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M.Hasanin
Inspiring
November 27, 2017
Answered

Why Adobe Disabled the JavaScript Submit button When Secure a document with password ?

  • November 27, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 2514 views

Hi,

I Just wonder why adobe prevent developers that write submit javascript code (Acrobat Pro DC) from distributing secured pdf document with working (Submit Button) ? what they getting at ? what the reason? can't figure why.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Thom Parker

yes, only small groups for about 4 or 6 users will benefit from this feature, so what do you suggest for workaround ? i will cancel the security and distribute the form so they will not accidentally change the document but i think mailing to server maybe will be the solution


There are a couple of different ways to approach a solution. One method is to have the users manually save the form and email it back to you. This works on most platforms, even on mobile.  It works because Acrobat Reader can save a filled form, and its the user's problem to get it in the email.

The other method is to submit to a server, which requires something on the server end to catch the data. There are ways to write a simple server script that converts the form data into an email attachment and send it to you. I like this one for small setups because you don't have to muck around with managing data on the server.  But it's also outside the scope of this forum.

There are also services such as Form Router that do all the backend stuff for you.

You can also submit directly to google sheets, but this is tricky to setup.  The idea is to create a google form connected to a sheet, then name all your form fields for fields in the google form. Basically trick google into thinking its' the gform that's doing the submit

A better way to connect to google sheets is to write a google app to do it. This is something I've been meaning to do, but I'll get to some time

Data handling can be a pain because it requires some kind of external entity to handle the data transfer. You either have to spend some time working on it or pay someone else.

1 reply

Thom Parker
Community Expert
Community Expert
November 27, 2017

Are you using the "Distribute Form" feature in Acrobat?  This is a highly controlled workflow with specific requirements. Any change you make to a PDF form in this workflow will cause issues.

Other than this. Securing documents can block all kinds of actions.  The type of security you applied might disable form filling for example. How is your document secured?

Thom Parker - Software Developer at PDFScriptingUse the Acrobat JavaScript Reference early and often
M.Hasanin
M.HasaninAuthor
Inspiring
November 27, 2017

Hi Eng.Thom

i  fellow your tutorials in developing Push Button to Submit the mail, and after a lot of hard work in coding my own system in sending mail then i shocked completely after securing the PDF form document (i didn't use "Distribute Form" feature in Acrobat) , also today i just updated my Acrobat Pro DC from ver 2015 to 2018 , i hope it will be different but i suspect to find any change in this area, also after reading many old articles in Acrobat user forum i found that the maximum solution is trying to use "Distribute Form Feature in Acrobat, this will give me feeble Protection to my file but any professional user will easily choose (save a copy) and all the file willbe with his hands, I'm so confused why Adobe doing that! what is the relation between sending data via mail and blocking this features when securing document, its funny that you mention the many actions can be blocked!, OMG!, thanks for your reply and i hope to suggest me any suggestion!

Mohammad Hasanin