Glossary Updates6 new terms added to the glossaries · October 11, 2026, 13:38 CEST
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Glossary · Document handover and classification

VDI 2770 documentation container

Also known as: VDI 2770 container, VDI 2770 package, documentation container (VDI 2770)

German: Dokumentationscontainer

In VDI 2770 Blatt 1, a documentation container is the ZIP file in which the manufacturer documentation of one object is handed over: it holds the object's main document and one document container per document — each with at least one PDF/A file, optional files in native formats and the metadata file VDI2770_Metadata.xml — and it can nest the documentation containers of supplied parts.

  • Information architecture
  • Standards
  • Technical documentation

In one sentence

A VDI 2770 documentation container is the ZIP file with an object's main document, one document container per document and nested supplier containers.

Example

Pump_P-4711.zip holds VDI2770_Main.pdf and VDI2770_Main.xml, the document containers Operating_instructions.zip and Data_sheet.zip, and the documentation container of the supplied motor with its own main document.

How it applies

  • Document container: One ZIP file per document. It contains at least one PDF/A file of the document version, any further renditions in a native format — for example the spreadsheet of a parts list next to its PDF/A copy — and VDI2770_Metadata.xml with the document's metadata according to the guideline's XML schema. Validators report files that the metadata does not reference and referenced files that are missing.
  • Documentation container: One ZIP file per object. It contains the main document of the object, the document containers of its documents and the documentation containers of subordinate objects, such as a purchased motor or valve. A plant, a unit and each of its components can be documented level by level in this way.
  • ZIP format: The guideline cites ISO/IEC 21320-1 (Document Container File) among its normative references for the container format.
  • A snapshot: A container represents the documentation of an object at one point in time and is not intended to be updated; a revised documentation is handed over as a new container with new document versions.
  • Exact names: The VDI 2770 reference implementation checks the file names VDI2770_Metadata.xml and VDI2770_Main.xml including upper and lower case, so generators should not vary the spelling.
  • Content: The container fixes form and metadata. It does not show whether the documents in it are correct or complete.

Documentation container vs. iiRDS package

The documentation container is a fixed, nested structure of ZIP files for whole documents. An iiRDS package is one ZIP archive with a META-INF folder whose RDF metadata describe any number of information units. Unrestricted iiRDS may nest packages for compatibility with VDI 2770, whereas iiRDS/H must not contain another iiRDS ZIP archive and represents supplier documentation through component trees instead.

External references