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Is LifeCycle Designer capable of creating forms that can be filled out and saved using Acrobat Reader

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Level 1

Hi everybody,

I am quite new with the tool so I hope I am not asking too stupid questions.

I just purchased for work Adobe LifeCycle Designer ES 4 (Version 11) having the following purpose in mind:

Create a PDF form that can be filled out and saved/printed/etc by other colleagues using Adobe Acrobat Reader DC.

The PDF form is supposed to be dynamic and interactive, meaning for example that the amount of pages displayed is depending on some actions made by the user in Acrobat Reader (drop down list, checkboxes, etc.)

After starting to find my may with LifeCycle Designer, I could create some actions that seems making all of this possible. When I open the created PDF with Acrobat Reader, the file is responding correctly (things can be filled out, corrected, displayed/hidden, etc...)... except that when I want to save that file, Acrobat Reader says he cannot (he can only save the empty form => no filled up data, no new layout).

I could print it as a PDF, but since my final file can be quite big and long to complete, I can not accept the user not to be able to save it with Reader in the middle of the filling process...

Since I searched on several forums, I know Acrobat Pro has an option that solves that problem applying some rights to the PDF so that Reader is allowed to save the data and not only the empty form... But I do not have Acrobat Pro ! I found a colleague having it who did that action on my file: everything is fine after, but I do not want to ask him this everytime I am updating my file...

Is the LifeCycle Designer itself capable of applying similar right to PDFs it is creating or not? I bought a Software said to be capable of creating dynamic interactive PDF forms... but it seems nobody can actually use them. I do not understand why LifeCycle Designer is sold alone if the tool alone is useless...

Thanks for your help!

9 Replies

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Level 10

I think you might need to get yourself a copy of Acrobat, This will also give you the advantage of using the debugger.

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Level 1

BR001 is right, save yourself all of the headaches that will be associated with NOT having adobe acrobat pro.

In addition to the rights management of the forms it also has great debugging tools and will really let you view the form as the intended audience will see it. (as opposed to the viewer in LC ES4)


Acrobat PRO DC is available for US$179.88/yr and totally worth it.

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Level 1

OK, Thanks for the quick feedback everybody.

I'm just feeling duped in the fact that the software description gave me the feeling I could do everything I needed. I would have found a hint saying it's use in combination with Acrobat Pro or as an extension to Acrobat Pro, I would have probably proceeded in another way...

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Level 1

So does this mean if I create a form in LiveCycle it is useless unless the user of the form has Acrobat Pro?  I intend to create a form that could be emailed to many different people outside the organization.  They will most likely NOT have Acrobat Pro.  I would want them to be able to save the form and return it -- perhaps even with a digital signature.

I surely hope that is not the case.

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Level 1

Hi jefftbNC,

no, it means that unless you use Acrobat Pro ON TOP OF LifeCycle Designer for creating your form, the people you will send the form to will not be able to save it using Acrobat Reader.

You need to use Acrobat Pro to tell your PDF file that he should allow other persons to fill out the form and to save it with its data using Acrobat Reader. Without that additional step, a user of Acrobat Reader could open the file, fill it out, print... but not save it with its content... it would save only an empty form...

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Level 1

AH!

Okay. I have both.  What do I need to do in Adobe Acrobat Pro to make the form work in Reader?

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Level 1

1. Open the form in acrobat pro

2. save as Reader extended PDF

3. Enable Additional Features.

4. save now

That will turn on the ability to save an in progress form with the data intact

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Level 1

I tried this, then opened form in Reader and received this error message:

2017-10-16_11-08-06.png

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Level 1

try opening the original file in LiveCycle save it as a new file, then try the "adobe acrobat pro rights save as" method on the new saved file, I've experienced this after the file has been opened in another program and it broke adobes digital signature on the file.