> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.autype.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Export readiness and PDF profiles

> Check document semantics and export tagged, archival, or accessible PDF profiles.

Autype includes a source-level **Export Readiness** check for documents created in the editor, through the Developer API, and through MCP.

The check currently covers semantic source risks such as:

* document title, author, and BCP 47 language metadata
* alternative text or descriptive captions for images
* heading hierarchy and skipped heading levels
* visible, meaningful table headers
* configured fonts that may not be portable to every renderer
* footnote and footer combinations that may collide after pagination
* circular charts whose dimensions could distort the result
* repeated inline styling that should be moved into a reusable style

<Warning>
  The reported score is a **semantic source score**, not a visual approval of
  the rendered document. Even a score of 100 still requires inspection of the
  actual PDF, DOCX, or ODT output. Check pagination, overflow, collisions,
  dynamic fields, fonts, charts, headers, and footers separately for every
  target format.
</Warning>

## Check a document in the editor

Open **Export** and select **Check export readiness**. The report shows the
semantic source score, status, errors, warnings, and the document elements that
were inspected. Many metadata, portability, and layout findings are advisory;
actual structural errors can still block export. Edit the name and export
metadata under **Editor options → Document settings**; the same dialog can save
and run the readiness check.

## Check Extended Markdown through the API

Use `POST /api/v1/dev/render/readiness/markdown` with the same body accepted by Markdown rendering:

```json theme={null}
{
  "content": "# Quarterly report\n\nReport content.",
  "document": {
    "type": "pdf",
    "title": "Quarterly report",
    "author": "Acme GmbH",
    "language": "de-DE"
  }
}
```

The equivalent advanced JSON endpoint is `POST /api/v1/dev/render/readiness`.

## Check through MCP

Use the Markdown-first `check_export_readiness` tool before `render_document`.
It performs the semantic source check without rendering and without consuming
credits. Its response identifies the scope as `semantic_source`, labels the
score as `semantic_source_score`, and sets `requiresRenderInspection` to `true`
so clients do not mistake source validation for visual QA.

## Choose a PDF profile

In the editor, open **Export → Export PDF** and choose the profile that matches the destination:

| Profile          | Use it for                                                  | Form fields |
| ---------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ----------- |
| **Standard PDF** | Sharing, printing, and forms that should remain interactive | Interactive |
| **PDF/A-2b**     | Recommended archival output for most workflows              | Flattened   |
| **PDF/A-1b**     | Conservative compatibility with older archives              | Flattened   |
| **PDF/A-3b**     | Archival workflows that may embed source files              | Flattened   |
| **PDF/UA-1**     | Accessible, tagged output based on the document structure   | Flattened   |

Compliance profiles flatten interactive form fields before export. This prevents a later AcroForm post-processing step from invalidating the profile metadata or tag structure. Use **Standard PDF** when recipients must complete the PDF interactively.

The Developer API accepts `pdfProfile` on PDF render requests:

```json theme={null}
{
  "content": "# Accessible report\n\nReport content.",
  "document": {
    "type": "pdf",
    "title": "Accessible report",
    "author": "Acme GmbH",
    "language": "en-US"
  },
  "pdfProfile": "pdfua-1"
}
```

Supported values are `standard`, `pdfa-1b`, `pdfa-2b`, `pdfa-3b`, and `pdfua-1`. MCP exposes the same choice as `pdf_profile` on `render_document` and `render_json`.

## Conformance scope

<Warning>
  Autype verifies the requested profile marker and tagged-PDF flag after rendering. This is a technical safeguard, not an independent legal certification or a replacement for a specialized conformance validator in regulated workflows.
</Warning>

PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2b, PDF/A-3b, PDF/UA-1, and tagged standard PDF are available without an external service. Their practical quality still depends on correct metadata, heading order, image descriptions, table headers, and reading order in the source document. Always inspect the rendered output in its target format; successful source validation cannot detect every pagination, font-substitution, or geometry issue.

Cryptographic PAdES signing is not generated by these profiles. It requires a certificate, private-key handling, and usually a qualified trust-service integration. Autype signature fields remain available as form controls, but they are not a PAdES signature by themselves.