Change Log
Here you will find all changes to PDFUABox since the initial version 1.0.9 from 26.02.2026.
Version 1.1.7 from 07.11.2026
Fixed: tables with a single cell
If a caption stood directly before or after a table with a single cell, the conversion stopped. Such documents now convert completely again.
New: review with marked places
In the list of your created PDF files, the link “Review” opens the created PDF directly in the browser. The places that were repaired during the conversion or caused a warning are marked in the PDF. Next to it you see all messages, filterable by kind, risk and code. Clicking a message jumps to its place in the document. The markings exist only in this view; your PDF file is not changed. If the PDF is protected by a password, you enter it in the browser; it is not sent to our server.
Reason for failed jobs
If a conversion fails, the list now gives the reason, for example that the file is not a readable Word document or that the conversion took too long. Failed jobs are still not counted against your quota.
PDF/UA check names all affected pages
If a document violates a PDF/UA rule on several pages, the conversion report now names all of these pages instead of only the first, in the list, in the PDF report and in the review.
Documents are deleted after 24 hours
Uploaded documents, results and reports are now deleted automatically at the latest 24 hours after the upload, even if the conversion fails. In the list of your created PDF files, the new column “Available until” shows until when you can download your files; afterwards it says “deleted” and the job stays in the list. With this update, all documents older than 24 hours were deleted. Simply upload a document again if you need it.
New privacy policy and terms of use
The privacy policy now describes in more detail how we handle your documents, on which legal basis we process data and how long we keep it. New are terms of use, which you accept when you register, and a data processing agreement for businesses. Existing accounts accept them once at their next sign-in. The font of the website now comes from our own server; your browser no longer connects to Google for it.
Less data in our logs
The logs of our services no longer contain any content of your documents or file names, and they are deleted after 24 hours at the latest.
Maintenance page during updates
While we install an update, pdfuabox.de shows a maintenance page with the expected duration instead of errors.
Notes for API clients
Registration via POST /api/v1/account/register now requires acceptTerms: true. Accounts that have not accepted the current version receive 403 terms_acceptance_required until they accept via POST /api/v1/me/terms; the response contains a new token. Downloads of jobs whose files were deleted answer with 410 Gone; the job list contains availableUntil and filesDeletedAt for this. Failed jobs carry a fixed code in errorCode in the job list. In the conversion report (GET /api/v1/conversion/jobs/{id}/report), warnings and repairs now have Places (page and rectangle in the PDF), and Notes are added; veraPDF findings name all pages in Pages, Page remains the first.
Version 1.1.6 from 04.11.2026
Faster PDF/UA validation
The result is now validated against PDF/UA by a validation service that is always running. Jobs finish much faster: for a one-page document, validation usually takes less than a second instead of about ten seconds. The validation result is unchanged.
Safer account confirmation
If you request the confirmation email again for an account that is not yet confirmed, you now set a new password when you confirm it. This way nobody can create an account with your email address in advance and later use it with their own password.
Time limit for jobs
If a conversion takes longer than five minutes, it is cancelled and shown as failed. The conversion is credited back to your quota.
Version 1.1.5 from 02.11.2026
Better readability through higher contrast
All texts in the web interface now meet the minimum contrast of WCAG 2.2, level AA. Links, the navigation bar and buttons appear in a slightly darker blue, notices and error messages in darker text. In the conversion report, highlighted repairs now have a light yellow background as in the PDF of the report, and technical identifiers are shown in grey.
Version 1.1.4 from 01.11.2026
Copy job ID
In the list "Your Created PDF Files", a button next to the short ID now copies the full job ID to the clipboard, for example for a support request or the REST API. Screen readers announce the confirmation.
Notice for empty files
If you select an empty file (0 bytes) on the "PDF Creation" page, a notice now appears below the file field. Previously, the "Upload and convert" button stayed disabled without explanation.
Bug fix
The status of a job in the list "Your Created PDF Files" updates again without reloading the page.
Version 1.1.3 from 30.10.2026
Change the quota of existing accounts
Administrators can now change the quota of an existing account afterwards, for example after additional conversions have been purchased. This works in the PDFUABox AdminUtils administration tool and through the REST API. Until now, the quota could only be set when an account was created.
Version 1.1.2 from 29.10.2026
Bug fix
After the update to version 1.1.1, signed-in users were briefly unable to open some pages, including the sign-in page and the home page. The error has been fixed.
Version 1.1.1 from 29.10.2026
User management for administrators
Administrators now manage accounts in the user list of their account settings: create new accounts (confirmed immediately, with a start password and quota), confirm self-registered accounts and assign start passwords. Anyone signing in with a start password first sets their own password. This also works without a mail server.
More secure sign-in
After a password change, a lockout or the removal of permissions, all existing sign-ins become invalid immediately. Too many sign-in attempts or password reset requests in a short time are temporarily rejected, and the page shows a notice. Status messages on the “Your Created PDF Files” page only reach the owner of the job.
Signing certificate
Newly created signing certificates are valid for five years and encrypted with a current method. The certificate password must meet the same rules as the account password.
Please sign in again once
After the update, signing in again once is required.
Notes for the REST API
Cookie sign-in (POST /api/v1/auth/login and /logout) has been removed; use the token from POST /api/v1/auth/token. A token becomes invalid after a password change, a lockout or the removal of permissions. Sign-in and account functions respond with 429 and Retry-After when called too often. POST /api/v1/account/reset-password responds with 400 for an unknown address, the same as for an invalid code. Administrators manage accounts via /api/v1/users (create, confirm, start password, lock, delete, administrator role).
Running on your own server
There is no longer a predefined administrator account; an existing one is locked. The installation creates the first administrator, who assigns further ones. For management from a Windows workstation there is the PDFUABox AdminUtils tool, which works only through the API. The web container no longer contains SSH access, and the TLS settings of the bundled nginx follow current recommendations.
Version 1.1.0 from 29.10.2026
New conversion
PDFUABox now converts with its own conversion library. Headings, table headers, title, alternative texts for pictures and contrast are repaired automatically during conversion. Only Word documents in DOCX format are accepted; ODT and DOC are no longer supported. Fonts such as Calibri, Cambria or Arial are replaced by free fonts with the same metrics, so the page layout stays the same.
Conversion report
For each job the job list shows what was repaired and which places you should check, with a risk rating, together with the result of the PDF/UA validation with veraPDF. You can download the report as an accessible PDF in German, English or Spanish. It replaces the previous technical validation report.
Better PDF/UA results
Bullets and symbols from the fonts Symbol, Wingdings and Webdings are shown correctly in the table of contents and in body text as well. Grouped shapes and pictures reliably get an alternative text. Washed-out pictures such as watermarks look as they do in Word, and text with too little contrast to a picture behind it is reported.
Signature
Signatures now use SHA-256.
Account and privacy
New accounts get 5 free conversions. When you delete your account, all uploaded documents, results and jobs are deleted as well. Several documents with the same name no longer overwrite each other.
Notes for the REST API
New: GET /api/v1/conversion/jobs/{id}/report (report as JSON) and GET /api/v1/conversion/jobs/{id}/report/pdf. The download of the veraPDF XML report and GET /api/v1/status have been removed. Uploads are accepted as DOCX only.
Version 1.0.18 from 27.10.2026
Better protection of passwords and certificates
PDF passwords and signing certificates are now stored encrypted only. The passwords of a job are deleted after the conversion. The web interface no longer accesses the database directly, and the services run in separate networks.
More reliable processing
Jobs are no longer processed twice, even under high load. A document that repeatedly aborts the conversion is reported as failed after several attempts instead of blocking the queue.
Better PDF/UA results
Bullets from the Symbol font are now carried over correctly. Substitute fonts for common Office fonts such as Calibri or Cambria are embedded more reliably.
REST API
Applications can now sign in with a token (POST /api/v1/auth/token). Registration, e-mail confirmation, password recovery, profile and signing certificate are also available through the API. The conversion quota now also applies to jobs submitted through the API. Details in the documentation.
Running on your own server
PDFUABox can run on your own Ubuntu server, optionally with your own mail server for confirmation e-mails.
Further improvements
The navigation under "Manage account" is shown again. The legal notice and the privacy policy have been updated.
Version 1.0.17 from 19.04.2026
Minor bug fixes
Minor internal bug fixes.
Version 1.0.15 & 1.0.16 from 26.03.2026
Bug fixes for Asian fonts
Bugs related to Asian fonts have been fixed to improve the stability of PDFUABox.
Version 1.0.14 from 24.03.2026
Website now available in English (default), German and Spanish based on browser settings
The PDFUABox website is now available in English (default), German and Spanish, depending on the browser's language settings.
Bug fixes
Minor bugs have been fixed to improve the stability and usability of PDFUABox.
Version 1.0.13 from 23.03.2026
Updated product description
The product description has been updated to reflect the current software status.
Version 1.0.12 from 21.03.2026
Improvements in openapi.json
The schema definitions for JobStatus and DocumentPrivileges have been improved.
Version 1.0.11 from 21.03.2026
Improved PDF/UA handling of TOCI elements
Annotations of TOCI elements are now populated with the parsed heading text.
REST API provided
PDFUABox now provides a REST API to check and improve the PDF/UA conformance of documents. For more information about the API, see the documentation.
Version 1.0.10 from 03.03.2026
Ensuring heading order
PDFUABox now ensures that the heading order in the structure tree is correct to improve accessibility.
Missing headings are replaced with the following texts:
- PDF in German language: "Überschrift H{level} nicht vorhanden"
- PDF in all other languages: "Heading H{level} not present"
The newly inserted heading references the same bookmark as the next following heading.
Improved figure handling
Figure elements are now handled correctly to improve accessibility. Figure elements without alternative text are now marked as decorative. Further improvements to this handling are planned.