Complete list of features:

• PDF output
  • Create PDF documents of arbitrary length, directly in memory (for Web servers) or on disk file.
  • Suspend/resume and insert page features to create pages out of order.
• PDF flavors
  • Support for PDF 1.3 through 1.7 (Acrobat 4 – 8), Tagged PDF, PDF/A, PDF/X.
  • Linearized (web-optimized) PDF for byte-serving over the Web.
• PDF input
  • Import pages from existing PDF documents (requires PDI or PPS module).
  • PCOS interface for querying details about imported PDF documents.
  • Delete redundant objects (e.g. identical fonts) across multiple imported PDF documents.
  • Workarounds for malformed PDF input.
• Blocks
  • PDF personalization with PDFlib blocks for text, image, and PDF data (only PPS).
  • PDFlib Block plugin for creating PDFlib blocks interactively in Adobe Acrobat.
  • Textflow blocks can be linked so that one block holds the overflow text of a previous block.
  • List of Pantone and HKS spot color names integrated in the Block plugin.
• Graphics
  • Common vector graphics primitives: lines, curves, arcs, rectangles, etc.
  • Smooth shadings (color blends), pattern fills and strokes.
  • Transparency (opacity) and blend modes (gradients).
  • Layers: optional page content which can selectively be displayed; annotations can be placed on layers.
  • Layers can be locked.
• Fonts
  • TrueType (TTF and TTC) and PostScript Type 1 fonts (PFB and PFA, plus LWFN on the Mac).
  • OpenType fonts (TTF, OTF) with PostScript or TrueType outlines.
  • AFM and PFM PostScript font metrics files.
  • Directly use fonts which are installed on the Windows or Mac host system.
  • Font embedding for all font types; subsetting for Type 31, TrueType and OpenType fonts.
  • Userdefined (Type 3) fonts for bitmap fonts or custom logos.
• Text output
  • Text output in different fonts; underlined, overlined, and strikeout text.
  • Glyphs in a font can be addressed by numerical value, Unicode value, or glyph name.
  • Kerning for improved character spacing.
  • Artificial bold and italic font style.
  • Proportional widths for standard CJK fonts.
  • Direct glyph selection for advanced typography.
  • Configurable replacement of missing glyphs.
• Internationalization
  • Unicode strings for page content and interactive elements.
  • Standard CJK fonts and CMaps for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean text.
  • Custom CJK fonts in the TrueType and OpenType formats.
  • Embed Unicode information in PDF for correct text extraction in Acrobat.
• Images
  • Embed BMP, GIF, PNG, TIFF, JPEG, JPEG2000, and CCITT raster images.
  • Automatic detection of image file formats (file format sniffing).
  • Interpret clipping paths in TIFF and JPEG images.
  • Transparent (masked) images including soft masks.
  • Image masks (transparent images with a color applied).
  • Colorize images with a spot color.
• Color
  • Support for grayscale, RGB, CMYK, CIE L*a*b* color spaces.
  • Integrated support for PANTONE® colors (2006 edition1) and HKS® colors; userdefined spot colors.
• Color management
  • ICC-based color with ICC color profiles: honor embedded profiles in images, or apply external profiles to images.
  • Rendering intent for text, graphics, and raster images.
  • Default gray, RGB, and CMYK color spaces to remap device-dependent colors.
• Prepress
  • Generate output conforming to PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-2, and PDF/X-3, including 2003 flavors.
  • Embed output intent ICC profile or reference standard output intent.
  • Copy output intent from imported PDF documents (requires PDI or PPS module).
  • Create OPI 1.3 and OPI 2.0 information for imported images.
  • Separation information (PlateColor).
  • Settings for text knockout, overprinting etc.
• Archiving
  • Generate output conforming to PDF/A-1a:2005 and PDF/A-1b:20051.
• Formatting
  • Textflow: format arbitrary amounts of text into one or more rectangular areas with hyphenation, font and color changes, justification methods, tabs, leaders, control commands; wrap text around images.
  • Flexible image placement and formatting.
  • Table formatter places rows and columns and automatically calculates their sizes according to a variety of user preferences. Tables can be split across multiple pages.
  • Table cells can hold single- or multi-line text, images, or PDF pages, and can be formatted with ruling and shading options.
  • Flexible stamping function.
  • Matchbox concept for referencing the coordinates of placed images or other objects.
• Security
  • Encrypt PDF output with RC4 or AES1 encryption algorithms.
  • Specify permission settings (e.g. printing or copying not allowed).
  • Import encrypted documents (master password required; requires PDI or PPS module).
• Interactive elements
  • Create form fields with all field options and JavaScript.
  • Create actions for bookmarks, annotations, page open/close and other events.
  • Create bookmarks with a variety of options and controls.
  • Page transition effects, such as shades and mosaic.
  • Create all PDF annotation types, such as PDF links, launch links (other document types), web links.
  • Named destinations for links, bookmarks, and document open action.
  • Create page labels (symbolic names for pages).
• Multimedia
  • Embed 3D animations in U3D format.
• Tagged PDF
  • Create Tagged PDF and structure information for accessibility, page reflow, and improved content repurposing; links and other annotations can be integrated in the document structure.
  • Easily format large amounts of text for Tagged PDF.
• Metadata
  • Create XMP metadata from document info fields or from client-supplied XMP streams.
  • Document information: standard fields (Title, Subject, Author, Keywords) and user-defined fields.
  • Virtual file system for supplying data in memory, e.g., images from a database.
• Supported platforms
• PDF Plugin is available for the following platforms:
  • Mac OS X 10.13 or higher (64-bit mode only).
  • Windows 10 or higher (64-bit mode only).
  • Apple Silicon (M1) support.
  • Fully compatible with 4D v18, v19 and v20.

Licensing & Pricing

PDF Plugin has several licensing options. Here is a summary of the different options available:

Development license
The development license is for developers who want to use PDF Plugin for their
solutions. Without the development license the plugin will run in demo mode and will quit after one hour of use. The development license does not include a license of PDFlib. This means that it will print the text “www.pdflib.com” on each page. A development license is required for each developer using the plugin.

Deployment license
For deployment purposes PDF Plugin is licensed on a per system basis. One license covers a single computer running under the selected operating system regardless of the number of CPUs. An individual license key is necessary for every individual system. Deployment licenses do include a license for PDFlib.
The deployment license is available in three variations. A standard version with some optional modules:

• Standard
  This license includes all functions required to create PDF output containing text, vector graphics and images plys hypertext elements. If offers powerful formatting features for placing single- or multi-line texts, images and creating tables. This license includes all plugin commands, except those listed under PDF import and PDF block filling.
• Standard + PDF import (PDI)
  This license includes all the standard functions plus the PDF Import commands for including pages from existing PDF documents in the generated output. It also includes the PCOS commands for querying arbitrary PDF objects from an imported document (e.g. list all fonts on a page, query metadata and many more). This license includes all plugin commands, except those listed under PDF block filling.
• Standard + PDF import + PDF Personalization Server (PDI + PPS)
  This license includes all the standard and PDF import functions plus additional functions for automatically filling PDFlib blocks. Blocks are placeholders on the page which can be filled with text, images or PDF pages. They can be created interactively with the PDFlib BLock Plugin for Adobe Acrobat (Mac or Windows), and will be filled automatically with PPS. The plugin is included in PPS. This license includes all plugin commands mentioned in the documentation.

Licenses must be bought for a particular operating system. In general there is a distinction between Mac and Windows and between desktop and server operating systems:

• Desktop operating systems
  Windows 10, Windows 11, Mac OS X
• Server operating systems
  Windows Server 2019, 2022, 2025

Please note that desktop licenses are not suitable for server systems.

Pricing

Development license:

• € 150 per platform (Mac or Windows).
• € 250 if licenses for both platforms are bought at once.

Deployment license:

Please contact us for maintenance contracts, upgrade prices, volume discounts or other arrangements not covered by our standard offers.

Download

Version 8.0.4 is now available!
Click on the following links to download a demo version of PDF Plugin for 4D.

• PDF Plugin version 8.0.4