Robustness of the PDF file structure

[anandasim]

We've been using multiple machines on a Windows Server network with Adobe Acrobat X Standard. We normally just copy / paste / delete whole pages between pdfs and maybe annotate. Since adopting this program, we are encountering random and arbitrary corruptions of existing files. Most of the content is bitmap scans from internal and external sources.

My questions are:

a. is this corruption endemic to the fragility of the pdf file structure? I have tried to find a file structure validity check (PDF 1.4, 1.6) but have not scoredd any tool or any sure fire repair program

b. is there a difference in result with PDF XChange vs other competitor products? I have found the PDF XChange is the most robust in repairing / extracting corrupted files and might migrate our use to PDF XChange.

Any insights appreciated....

Thanks

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]

Hello anandasim,

The PDF file structure as such is well documented and explained in an ISO standard specification (originally developed and created by Adobe). We follow this specification as precisely as possible, but can not guarantee that all competing products out there will also to do so. There are also some additions (like dynamic XFA forms, third party security handlers - that are in addition to the current ISO specification which we are also supporting or working on supporting), and there are also a lot of other things that could happen to a file that can cause corruption. We are capable of recovering some simple errors, and do so every time we can. We can not promise to be successful in all cases, or that there won't be another product able to recover an error we can't, but we are able to handle most recoverable errors.

We are confident that any correct PDF file following the specification and not using e.g. some third party security handlers will be opened in our Viewer, and that any manipulations you do with the Viewer won't cause corruption.

Best,
Stefan

[anandasim]

We are capable of recovering some simple errors, and do so every time we can. We can not promise to be successful in all cases, or that there won't be another product able to recover an error we can't, but we are able to handle most recoverable errors.

Our of my brief survey of programs and using test corrupted files (primarily bitmap pages scanned or from other sources), your Viewer was the most successful in recovery of pages. PDFTKBuilder could recover more pages in certain files but crashed when it could not handle other files.

We are confident that any correct PDF file following the specification and not using e.g. some third party security handlers will be opened in our Viewer, and that any manipulations you do with the Viewer won't cause corruption.

Best,
Stefan

Thanks for that confidence.

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]