Enable Reader users to save form data

[community_help]

This question was posted in response to the following article: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/acrobat/pro/using/WS58a04a822e3e50102bd615109794195ff-7e0d.w.html

[gilbertramirezpt]

I find this very confusing because ot the use of specific words like locally. I want to make a form in adobe x and then I want to use that form with adobe reader on an ipad to fill in the form and I want to be able to save each form with the name of the patient. what are the limitations of the use of the reader? will I have to recreate the form after 500 uses? this is very confusing and non sensical. Please elaborate if you can?

Many Thanks if you do

[Dave Merchant]

Read the policy statement at http://www.adobe.com/products/eulas/pdfs/Reader_Extension_Policy_A10-5-31-2011.pdf

[gilbertramirezpt]

Dave,

I'm still confused. I'm the one who is filling in the forms. I am filling in the forms on an iPad using reader X. They are evaluation forms. I want to save them to print them when I get home or email them to the company which needs to read them. They will probably print them for the patients paper file. I will need to sign the printed form. I would like to know what this means for my situation.

Thanks.

[George_Johnson]

Since you only want to use Reader for iOS, you don't need to bother Reader-enabling it since it (and non-Adobe PDF viewers) will save filled-in forms without any usage rights. The downside is its support for forms is significantly less than Reader for Windows/Mac.

[Mrs__Amanda]

I would like to allow the users of my form to save what they have typed, but only as a separate copy. I do not want their entered information to be saved in the original document. Is this possible, and if so, how do I do it?

[Test Screen Name]

To protect your original file, use ordinary file security, so the users can read it but not write it. Otherwise, nothing can protect the file.

[RBrams]

If I'm working in Reader (Version 10.1.2) on a non rights-enabled PDF (it says on the top that I can fill out the form but cannot save data typed into the form), is there any way to get around this and save data typed into the form? Is there an Adobe product available for purchase that will allow me to save data or a version of the PDF with my data filled in? Or does this capability solely depend on how the PDF was created? I am a non-profit grantwriter, and it seems to be more and more common that we cannot save filled-out versions of PDFs that Foundations create, which is an issue in terms of our record-keeping and file-sharing abilities. Does anyone have any ideas for me on how to deal with this, or is there an Adobe product that would solve my problem? Thanks much!

[RBrams]

I should mention that I work on a Mac, don't know if that changes anything.

[George_Johnson]

Acrobat is available for the Mac and can save filled-in PDF forms. Unfortunately the lower priced Acrobat Standard is not available on the Mac, so you'd need to get Acrobat Pro.

Note that the Preview application on the Mac is capable of saving filled-in PDF forms, but it corrupts them in a number of ways when it saves. It also doesn't support any scripting, which is how field formatting, automatic calculations, and other things are implemented. But if you will only be using Preview to work with the form, it might be sufficient for your needs. Just realize that if such a form is later opened in Reader/Acrobat, the form data probably won't be visible and it very well may not work as intended.

[RBrams]

I'm wondering if this would work: use Acrobat ExportPDF to convert the PDF into Word, fill in my data as needed, and then Save As back to a PDF. I'm an independent contractor who works part-time, so I need a budget-friendly solution, and ExportPDF is only $20/year. But I'd like to know if it's likely to work well for this purpose before I purchase. Also, I have an older MacBook (almost 5 years old) in need of upgrading itself - it looks like ExportPDF an online service, not software I have to download to my computer and might have compatibility issues with an older computer??

[George_Johnson]

It could only work if the PDF form is not secured, and many are. My guess is that the result of what you propose would usually not be very good.

[RBrams]

How would I know if the document is secured? For this particular PDF I'm dealing with right now, here's what the Security Document Properties says:

Security Method: No Security

Printing: Allowed

Document Assembly: Not allowed

Content copying: allowed

Content copying for accessibility: allowed

Page extraction: allowed

Commenting: not allowed

Filling of form fields: allowed

Signing: Not allowed

Creation of Template pages: not allowed

[George_Johnson]

That particular PDF is not secured (Security Method: No Security). The stuff that shows as not allowed in Reader would be allowed in Acrobat.

[Mrs__Amanda]

I have a form that has the additional features enabled, but it will not let the user sign the form. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Amanda

[L_Skipper]

Can you provide more explanation surrounding the digital signature? Is a digital signature where a client would "type in" their name or would a digital sigature be where a client would use a stylus and sign their name?

[gkaiseril]

A 'digital signature" is a digital object that is unique to an individual like a pen and ink signature. The user creates a special certificate to which the user is the only one to have the password. There is a private key used but he user to apply the certificate to a signature field and then there is a public key that the user can provide to others to verify the digital signature. If the proper certificate system is used the digital signature can be a legally binding as a pen and ink signature in a commercial or legal situation.

This if different than a facsimile image of a pen and ink signature.

Creating Digital Signatures In Adobe®  Acrobat

Improve document authenticity and integrity

[Jeff_Luckett]

I'm still fuzzy on some of the limited 500 thing.

The wording in "Number of deployed..." states: "...can collect only 500 responses from the filled-in form. This includes both hard copy and electronic submissions..." While the wording under "Number of recipients..." states:"The Acrobat customer can send an unlimited number of copies of the extended doc to those 500 recipients and collect unlimited responses from the filled-in form."

I work for a large company and have a form created and I may need more than 500 people to be able and fill out the form and save it to their computer. They will then email the completed form or print it and submit it at a later date. Am I able to do this or not?

Thanks!

[gkaiseril]

If you expect more than 500 returns for one form, then you need to talk to an Adobe sales representative and your corporate attorney about the issue and look at the LiveCycle ES Right Server product.

[Jeff_Luckett]

Thanks for the help!

I am told now that the form is a kind of "diary" that the end users will keep up with making entries for a month. They may print the form at the end of the use. Can more than 500 people download the form, fill it out and save it then maybe print it out? I was not sure if the 500 limited mattered since the users do not return the PDF.

Thanks.

[Bill12]

You need to check with your legal folks for sure, but as long as it is not being submitted as a form I do not think there is a 500 use limit. I don't have the AAX license handy, but you need to read that section on Reader Rights carefully.

[FormGuy99]

I just want to say that this is the craziest policy that I have ever read. From the form maker perspective, it is impossible to track compliance. I understand that I can create a form and extend save rights for use with Reader and unlimited amount of times. However, I can only receive back and use only 500 completed forms, whether that is a printed copy or electronic. How in the world am I supposed to count how many times a completed form is returned to the company?

I cannot wait to tell my sales team that they need to report every time a form was returned by the customer. And worse, I cannot wait for the discussion where I tell sales to retunr the form - that is number 501. Stop now!

As the general counsel for a company, how in the world am I to sign off on something like this?

[gkaiseril]

The previous policy was you needed to purchase the LiveCycle Server product.

Do you ever wonder who writes the EULA?

It is not marketing, but they may come up with the concept and let another professional make it a legal document.

And the solution for that policy was to submit and FDF from the PDF form to a web server and process that data into a web based SQL database. No rights issue, just access to the Internet. Now there is the LiveCycle Designer for forms that directly interface to a database.

[George_Johnson]

It does sound crazy until you realize that Adobe wants to charge for unlimited use of this feature, but selling licenses for LiveCycle Reader Extensions, which can allow for unlimited use. They didn't want to just give it away.

A little History: The scheme of allowing Reader to do certain things only if the document has been extended with usage rights began with Reader 5.1. Back then, the only way to extend a document was with Reader Extensions, as opposed to Acrobat. With Acrobat 7, you could add commenting rights, which included the Typewriter tool as a means to fill-in non-interactive forms. With Acrobat 8, you could also add form saving rights, but with the limitations imposed by the license agreement. This was a boon for many, especially for forms that are internal to a business, as most have fewer than 500 employees. With Reader 10, you can add certain types of annotations (sticky, text highlight) without the document being extended. With the current version of Reader for iOS/Android, you can save forms and add all sorts of annotations without the document being extended. The downside is it doesn't have complete support for forms/JavaScript. Many Reader alternatives allow unrestricted form saving and commenting. So at least things are moving in the direction of fewer restrictions.

[gkaiseril]

From being an auditor, I have learned all things are negotiable. Since in many cases attorneys negotiate contracts and agreements, I would contact Adobe sales and start negotiating.