or permissions for any custom fonts used in your document, as strict PDF/A compliance requires all fonts to be fully embedded into the file.
Resolve Font Embedding Errors and Run OCR via Preflight
Identify missing fonts using the Preflight tool, perform Optical Character Recognition (OCR) if needed, and embed the fonts to meet strict PDF/A compliance.
PDF/A is designed for long-term archiving and requires all components, including fonts, to be self-contained within the file. If fonts are not embedded, the validation will fail.
Open the Preflight tool and click the triangle next to the 'Font not embedded' error. Expand it fully to identify the exact names of the fonts causing the compliance failure.
If the document is a pure image scan, run the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool to convert the images into searchable text. This is often required before proper font embedding can occur.
Use the Preflight fix-up options to embed the missing fonts. If you do not have permission to embed a specific font, select the option to replace it with a compliant, standard system font.
Restore Bookmarks After PDF/A Conversion
If the PDF conversion engine strips out bookmarks during the archival process, you can manually restore them and re-validate the file.
Easily Convert and Edit Scanned PDFs with WPS Office
Bypass complex Preflight errors by using WPS Office's built-in PDF toolkit. Seamlessly perform OCR on scanned documents, embed standard fonts, and manage bookmarks without losing your document's structure.
- 1. Open your PDF in WPS: Launch WPS Office and open your scanned PDF document using the WPS PDF tool.
- 2. Run the OCR Tool: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab and select 'OCR' to extract the text and make the document searchable.
- 3. Add or Edit Bookmarks: Click the Bookmark icon on the left sidebar to effortlessly add, edit, or preserve your document's navigation structure.
- 4. Save and Export: Save your optimized file as a standard, highly compatible PDF directly to your local drive.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do bookmarks disappear when converting to PDF/A?
PDF/A is a strict archival format that aims to preserve the visual appearance of a document. Depending on the PDF writer used, interactive elements like bookmarks or hyperlinks may be stripped out during the flattening process to ensure compliance. You may need to recreate them post-conversion.
What does 'Font not embedded' mean in Adobe Preflight?
This error means the document uses fonts installed on your local computer but has not saved the font data inside the PDF file itself. PDF/A strictly requires all fonts to be embedded so the document looks exactly the same on any device in the future, regardless of whether that system has the font installed.
Do I need to perform OCR before converting a scanned document to PDF/A?
While not strictly required for all PDF/A variants, performing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is highly recommended. PDF/A standards are designed for archiving, and running OCR ensures the text is searchable and accessible, which is a key requirement for PDF/A-1a and PDF/A-2a compliance levels.
