Combining PDF Forms

When I try to combine PDF forms, it copies what is filled out in the form field of the first pdf into all the others. How do I lock the form fields and make them permanent so they'll stop bugging the combine pdf's process? I'm using Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro.

You can flatten the pages before you combine the files. This removes the fields and converts their appearances to regular page contents, so you lose the ability to extract the field values. You can flatten with PDF Optimizer, Preflight, or the following JavaScript: flattenPages();
For more information on the JavaScript approach, see: http://livedocs.adobe.com/acrobat_sdk/9.1/Acrobat9_1_HTMLHelp/JS_API_AcroJS.88.466.html

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Combining PDF Forms with global elements

Hello all,
I have a bit of a problem with combining .pdf forms into a package. I was hoping that I could convert word documents into .pdf format, then convert them into forms using global bindings for basic information in the forms such as customer name and address. The problem is I would like to package the forms as required since all situations are not alike, and have the global bindings work within a package. Unfortunately it seems the only way global bindings work is within the same form unless you convert a word document into .pdf and combine the files into a single .pdf before you convert it into a form. Does anyone have a solution to my problem?

Basically you have to lay the whole thing out in LiveCycle.
I've done it by using the Replace Artwork (under the Edit menu) command on an existing form and selecting a pdf that has all the pages I need in it. Then you have to move the existing fields in your LC form to the proper pages.
Or, put together a pdf with all the pages, bring that into LC as a new form and then copy/paste your existing fields to where you need them.
I don't know if there's a better method hopefully someone else has some ideas. It would be a nice feature in a future version of LC to be able to add pages to an existing form.

Combining PDF Form causes fields to disappar, Acrobat to crash when trying to edit combined PDF

I have a 10 page PDF form that I can edit normally. I combine it using the Combine Files wizard. The resulting PDF has several fields disappear upon saving, and causes Acrobat to crash every time if I try to edit the form. I can combine the original PDF form with no other document, and the error still occurs. I have several similarly named fields, such as Name#1 and Name#2, and it seems that all those fields disappear after going through the Combine Files process. I can open the resulting PDF, and fill in the remaining fields, but attempting to edit the form causes Acrobat to crash each and every time.
I have used this process before, with no problems, but it fails every time on this form.
This is the error in the Event Viewer: Faulting application Acrobat.exe, version 10.0.0.396, time stamp 0x4cc5ebc0, faulting module AcroForm.api, version 10.0.0.396, time stamp 0x4cc5f5cc, exception code 0xc0000005, fault offset 0x0012d905
This is using Acrobat X Standard and Pro on XP Pro and Vista.
If I open the original PDF, and insert a new PDF as new pages, that works fine.
I updated Acrobat to the latest patch, problem remains. I don't know how to resolve this.

Did a little more testing and this is what I found. If I use the "Insert from file" feature to combine a cover sheet plus 3 AcroForms (inserting each file one by one), eveyrthing appears to work. However, if I use the "Combine via Acrobat" feature I run into the issue of fields disappearing once combined.
I shoudl also add that perhaps the issue had something to do with the fact that I initally produced the cover page pdf via Photoshop "save as PDF". Perhaps that contirbutted to the structure issue despite it being a PDF...maybe under the hood things are structured differently. Who knows.
Just FYI for others: What appears to be working is using the "Insert from file" option vs "Combing via Acrobat". Also, if you are including a non-AcroForm PDF, be sure it a traditional vs. saving as a PDF from Photoshop.
Alot of this may be a fluke, but it seems to fix my issue - for now.

Create combinable pdf form

Hi,
I creating pdf form and I want to combine it with some jpg file.
But when I want to combine files in acrobat, there is error in form: "Adobe XML forms cannot be merged."
Can somebody help me?
Thanks for respond

The only way you can combine it is through Assembler and the form must be the 1st document in the set. You cannot combine multiple forms. Conversely you can flatten the form (on the server - takes the fields out of the form - removes the interactivity from it). Then you can combine it in whatever way you want.

Combine pdf form

Hi
here is the problem I'm facing;
I'm writing an instruction book with multiple sections, each section will be its own pdf (lets say section 1.pdf - section 10.pdf). Now for customer "A" I need to send one pdf with section 2.pdf, section 3.pdf, and section 4.pdf combined while for customer "B" I will need to send section 1.pdf, section 3.pdf, and section 9.pdf, and this process will be repeated numerous times. now my idea is to build a form that has check box for every section and acrobat will only combine the sections that I check. is that possible? is there any way to solve my problem if this way is not possible or if there is a smarter way to do it?
thanks
(if you think that my description is not clear please let me know and i will try my best to clearify it a little more)

No you cannot... this is one of the things my organization struggles with. I love livecycle becuase of its dynamic form capabilities, but we have so many other pre-built pdfs in adobe pro that can not be merged with these forms. It is truly frustrating!!! wish i had a better answer for you. Also from the book 'Creating Dynamic Forms with Adobe LiveCycle Designer' page 6... "The PDF files that Designer creates are structurally different than other PDF files...... LiveCycle Designer can edit a PDF form created in Acrobat, but Acrobat can not edit a PDF form created in Designer." Likewise... XML pdfs do not merge with other pdfs. JoBeth

Combine PDF Forms w/o merging fields?

I have nearly 60 grant applications that were submitted to me by individuals, each in a Form I created that they downloaded from my website. I need to combine these files into one document that can be numbered from beginning to end. When I go to merge the files into one single PDF document, I get the following message:
"Any form fields that have the same name in the merged documents are now merged into one field. If you want these values to be unique, then you need to create a PDF Package instead of merging the files."
Sure enough, when the documents are combined, every applicant's information is replaced by the first document's information. There is NO WAY I can go through and rename the form fields in 100 documents, and yet I need all these forms in one document so that I can add page numbers, etc. Help!
David

Note that layers are not involved in this at all. I was able to successfully flatten that last form that you sent. What happens if you open the form in Acrobat, open the interactive JavaScript console (Ctrl+J), type in the following line:
flattenPages();
And with the cursor on the line, press Ctrl+Enter

Call from Java to combine PDF and XML

What adobe software do I need to combine PDF form template and XML data to produce PDF with XML data embedded.
Also is there any samples/references available to make a call to the above from a Java program ?
Any help is deeply appreciated.
Thanks!
Priya

Hi Priya,
Just curious if you figured out how to generate a PDF out of a template? I've a similar requirement where I transform XML schemas into templates, convert the template into a PDF document, and at run time bind the PDF with the form data.
To sort of answer your question of how to bind an XML instance file to a form, if that form is an XML-FORM, then all you'd need to do is open that document as a PDF document using the PDFFactory, and invoke the importFormData() method on it, passing the XML instance as the input stream.
The harder part though is getting the PDF out of the template in the first place, without using any adobe user interface period.
Karthick

Can I combine a form created in Livecycle Designer with a standard pdf to create a new document?

I have a fillable form that I created with Livecycle Designer along with two standard pdf files. When I try to combine in Acrobat Pro 10 it identifies the form with XML data and will not allow me to complete the process. Thanks in advance for any help with this.

No you cannot... this is one of the things my organization struggles with. I love livecycle becuase of its dynamic form capabilities, but we have so many other pre-built pdfs in adobe pro that can not be merged with these forms. It is truly frustrating!!! wish i had a better answer for you. Also from the book 'Creating Dynamic Forms with Adobe LiveCycle Designer' page 6... "The PDF files that Designer creates are structurally different than other PDF files...... LiveCycle Designer can edit a PDF form created in Acrobat, but Acrobat can not edit a PDF form created in Designer." Likewise... XML pdfs do not merge with other pdfs. JoBeth

I purchased the Adobe PDF Pack but it won't allow me to convert any files to pdf or combine multiple files to into 1 pdf form. It keeps saying "Error occurred while trying to access the file". WHY

I purchased the Adobe PDF Pack for $7.50/month (or $89.99/yr) but it won't allow me to convert any files to pdf or combine multiple files into 1 pdf form. It keeps saying "An error occurred while trying to access the service". WHY is this happening & How can I fix it?

Hi hpmg,
It seems you are trying to access the service via Adobe Reader. Make sure you are signed in with your Adobe ID. Is Reader updated to the latest patch v 11.0.09?
It might be possible that a firewall or antivirus might be breaking the connectivity from Reader to the server.
Try accessing the service from the browser: https://cloud.acrobat.com/exportpdf and check if that works for you.
Regards,
Rave

Lose form data when combining PDF fillable forms

I would like to combine into one PDF document two completed form-fillable PDFs. The PDF forms have identical fields, but the data collected on the forms (from different users) is different, of course.
When I add the second form to the PDF document containing the first one, the data from the second form is erased and replaced by the data from the first.
So, I end up with a PDF document with two forms containing identical user data.
I suspect Acrobat is freaked out because the forms contain the same field names or something. I know I can solve this by making a new PDF from the form-fillable PDF--flattening the layers, in Photoshop-speak. Is there another way to solve the problem?

With Acrobat forms form fields with the same name and type will change together. This has how Acrobat forms have worked since they were introduced.

Combining 2 PDF forms

I have created 2 PDF forms in LiveCycle ES. When I try to combine the 2 PDFs in Acrobat Pro 9 (File > Combine > Merge Files into a Single PDF) I get an error message that Adobe XML forms cannot be merged. How can I combine the 2 forms into a single 2 page PDF?
Thanks!

When selecting Forms, then start from wizard, which ever method I choose (existing document, paper form, no existing form), LiveCycle always opens up. Is there any other way to create a form in Adobe besides LiveCycle? It's looking like there's no way to merge these forms.

Combine fillable PDF-Forms

Hello,
I am testing just the Acrobat Pro and have three PDF forms with advanced reader rights (fill and save) created.
I would like to fill these PDFs via FDF save from my Access database and to then combine them into one file.
When trying to use the tools: pdftk or pdfsam I always get error messages because of a lack of rights?
Who can help a beginner in the wide world of Acrobat? :-)
Thank you and greetings from Cologne.
Mike
P.S. Is there an alternative to a digital signature? (eg, a field in a PDF that you can sign on a touch screen)

Hi try67,
thx for your reply.
I am looking for a solution in my Access-Database, which I would like to fill (in VBA) several 1.000 forms that are to remain after the merge with the reader further filled out.
Thanks & Regards, Mike

Add or combine two PDF forms

Hello group,
I am totally new to Adobe Livecycle Designer.
I want to add Acrobat (static) PDF form to Acrobat Dynamic XML form.
Is it possible to do that?
Please assist me to combine them.
Else any guideline to add a scan copy to Acrobat Dynamic Form.

You can't assemble together a dynamic xfa form and other content. It has to be static

Is there any part of a PDF Form that is ignored when digitally signing?

I'm building a simplified workflow process using PDF forms. Users would add a Submit button to a form that posted to an internal web service, which would add the forms to an internal document system for further processing.
Part of the process involves subsequent users in the workflow opening the forms and adding additional signatures, then submitted them back into the system.
I'm trying to find a way to identify PDF forms that have already been submitted vs. new forms that have not been seen before. I'd like to add an internal identifier (flag, ID value, something) to the PDF the first time we see it. But, I need to make sure not to invalidate the existing signatures. I don't want to change any of the form fields, or the visual content, or any other user-facing aspect of the PDF itself; I'm looking more for, say, a custom property, or new keyword, or something.
Is there any portion of a PDF that does not get considered as "part" of the form when applying and validating the digital signatures?

Yeah I kinda figured that... Really too bad. Seems lke it should be possible somehow. Anyway, do you all have any suggestions about the best way to combine a static form that is really just text fields and such (that comments and markup tools can be used in) with another page that is sections of narrative that would need to be able to flow?
Or better yet, a way to draw lines on to a form without using the comment and markup function?
I like your idea about connecting two forms - but I need to keep the final product as simple as possible. Once the user fills it out, they would be to be able to submit it and it show up as one file, even if that is just a flat file. I don't expect you all to tell me how to do this, but it would be nice to know its possible before I commit to the project and research. Thanks in advance.

How to: Create a master form that auto-fills data into other pdf forms?

I hope someone can please help me. I have about 15 PDF forms that all require similar data entry (name, address etc). Can I create a master form that we fill in once per client, and then auto-fill in the matching data on the 15 forms?
I am not looking for an online solution as the information is highly sensitive.
I have already created a form in Acrobat X Pro with the 'master data', and created the (15) forms with identically named fields. How I link the forms now to the master, I cannot figure out (after much searching).
I have read similar questions on the same topic but have not found any answers. I hope this time someone can please help.
Many thanks in advance.

Thank you! I had just figured out how to export the data from the master as an FDF file and then import it to the other files. I'm afraid I don't understand scripting to automate the process across multiple files. To you mean with java script?
I've also thought about combining the forms, once we know which ones the particular client will need. I have to see how it works in practice for my colleagues who will be using them.
Thank you again.

Combining PDF Forms

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