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An extension of the traditional PDF standard, allowing multiple files to be stored in a single file via metadata

538 starsTypeScript

PDFx – a 2D canvas for multiple PDFs, stored inside a single PDF

Name: PDFx – a 2D canvas for multiple PDFs, stored inside a single PDF
Availability: InStock
Author: gounisalex

by gounisalex·Jun 29, 2026·1 point·1 comment

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AI Analysis

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Embeds JSON manifest in PDF attachments—opens anywhere, renders as 2D canvas in PDFx.

Strengths

•Fully backwards-compatible: regular PDF viewers show all pages sequentially
•Embedded JSON manifest as PDF attachment is elegantly simple and spec-documented
•2D canvas viewer displays each document as a horizontal strip, stackable vertically

Weaknesses

•Requires PDFx app to see the 2D layout—regular viewers just show linear pages
•Adobe Portfolio already exists but only renders correctly in Acrobat

Post Description

I was asked to provide 17 PDF files for my mortgage application. I got tired of opening and closing files, and started looking for ways to process multiple PDFs at once.

I came across Adobe's portfolio spec, but that only renders correctly in Acrobat, every other PDF viewer only displays the cover page of each document. So I asked something simpler: what if I could scroll horizontally to see the pages of one document and then vertically to see more documents? I achieved that via an embedded JSON manifest as a standard PDF file attachment.

This enabled bundling multiple PDFs into a single, backwards-compatible PDF. When opened with a regular viewer (Chrome, Acrobat, Preview), it reads as a long, continuous document. When imported into the react-based app I built (PDFx), it's rendered in a 2D canvas, where each document is displayed as a separate entity.

I would highly appreciate your feedback, please let me know if any other open spec exists that I might have missed.