Webservice call not working in published PDF form

Question

I've set up a dropdown field in a standard PDF form and have written the following code to run on the 'On Focus' event:
var service = SOAP.connect("http://localhost:50592/lookup.svc?wsdl");
var values = service.GetDropdownValues();
this.getField("LookupField").setItems(values);
This works great in Adobe Acrobat Pro X, but when I save as a Reader Extended PDF with Additional Features, the code no longer runs and I'm stuck with what was prefilled in Professional before the save.
We're trying to get dynamic values for these fields from users in the field who will be filling out and submitting these forms.  We are also limited to a standard PDF form, LiveCycle isn't an option for us.  Can anyone recommend a method that will work or maybe tell me why this isn't working like we believe it should?
Thanks.
Matt Williams

Answer 1

It's not working because the usage right that is required for it to work in Reader is not added when the form is enabled with Acrobat. It can be added if you enable the form with LiveCycle Reader Extensions.
An alternative is to submit (using doc.submitForm JavaScript method) to a web server and have it return an FDF that sets the dropdown values. This can work even if the form is not Reader-enabled. You'll just need to find out how to create the type of FDF that will do this and program the server to return it.