Attachments need a Unicode filename

PDF/UA check METADATA_EMBEDDED_FILE_SPECS · Metadata · severity Low · PDF/UA 8.14 Embedded files

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Why it matters#

When PDFs contain attached files, users need to know what those attachments are. Without descriptions, embedded files appear as unnamed attachments that users cannot identify.

What you will see#

An embedded attachment has no Unicode filename entry, so it shows up unnamed in the attachments list.

How to fix#

Add a /UF (Unicode file name) entry to each embedded file's file specification dictionary, matching the existing /F entry. Re-attaching the file with a current PDF tool typically writes both entries.

Step-by-step guide#

1. List the document's attachments in Acrobat's Attachments panel (View > Show/Hide > Side panels > Attachments). EQChecker flags each embedded file whose file specification dictionary has an /F entry but no /UF (Unicode file name) entry.
2. Simplest fix in Acrobat Pro: save each flagged attachment to disk, delete it from the PDF, and re-attach it via the Attachments panel. Current Acrobat writes both /F and /UF when attaching a file.
3. If an attachment cannot be recreated (for example it carries associated-file relationships or a Metadata entry you must preserve), the file specification was written incompletely by the producing application - Acrobat has no UI for editing these dictionaries - and the reliable fix is regenerating the document from its source with an export pipeline that writes both /F and /UF.
4. While editing, give each attachment a description: PDF/UA-2 8.14.1 requires a Desc entry on every file specification in the EmbeddedFiles name tree, with sufficient context to make the attachment's intent clear. In Acrobat, right-click the attachment > Edit Description.
5. If an embedded file is necessary to understanding the document, make sure it is itself accessible: an embedded PDF must conform to the ISO 14289 series (6.2), and a non-PDF embedded file needs an associated PDF Declaration of conformance to an appropriate accessibility standard, included via the Metadata entry of its file specification dictionary (7.2.2).

Verify: Re-run the EQChecker scan; METADATA_EMBEDDED_FILE_SPECS passes when every embedded file specification with an /F entry also carries /UF.

Note: Documents without attachments pass automatically. The Desc requirement in step 4 is a separate PDF/UA-2 obligation this rule does not test, but fixing it in the same pass avoids failures in other validators.

WCAG success criteria#

No WCAG success criterion maps cleanly to this check — it is a PDF/UA structural requirement. The PDF/UA clause above is the normative reference.

Standards#

This check contributes to the following standards:

PDF/UA