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PDF Spec Glossary
Marc Jones edited this page Dec 30, 2025
·
1 revision
Quick reference for key PDF concepts with links to relevant specification sections.
| Concept | Description | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Tj | Show text string | PDF-Spec-09-Text-Objects |
| TJ | Show text with kerning adjustments | PDF-Spec-09-Text-Objects |
| Tf | Set font and size | PDF-Spec-09-Text-State |
| Tm | Set text matrix | PDF-Spec-09-Text-Objects |
| Td | Move text position | PDF-Spec-09-Text-Objects |
| BT/ET | Begin/End text object | PDF-Spec-09-Text-Objects |
| Text Matrix | Positions text on page | PDF-Spec-09-Text-Objects |
| Text State | Font, size, spacing parameters | PDF-Spec-09-Text-State |
| Concept | Description | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| CTM | Current Transformation Matrix | PDF-Spec-08-General |
| q/Q | Save/Restore graphics state | PDF-Spec-08-Graphics-State |
| cm | Modify CTM | PDF-Spec-08-General |
| Content Stream | Sequence of operators | PDF-Spec-07-Content-Streams |
| Graphics State | Current drawing parameters | PDF-Spec-08-Graphics-State |
| Path | Shape for stroking/filling | PDF-Spec-08-Path-Construction |
| XObject | Reusable content (images, forms) | PDF-Spec-08-XObjects |
| Concept | Description | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Indirect Object | Numbered, referenceable object | PDF-Spec-07-Objects |
| Dictionary | Key-value mapping | PDF-Spec-07-Objects |
| Array | Ordered collection | PDF-Spec-07-Objects |
| Stream | Binary data with dictionary | PDF-Spec-07-Objects |
| Cross-Reference Table | Object location index | PDF-Spec-07-File-Structure |
| Trailer | Document metadata | PDF-Spec-07-File-Structure |
| Concept | Description | Specification |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Font | Type 1, TrueType, Type 3 | PDF-Spec-09-Fonts |
| CIDFont | CID-keyed fonts (CJK) | PDF-Spec-09-CIDFonts |
| Composite Font | Type 0 with CIDFont | PDF-Spec-09-CIDFonts |
| Encoding | Glyph-to-code mapping | PDF-Spec-09-Encoding |
| ToUnicode | Code-to-Unicode mapping | PDF-Spec-09-Encoding |
| Font Descriptor | Font metrics/flags | PDF-Spec-09-Font-Descriptors |
- PDF-Text-Operators - Our documentation on text operators
- PDF-Content-Streams - Our documentation on content streams
- PDF-Coordinate-Systems - Coordinate system guide
- Redaction-Engine - How we use these concepts for redaction