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Save PDF file with all data typed into form by using Adobe Reader! HELP!

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Former Community Member
Hello,



This is my first time here and I have a little problem. I designed the form in the Adobe LiveCycle Designer 7.0 and saving it as dynamic PDF. All I want is to fill it out, save a copy of that in hard drive and then email it as a attach file. I don't want any XML data file or any thing else, I want real completed document in PDF. That's all!



We can save a copy of completed document in Adobe Acrobat Pro but how we can save it in Adobe Reader?



My form is some thing like this (link below), every time you open it in Adobe Reader, it will tell you that "You cannot save data typed into this form." and let you print it.



Example: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/sf269.pdf



But at this link



http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf



you can cancomplete this form and save a copy of it into your hard drive with all data typed for ever. Yes by using Adobe Reader! But I have a no idea HOW?



Does anybody have any suggestion? Please any help solving these problems would be most appreciated.



Thanks again,

Daniel
64 Replies

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Level 1

Hmm. I opened the form I created in ES2 in Reader 9.I hope it'll work with earlier Readers. I'll have the confirm that.

First, I first opened the file in Acrobat X Pro, made sure I was not in Edit mode, chose Save As.., selected Reader Extended PDF, then Enable Additional Features.

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Level 1

Sounds like I need a more up to date version of Acrobat than my current Standard 7.0 version. When I try to open the form I’ve created it produces an error page:

Adobe Acrobat 7.0 has encountered a problem and needs to close.  We are sorry for the inconvenience.”

So maybe it’s not possible to open a form created in Livecycle Designer ES2 in early versions of Acrobat Standard/Pro. I think I have read the solution you are talking about Audition Denver and it referred specifically to Acrobat 8.0, 9.0 and Pro. At least one of us is sorted out. I will try and look for an updated version of Acrobat for download so I can complete this one form I’m stuck doing.

Cheers

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Level 3

In Livecycle ES2 there is an option under Form Properties>Defaults that lets you choose the target version of Acrobat and Reader that will be using your form.  If this is set at v9.0 or X, you may be preventing the form from being openend in the older versions.

Good luck

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Level 1

Good info CDesign2, I didn’t realize that option existed. I’m currently downloading the trial version of Acrobat X Pro and intend to modify my form in the same way that Audition_Denver has mentioned. Failing that, I will try to change the target version that my Livecycle form is set up for. Thanks for your help.

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Level 1

As a final follow up to this question, I downloaded the trial version of Adobe Acrobat X Pro from the Adobe website (30 day trial). Using this program to open the form I had created in Livecycle Designer ES2, I was able to alter the reader extension protection as Audition_Denver has described above.

Thanks for the help and good luck in the future to other people faced with a similar problem.

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Level 3

I've placed an order yesterday and realized that we cannot creat form that users can save their datas with Acrobat X and I just cancelled order. That must be joke!! That way is disrespect to the users who showing respect licensing matters!!!

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Level 3

You CAN create a form that allows users to save their data using Acrobat X...or more correctly the software bundled with Acrobat X.  You create the form in Livecycle Designer and then if you wish for your users to be able to fill in and save the data using Acrobat Reader, then you open your form in Acrobat, "Save As" and choose Reader Enabled (Can't quite remember the exact wording)...it is still a similar process to what has been happening in previous versions...just found in a slightly different place

Hope this helps

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Level 3

Hi,

File > Save As.. >  Reader Extended PDF ( This option is Greyed out)

Is Livecycle Designer paid product? I believe yes so whats the point to have Acrobat? We are buying a software whihc is specifically designed to create pdf files and look at this surprise I am really sorry but I can do almost everything with the Word 2010 and export as pdf already! I only needed that software to create fillable forms and its not working and I have to buy another software. This is absolute disrespect to the honest users.

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Level 3

Livecycle Designer is a bundled product (including bundled in the trial version).  So it is free when you buy Acrobat...it has been bundled with Acrobat since version 7.0 (I think...sorry Adobe staff if I have that wrong and it was with earlier versions).  I find Livecycle Designer fabulous and much more user friendly and adaptable than putting forms together in WORD.  Livecycle designer allows you to connect your forms to databases to import or export data.  It also allows you to create forms that can be filled in electronically by users in Adobe Reader (a free piece of software that most peole now have, and they do not have to have any other software that you own to electronically fill it in)

I am not sure why your Save As> Reader Extended PDF is greyed out, as I have just now opened one of my forms in Acrobat X and Saved As using this function and it worked fine.  It maybe the fact that you haven't made the form in Livecycle Designer.  If your form is just a PDF made form Word or a scanned PDF then it will not have the same functionality.

If you already own Acrobat (which I assume you do as you are able to create PDFs) you probably already own Livecycle Designer (which you may or may not already have installed), I would encourage you to try it out, you may find that it has more capability that you are unaware of and can expand your users experience with your forms.

BTW, I am just a passionate user of the software and have nothing to gain by encouraging you to use the software.

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Level 3

Hi CDesign2,

Thanks very much for the infos. I will install 465MB file again and will give it try lets see how its goes.

Kind regards

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Level 1

Is is possible to fill in and SAVE this file from the federal reserve website?   If so, what version of acrobat do I need?  

http://www.federalreserve.gov/bankinforeg/PrivacyNotice_NoAffil_NoOptOut.pdf

Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks!

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Former Community Member

I am in the middle of taking a Company to Court and the papers that I will serve are on the Small Claims website in the UK. These are in PDF format and site clearly states that this information that is typed in cannot be saved. Now I filled in the information and saved it to a printer program called CutePDF.

This is not a printer as such but it saves a copy of the PDF form complete with any typed in text. This can then be, for example, sent as an attachment in an email or even printed out but you cannot change any of the information unless you go back to the original. I also found that if you need to change the information and then save to CutePDF you have to delete the previous saving. I imagine that there are other ways to use the CutePDF file but I would need to experiment.

I hope that this helps some of you but if not then I apologise for wasting your time.

Regards

Dave

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Level 3

Hi,

To make the form fillable and savble all you have to do with Acrobat X (Not livecycle) Save  As > Reader Entended PDF > Enable additional features. Then press "Save Now" button on the next window. Thats it, you now able to fill and save the forms. Thanks very much who replied this post

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Level 1

I will be out of the office starting 12/10/2010 and will not return until

12/14/2010.

If you need immediate assistance please contact Evelyn Berry, Ext. 1060.

I will respond to your email upon my return.

Thank you.

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Former Community Member

I use Adobe Acrobat 8 and had this same question and found the answer with this forum's assistance and my own perseverance. If you're making the PDF with Acrobat 8, go to Advanced >> Enable Usage Rights in Adobe Reader. Then you can send the pdf to anyone and they will be able to fill it in and save it with thier data.

TenTen71

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Level 1

I went through the same process trying to figure this out for my work.

Just sharing my experience!


I simply wanted my office to be able to edit the same file with forms made in Adobe Acrobat 8.

Since we all have Macs, the file would automatically open in Preview, someone would fill it out, send it to our production office (who uses PC's!) and the data would be completely empty. Very frustrating!

So I figured out I had to build the form in Acrobat 8, go to Advanced -> Enable Usage Rights in Adobe Reader, remind them to open it in Acrobat Reader, and they were able to save all the information and send it off successfully.

A good two hours wasted for such a simple fix. I'm glad it's figured out though.

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Former Community Member

While in the form you created go to 'Advanced' then 'Extended features in Adobe Reader'.  Read the box then 'Save Now'.  Problem is that a user can over write the basic form.

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Level 1

I get this error on a computer that has both Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0 and Adobe Reader 9.0 installed.  Invariably someone will sit down at this computer when the update manager sees a new version (like 9.0 or X) of the Reader that's available and says "OK" to the prompts to install.  And then this new (Reader) version will grab the mime/file extension association for PDF/FDF documents.  Result?  You now have a crippled Acrobat installation and you don't get the value you've paid for.

If you've created the form yourself and you're trying to save/print the filled-in form one work-around is to go into Acrobat and choose the "Create PDF..." option and enter the URL for the website form that produces the form data (FDF file).  It will then create a new local form with data that's filled in.  You may then save it, edit the data and save it or anything that you EXPECT to do as the user.  In other words, it behaves as it should behave as the default.

Honestly, this used to work better a few years ago but apparently Adobe has made some changes that has crippled the default behavior.  I've been writing FDF-producing applications for about seven years now.  It's now enough of a nightmare that I'm considering just abandoning PDF as a useful reporting language.  Imagine having to describe to your customers "...just right-mouse click the link, go start up Acrobat, click Create PDF, paste the link..., etc" when formerly they could just click the "Generate Form Data" link in your application.

It's time for Adobe to return things to the way they were--this is ridiculous.

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Former Community Member

There are two basic thing you want to do:

1) E-mail PDF form submission

2) Save PDF form submission

Check out www.PDFEmail.net

PDFEmail.net generates Microsoft .net ASP.net scripts you upload to your web server.

PDFEmail.net includes custom Microsoft .net libraries, FDFToolkit.net (NK-Inc.com) & iTextSharp, and with a little programming, available through free support and web tutorials, also have the capability to save the submission responses to a database, file, buffer, stream, or string.

If you're determined on NON-Microsoft, then this could be accomplished with iText (JAVA), instead of FDFToolkit.net (NK-Inc.com) & iTextSharp.

Useful Links:

http://www.nk-inc.com/

http://www.pdfemail.net/

http://www.fdftoolkit.net/

3rd Party Links:

http://itextpdf.com/

http://sourceforge.net/projects/itextsharp/

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Level 1

I will be out of the office starting 07/07/2011 and will not return until

07/11/2011.

I will respond to your email upon my return.

Thank you.

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Level 1

hi danial

how can u developed the form..

can u written by any code to create the form

because i need to create pdf form using code

for eg: excel sheet having macro function like that pdf form having any features to write code in pdf form

pls reply me Daniel