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K
khillebrand11
Participant
February 2, 2017
Question

What would cause form fields to be randomly renamed?

  • February 2, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 917 views

I have a pdf file that is sent out to a user to complete.  When it's returned, one of the fields is not calculated correctly.  When I look at the returned version of the form, I note that some of the fields have been randomly renamed.  I've never seen anything like this.  The new field names all contain numbers.

One example:

Original field name:  TotalCharge

Revised field name:  randomname_d3190569f6c0ea932da64f4a04a739cb

(This was a javascript calculated field, and since the field was renamed, the TotalCharge is blank in the returned version of the form.)

Another example for a checkbox:

Original field name:  Certification1#0, Certification1#1

Revised field name:  31600727#0, 31600727#1

I have an additional field named "Date" and the field was not renamed, but the user was able to type in data not consistent with the format category designated.

Could it be that a Mac was used (and the form was created on a Windows PC)?  Was the form somehow corrupted?

I have no clue and have never seen anything like this.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!!

Karen

Message was edited by: Karen Hillebrand Would securing the form help perhaps? This one really has me baffled.

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

JR Boulay
Community Expert
JR BoulayCommunity Expert
Community Expert
February 3, 2017

Hi.

I suppose there's no way to have a user open and fill out a form with Acrobat or Reader is there?

Yes we can.

See that great sample PDF: http://abracadabrapdf.net/file/Masque-JS-calc.pdf

You can use it only with Acrobat (Reader, Pro or Standard), otherwise you see a warning message.

There is a doc-level JavaScript inside that hide the cover layer when the document opens: no JavaScript = no PDF.

The tutorial is here: http://abracadabrapdf.net/ressources-et-tutos/js-et-formulaires-ressources/forcer-utilisation-pdf-avec-acrobat-reader/

(Google translate is your friend)

.

Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe
G
George_Johnson
Inspiring
February 2, 2017

You should try to find out what PDF viewer was used. I have never heard of something like this happening with Adobe Reader or Acrobat. Preview on the Mac corrupts PDFs in a number of ways, but I've never seen it rename fields. Since Preview doesn't have any support for JavaScript, it doesn't support any field formatting (like dates) there may be.

What does it show as the PDF Producer when you select: File > Properties > Description

K
khillebrand11Author
Participant
February 2, 2017

Thanks for your response George!

The form was sent with the PDF Producer:  Acrobat Distiller 11.0 (Windows)

It was returned with the PDF Producer:  DocHub 1.6.6

So you are spot on.

DocHub is an online program.  I created an account and uploaded the form and none of the javascript functionality is working properly.

Calculations are not performed.  I'm not sure how the fields came to be renamed.  I'll have to experiment further with it to find out.

I suppose there's no way to have a user open and fill out a form with Acrobat or Reader is there?  Maybe a disclaimer on the website or the email that it's sent in... or maybe a popup (which may or may not be functional).  Ugh.

Any thoughts/ideas?  If so, please send them my way!

Thanks again.

Karen

T
Test Screen Name
Legend
February 2, 2017

My honest opinion: PDF forms, like PDF multimedia have been killed by the success of PDF. (And the neglect of these areas by implementors Including Adobe themselves on mobile platforms.)  Forget PDF forms ever existed. Go for HTML forms with a web back end. All PDF forms give is a prettier look - which is wasted on the mobile platforms, where it is counterproductive.

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