Pdf form field data disappearing?

I am a designer creating fillable field form pdfs (service agreements, questionnaires) for a client (event services management) to send to their customers to fill out, in some cases sign digitally, and email back.  In most cases, the fields the customers typed information in is blank in the returned form pdf.
Customers have been using Adobe Acrobat, Apple Preview, and presumably other pdf software.  We have started to insist they only use Acrobat, but even in those cases the data fields are coming back blank.
I have read of instances where formatting fields within the form for font and font size can cause problems.  Is that really the case?
I do optimize the pdfs when saving to be compatible as far back as Acrobat 4.
Any assistance is greatly appreciated!!!

This was the original file from my computer which hasn't been opened in Preview at any point.  Dropbox uses some sort of PDF reader to view PDFs. I had to open up the PDF before I could share it to my Adobe Reader app.
So, now I've worked out how to transfer the original, uncorrupted, PDF file to Adobe Reader on my iPhone by connecting my phone to iTunes on my computer.  And the ultimate proof is that the problem still occurs and therefore I believe this is a glitch with the Adobe Reader app specifically (it doesn't happen with my desktop Adobe Reader) which means form boxes with strokes applied don't always work.
You're welcome to try this for yourself - here's the original uncorrupted file.  Although I've saved this one into Dropbox so that I can share, I haven't opened it in Dropbox:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kutwzrrlfo4dpyg/Example%20page.pdf.zip
I've just removed the stroke and it works fine, even after opening in Preview first. This doesn't matter because the Adobe Reader app highlights all the fields by default anyway, so the stroke isn't needed in this case.
Thanks

Similar Messages

  • Exporting one specific pdf form field data to a specific webpage field

    Hello there.
    I am currently creating a form in which I need to export one specific pdf form field data to a specific webpage field to avoid typing it again or hitting ctrl+c and then ctrl+v to the webpage, as there are several records that need to be copied and pasted.
    I read that there is no access to the clipboard within pdf therefore, would like to know if there is any way to do that without accessing the clipboard.
    I am a newbie and have been learning by searching the forums and Google, therefore, would appreciate any insight on whether or not this is possible using javascript or the "submit form" funcion.
    Any help is greatly appreciated!

    Hi George, thanks for your response!
    The main issue I have is that this web page is in fact a government page in which I have to manually copy and paste information.
    I have no idea how to automate this process - I have access to the scripts on the page to see what I am able to do, but since I do not have much experience (only very basic javascripting), any other insight would be great!

  • Submit pdf form fields data as customized template

    Hi
    Is it possible to submit pdf form fields as a customized template?
    when the form is submited, I want it to be emailed to me as text form and the form field data would be autopopulated into the text template.
    Im not sure but is this how fdf works?
    if so, how do i get my form to be submitted as fdf?
    please help.
    thanks.

    Here you go .....the 3 fields at the top are where you enter data. The allfields field is the field that creates your special format and teh submitted data field is what you woudl recieve in the email. Note that i changed th ebinding for the first three fields so that they are not included as separate items in the data file. This shoudl simplify what you recieve. I cam change the format of what is written to the allfields if you need a different distinction. In this example I hardcoded everything ....depending how many fields there are on yours i woudl use a different approach (using some complicated code) but the concept woudl be the same. I woudl find all of the fields on your form and loop through all of these objects in a for loop construct this will reduce th eamount of code dramatically and also allow you to modify the form to add or remove fields as you see fit without having to change the code.
    Make sense?
    Paul

  • How do I lock a PDF form field after it has been completed by a user?

    We have a problem with privacy on our downloadable Pdf Forms for customers, they are required to complete personal details within the Pdf Form Fields and then must be processed by our account team.
    But we would require customer completed forms to be disabled from any third party or employee tampering with the entered details.
    Once the data has been input into the form provided online and saved and sent-on it needs to be read ONLY from then on!
    Help please, Chris.

    It depends how secure they need to be. You could include a script in the form which sets the fields to be read-only when the form is submitted, but that can easily be bypassed (and may not be respected by third party PDF applications). Search this forum topic for examples, it's been asked many times before.
    If you have Acrobat you can flatten a form, turning the fields into regular page content, but that's not possible in Adobe Reader X. While the flattened page can no longer be edited in Reader, it can still be edited in Acrobat via the touchup tools, so for complete security you would need to apply encryption to the flattened PDF (via a certifying signature or DRM).

  • When opening in filled PDF form, the data flashes and then blanks.  Adobe  Reader XI

    When opening in filled PDF form, the data flashes and then blanks.  Adobe  Reader XI
    I filled in this form with important data.  And saved it.  I have since opened it and printed it again.  Now when I open it the fields become blank  I can see them for a split second as it clears them.
    I believe I have updated to Reader XI since I filled it in.

    Hi Pat,
    Are you using Adobe Reader XI? And not Acrobat. It does not ask me to save the form if there are unsaved changes.
    I have used previous versions of reader for saving this form data and it did allow me to save it with ctrl+s. And those versions did prompt me to save the changes before closing.
    I guess I should not have updated the reader.

  • Options for read/write form field data with VBA/Reader

    I have a project which requires reading and writing field data to a PDF form using VBA in PowerPoint. The code I have works properly with the full version of Acrobat, but the client this project is for will be using Reader. I'm looking for suggestions to what options I have to be able to access the form field data (I don't need any other features other than access to the field data). Ideally, I would love a solution which doesn't require the client to install anything extra for this to work, but I'm assuming that this isn't possible without an extra install.
    Is there a library that exists in Reader (or could be licensed to be installed on the client's machine) that would allow the data to be read without needing the full version of Acrobat?
    Does a plug-in exist for Reader, or could be written, that would allow this? Writing a plug-in would certainly be beyond my current capabilities, but I am interested in knowing every and any choices that are available.
    Are there any other options to do what I need to do?
    I had originally thought about exporting the form data and parsing it in the VBA program, but this would take a bit more work to write the parsing routine instead of accessing the fields directly. Plus, it appears to me that Exporting is not enabled in Reader.
    Thanks for any insight you may be able to provide.

    Thanks for the response; this was my original suggestion, but I don't think this is feasable for our client. I suggested to our account people that this might be the only way to do this (and the easiest, although possibly the costliest since it would have to be purchased for their entire sales force) and they initially said that this would not be an option, so I wanted to be able to cover all the bases, and explore any other ways that they could do what they want. Is this the absolute only option to do this?
    Someone also suggested to me that licensing the Acrobat PDF Library SDK might be a way to do this, or that it could possibly be done with a plug-in for Reader (although from what I have found, Reader plug-ins would have to be approved by Adobe). These options, if possible, are beyond my current knowledge but I do want to be able to give them a complete list of possibilities.
    Thanks again.

  • PDF Form Field calculates AVERAGE incorrectly

    I have a PDF Form field that is set to calculate the AVERAGE of 4 other fields. Each of those other fields has its validation set to allow only the values 1 through 3.
    The Average field is dividing the total by 4 even if a person only fills out 2 of the fields. I thought AVERAGE would only count the fields that have a value in them. But it's seeing the ones that are blank as containing a 0, even though that is an invalid value for that field.
    How can I fix this? The customer really wants the option of having up to 4 fields and wants an average of just the ones that are filled in. I thought that was what Average was supposed to do.
    Is there a way to tell Acrobat to ignore the fields if their value is less than 1?

    I responded to this question here: http://answers.acrobatusers.com/PDF-Form-Field-calculates-AVERAGE-incorrectly-q13211.aspx

  • PDF form field validation - 2 criterias?

    Does anyone know how can I get a numerical pdf form field to validate within a range as well as validate that the value is equal to or less than the value of another numerical field?
    Thanks!

    I think the following custom Validate script will do what you want:
    function range_validate1() {
        // Do nothing if field is blank
        if (!event.value) {
            return;
        // Initialize some variables
        var sError = "";
        var nMin = 0;
        var nMax2 = 2e6;
        var nVal = +event.value;  // Value user entered, converted to a number
        // Get the other field value, converted to a number
        var nMax1 = +getField("Text1").value;
        // If the value is less than the minimum
        if (nVal < nMin) {
            sError = "Please enter a value greater than or equal to: " + nMin;
        // If value exceeds the other field value...
        if (nVal > nMax1) {
            sError = "Please enter a value less than or equal to: " + nMax1;
        // If value exceeds the max. possible value   
        if (nVal > nMax2) {
            sError = "Please enter a value less than or equal to: " + nMax2;
        // Alert the user and reject the value
        if (sError) {
            app.alert(sError, 0);
            event.rc = false;
    // Call the function
    range_validate1();
    The function can be placed in a document-level JavaScript, but the last line should be the custom Validate script for the field. Replace "Text1" in the line containing the getField statement to the actual name of the other field.

  • CF8 and PDF Form field Info

    Do you know of any way to get the type of field in a PDF form
    as opposed to just its value? What about getting the options from a
    drop down menu in select? Are these things possible with
    CF8?

    I responded to this question here: http://answers.acrobatusers.com/PDF-Form-Field-calculates-AVERAGE-incorrectly-q13211.aspx

  • Word form  to pdf form fields conversion

    Does anyone have any expereince with converting form Word
    form with active
    x controls to pdf form fields - any help would be appreciated
    Ann Steer

    No. What you can do, though, is after you edit your file create a new static PDF from it, open your old PDF and then use the Replace Pages command, selecting the new PDF file as the one to insert. This will replace the underlying PDF content while keeping all the form fields in tact. You then might need to adjust them a bit, but it's much less work then re-doing the entire form.

  • Export just certain form field data

    Is it possible, using form fields created in Acrobat XI Pro, to export only certain form field data to a spreadsheet while other form field data is not exported?

    I couldn't find an example form using exportAsText, but as a noobie it would be very helpful to see one.
    Would the code look something like this?
    exportAsText ("field1", "field 2", "field 3")
    Could I put this code into a button that the user can click to implement it? If not, where does the code need to be?

  • PDF- paex page data to pdf form fields

    Just want to find out if anybody can help me out with this -- without using BI Publisher:
    I have several pdf letters that are pdf fillable. What needs to be done is from an APEX page:
    1. user search for client id
    2. find and selects the client id. Hidden fields for this would be the client's fullname, address, citystatezip, workername, workerphone, workerlocation, workersupervisor, workersupervisorphone, clientid.
    3. select the letter category: CAT1, CAT2, CAT3, CAT4 . I have a letters_table in oracle and have a category field in there. Will create an LOV for this category as a radiobutton. User will select the letter category.
    4. Based on the letter category selected, a list of letters will appear or posted in the page.
    5. User will then select the letter or (letters) by checkbox from the report listing of letters.
    6. Letters in PDF template format will print with the hidden fields printed on them.
    Any idea how to do this? Already created a page for the user to search the client id. So steps 1 and 2 is done.
    Need ideas and help with the rest....
    Can you link the fields in a page into a PDF fillable form? The PDF forms reside in our intranet server.
    I do not have BI Publisher and the deadline for me for this project is Friday April 24.... so appreciate ideas!
    Thanks! ?:|

    There was/is a sample application for html-db 1.5/6 that was called mailmerge.. It allowed you to do a mailmerge document in WOrdpad with Oracle data.. The rtf file would be stored in a table in your schema and you would run code against it to look for filler characters that would be replaced with your data..
    It has limitations, you might want to go and download it and see what you think..
    http://htmldb.oracle.com/pls/otn/f?p=18326:44:338076716200094::::P44_ID:1682
    Thank you,
    Tony Miller
    Webster, TX

  • Need to Change data in PDF form field with importData operation

    This should be simple, right?
    I have a PDF form that is submitted.  At a certain step in the process, I need to modify the value of one field from within the process.  I am using a PDF document in the default formData document variable.  To do this, I am using the exportData operation from the FormDataIntegration service to get XML.  I then use the setValue service to modify one node of the XML.  Finally, I use the importData operation from the FormDataIntegration service to import the modified data back into the PDF.
    Problem is that I am getting an error.  It says: ALC-FDI-001-304: Only XDP data is supported with XFA forms.
    Any advice?  Jasmin, Jayan, Paul, anyone?

    My theory is that when you export the data you do get xdp data.
    Now  when you modify the node you don't have the right xPath to that node and if that's the case, it might be overwriting the entire xml.
    This is causing the xml not to be in xdp data format and you get the error.
    Could you post the data you get from the exportData operation and then the xml you try to use by the importData?
    Jasmin

  • Fill a pdf form with data using Java code

    Hi,
    Modern formats of Acrobat ".pdf" files allows to define form fields.
    I have a datasource, let's say in a database.
    I want to fill my ".pdf" with my database-stored data automatically, and want to write Java code for that.
    1. What is the best way to achieve this ?
    2. Is it necessary to install Acrobat Distiller server and if so what web services should I invoke ? Where is the doc ?
    3. Are there efficient Java libraries to do so ?
    Thank you for helping... As ever, this is kind of an emergency case
    Have a good day.
    Phil

    Take a look at the FDF Toolkit for Java:
    http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/fdftoolkit.html
    That will allow you to, through Java, construct an FDF that contains all your form data.  You then add a reference to your "template" PDF file in the FDF as well and send the FDF to the client.  Acrobat will open the FDF, see the reference to the PDF, open the PDF and then merge any data contained in the FDF with the PDF.

  • How to populate Adobe LiveCycle Designer generated  PDF Forms with data from Database in Windows app

    Hi
    I have a PDF template designed in Adobe LiveCycle Designer. This template has form fields which needs to be filled with data programmatically. I am using windows application in C#.Net 2005 in which I want to retrieve data from database and merge this data into PDF form in respective fields.
    How this can be achieved?
    I searched a lot & I found that we can process the XDP file generated from PDF to acheive this. I created the XDP file out of the PDF template created in designer. But I don't know how to merge data from database into that XDP file in respective fields and again convert this XDP file back to PDF programmatically. Can anybody help me ? This is urgent.
    Thanks in advance.
    Sambhaji

    Please ignore the above code.<br />The following one is correct one.<br />using System;<br />using System.Data;<br />using System.Configuration;<br />using System.Web;<br />using System.Web.Security;<br />using System.Web.UI;<br />using System.Web.UI.WebControls;<br />using System.Web.UI.WebControls.WebParts;<br />using System.Web.UI.HtmlControls;<br />using System.Text;<br />public partial class _Default : System.Web.UI.Page <br />{<br />    protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)<br />    {<br />        Response.ContentType = "application/vnd.adobe.xdp+xml";<br />        StringBuilder responseString = new StringBuilder();<br />        responseString.Append("<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>");<br />        responseString.Append("<?xfa generator='AdobeLiveCycleDesigner_V8.0' APIVersion='2.5.6290.0'?>");<br />        responseString.Append("<xdp:xdp xmlns:xdp='http://ns.adobe.com/xdp/'>");<br />        responseString.Append("<xfa:datasets xmlns:xfa='http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-data/1.0/'>");<br />        responseString.Append("<xfa:data>");<br /><br />        responseString.Append("<form1>");<br />        responseString.Append("<TextField1>Homer</TextField1>");<br />        responseString.Append("<TextField2>Simpson</TextField2>");<br />        responseString.Append("<field name ='DropDownList1'>");<br />        responseString.Append("<items save='1'>");<br />        responseString.Append("<text>1</text>");<br />        responseString.Append("<text>2</text>");<br />        responseString.Append("<text>3</text>");<br />        responseString.Append("</items>");<br />        responseString.Append("</field>");<br /><br />        responseString.Append("</form1>");<br /><br />        responseString.Append("</xfa:data>");<br />        responseString.Append("</xfa:datasets>");<br />        responseString.Append("<pdf  href='C:\\Test.pdf' xmlns='http://ns.adobe.com/xdp/pdf/' />");<br />        responseString.Append("</xdp:xdp>");<br /><br />        Response.Write(responseString);<br />        Response.Flush();<br />        Response.End();<br />    }<br />}

Maybe you are looking for