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eSignature Services/Solutions that support XFA-based forms

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Level 6

Does anyone know of an eSignature service/solution that works well with Acrobat Acroforms and/or LiveCycle XFA forms?  Docusign is well known, but doesn't suppport XFA based forms. I know Adobe acquired EchoSign, but their prices for PDF form support is ridiculous at $299/month (http://www.echosign.com/public/static/cost.jsp?cs=mktg_topnav).

Any suggestions/recommendations?

S

4 Replies

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Level 6

P.S. I should mention that I'm not looking for a solution involving Adobe digital IDs and/or a digital signature pad. I'm already familiar with those solutions, but need something where various users can sign similar to DocuSign's solution.

Thanks

Shaun

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Level 1

Try your form on the Free or PRO versions of EchoSign.  They will support some XFA forms and AcroForms automatically without needing to upgrade to Enterprise.  Enterprise edition is only required for forms that do not automatically convert to HTML by EchoSign.  If your form works as is in EchoSign, you should be fine with any edition.

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Level 10

Hi Jason,

I looked at this before and thought it was clarified on a matrix on your website, however I can't find it now.

From memory, EchoSign did not work on Dynamic XML Forms. As there are only two basic types of XFA forms: Dynamic XML Forms and Static PDF Forms, it would be helpful if you could confirm exact what XFA forms you are referring to when you say "some".

Thanks,

Niall

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Level 6

Update: I tested a Free EchoSign account and it appears "static" XFA forms work OK (sorta).  Upon opening the file you get a notice stating:

The following features of the original PDF file will not be preserved in this document:

  • The following field types are unsupported: Buttons

If you wish to preserve these features, resend this document and uncheck the option to place signature blocks and form fields.

In all, it recognizes the form fields, but replaces them with EchoSign fields. I'm not 100% certain, but I believe DocuSign does the same thing. I guess this is "OK" but it's clear you'd have to go back and ensure the conversion is done properly for each field. Also, I didn't see a way in the field prosperities to limit values to the visible length of the field - something pretty important when dealing with eForms that are inteneded  to be printed.

As for dynmaic XFA forms...thah was a no-go right out of the box... I got the typical notice as when trying to open a dynmaic PDF in a incompatible viewer:

"Please wait…

If this message is not eventually replaced by the proper contents of the document, your PDF viewer may not be able to display this type of document…."

I plan to signup for a free Enterprise Trial to see how the "PDF Form Support" option works.  My guess is that it's excatly what I'm looking for in term sof supporting XFA and preserving the fields, but I could be wrong.  I'll post anotehr update soon.