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daniels1025405
Participant
September 17, 2018
Question

Auto-populating a form with data in two other PDF files.

  • September 17, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 1326 views

Hello!

Is it possible with a JavaScript code/Action to auto-populate fields in a fillable PDF with data from two different PDF files?

More specifically, I am looking for a way to automate the process of filling out a W-2C tax form with data from two sets of W-2 forms. The first PDF file of W-2 forms contain the data for the "Previously Reported" column in the W-2C form and the second PDF file of W-2 forms contain the figures for the "Correct information" column of the same W-2C form. Each PDF file of W-2 forms can contain from 1 W-2 form to 150 W-2 forms.

I've been able to automate the separation of the W-2C form with an action I created in Acrobat, but I was wondering if we could automate the process of filling out the W-2C's entirely. All the data I need is consistently provided in two PDF files. For example, the before.pdf and the after.pdf. What we do now is copy and paste all the values into the W-2C form and with 100 plus W-2C's that need to be done, it can take up a lot time.

I am looking for help on writing the code needed or if someone can point me in the right direction for help, I would greatly appreciate it!! I don't have a lot of experience coding, but I am trying to learn.

I've searched around the web to see if someone might have done something similar, but I cannot seem to find anything related that fits my scenario.

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

try67
Community Expert
try67Community Expert
Community Expert
September 18, 2018

It's very hard to say for sure without seeing the actual files.

If the form fields are named the same in all files (which I doubt) then you could simply export the data from the other two files and then import it in the new one. Otherwise it will require a more complex script that maps the fields from the old files into the new one.

On top of that, governmental forms tend to be created in LCD, which makes things even more complicated...

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    daniels1025405Author
    Participant
    September 18, 2018

    Thanks for the reply try67! I was actually considering just exporting the W2 before and after files to excel and then importing that data into the W-2C. I think that would be the easiest method for me to use. I do have a fillable W-2C with specific field names in each box.

    Do you know of a good way to export only specific data such as the dollar figures and employee name, address and SSN? I attached a pic of one W2 before form, this is consistent with with both the before and after files. Just different employee info and dollar figures. I can export the entire form to excel, but it pretty much just copies the entire form into the spreadsheet, which makes it messy. We do have a macro that fills out the W-2C for us, but it requires us to copy and paste all the information into a specific spreadsheet. And having to do that kind of makes the macro pointless to use since we aren't really saving time.

    I did come across this: Import data from Excel into fillable pdf using Acrobat XI Pro - is it possible? How?

    Perhaps if I can get it to export in a specific way that matches the name of the fields in my W-2C I can get it to import easily.

    try67
    Community Expert
    try67Community Expert
    Community Expert
    September 18, 2018

    Do you know whether this is an Acrobat form or an LCD form? Do you know the field names of the fields you want to export?

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