Repeating Subforms after applying Usage Rights

[Former Community Member]

Hi Guys,

I've been going crazy trying to get this problem solved over the last couple of weeks. I unfortunately can't post the PDF due to privacy issues, but I'm hoping you might be able to point me in the right direction for what might be causing the issue.

The Problem

We're running into a problem once the LiveCycle PDF is opened in Acrobat Pro and has Usage Rights enabled. Once we save the PDF, then re-open it, the repeating subforms start misbehaving. For example, when we re-open that document, rather than the subform having 1 instance (as it should be default), it opens with multiple instances of 2, 3, 6 or 20).

This issue only occurs once Usage Rights have been enabled on the document, and it's always the same number of instances being repeated.

Document Details

The PDF document was created in Indesign then imported into LiveCycle to apply the interactivity. There are a total of 17 pages

There are several subforms throughout the file on various pages. Each of these subforms has a button below them which allows the user to add additional instances of the subform (using the built-in script that LiveCycle generates). Each subform has a minimum count of 1 and maximum limit set to 20. The "initial count" has been set to 1, but it appears LiveCycle removes this value if it is the same as the minimum count.

This document does not tie into any database. It is simply an interactive document that allows users to show/hide pages based on the checkboxes they tick on the first page (just changes page visibility). The idea being, the customer can save the form once they've completed the fields required, then email it back, so save functionality is a requirement (which is why we need Usage Rights).

What I've Tried So Far

I've done a lot of reading on the subject, and I've seen people mention that subforms with non-unique names or empty subforms can cause the issue. I've checked through the document and all subforms have a unique name and there are no empty sub forms.

As a way to trying to narrow down which elements might be causing the issue, I resorted to deleting multiple pages from the document to track down a specific element that might be causing the issue, however, i didn't have much luck with this. The removal of the majority of pages other than the single repeating subform resulted in the subform repeating itself 6-8 times (can't remember specifically, but it previously repeated itself 20 times)

Any Ideas?

I know it's a bit difficult without being able to see the document directly, however I'm hoping someone might have a suggestion for anything I may have overlooked. Is it simply Usage Rights screwing things up, or is there potentially something in my code that conflicts with the usage rights. The thing I find most confusing about this scenario is the apparently randomness for how many instances show up. The first subform pre-loads with the maximum limit available, but the rest of the forms most load with only 2 instances (when they also have a max limit of 20 items).

I've read a few forums where people suggested Reader Extensions, however according to Adobe's system requirements it doesn't seem to match what we're trying to achieve. There is not database interaction at all - we only require the ability of users to save the PDF locally.

If anyone can offer suggestions for where I might need to look to sort the issue out, I'd be most appreciative. Thanks!

[Niall_O_Donovan · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Your description of the problem is very detailed. Send me a private message if it is possible to send the form to an individual instead of posting it publicly.

Here is a thread on repeating subforms, that may help: Saving finished Form duplicates some subForms I used a console.println line of script to try and help identify the problem.

I would try and minimise the number of flowed subforms and only use them where they are required for the contents of that subform. In all other cases use positioned subforms.

Minimum count only serves a purpose when you have a button that allows a user to delete instances. A minimum count of 1 means that the user can delete instances, but not the last remaining instance. Unless you need this, you could take this out.

I don't think the problem is because the form is enabled. There must be something else going on in the background.

Try opening the Javascript Console in Acrobat/Reader (pressing Control+J) and see if any warnings/errors come up. Also put in a console.println script to display the nodes in the console.

Good luck,

Niall

[Former Community Member]

Hi Niall,

I've found the cause of the issue. I've got several items throughout the pages, which have the same names. I've been going through renaming these items to ensure they have unique names. I've also found that setting their data binding to "No data binding" has helped fixed the issues as well.

I had assumed that the document would be smart enough to know these fields had nothing to do with each other, but apparently it doesn't work that way, and once Usage Rights have been enabled, it causes problems with the repeating sub forms.

Thanks for your PM and suggestions!

[Lincoln80]

Hello,

I'm having the same issue.Mine is with table bodyrows.But renaming fields did not fix it for me. Did you come up with a good solution to the problem?