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VFUK
Participant
March 14, 2017
Question

Adding dynamic date field using Acrobat Pro DC

  • March 14, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 27353 views

Hi,

I have a large number of PDF files.  I would like to add a dynamic date field to each one, so that whenever the PDF file is opened and printed, today's date is printed on the bottom of the PDF file.

From doing some research it seems like you can do this with dynamic stamps.  However the only instructions I have found to do this relate to previous versions of Adobe Acrobat, e.g. Creating a Custom Dynamic Stamp

Can anyone please point me in the right direction to achieve this in Acrobat Pro DC?  I would have thought it would be a simple thing to do, but it doesn't seem so simple.

Many thanks.

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1 reply

Karl Heinz Kremer
Community Expert
Karl Heinz KremerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 14, 2017

You do not want to use a dynamic stamp for this purpose, because a stamp - even though it might add the current date to a document - will not update after it's placed. What you want is a form field that updated when the user prints the file, using the "document will print" action. See here for example for an old question about the same problem: Printing current time and date on a pdf document

V
VFUKAuthor
Participant
March 16, 2017

Hi Karl,

Thanks for your response.  You'll have to forgive me but I'm brand new to Acrobat Pro and I am having problems following the instructions on the page.  In the link you sent it says:-

Create a text field and place it in the chosen place on the pdf form. Label it "datebox" in the General tab of Text Field Properties, and apply your character styles in the Appearance tab.

Under the "Advanced" menu, go to "Document Processing" and then "Set Document Actions"

Click on "Document Will Print" and then hit the "Edit" button. In the "JavaScript Editor" paste the following:

var myfield=getField("datebox");

var date=new Date();

date=util.printd("mmm dd yyyy, h:MM tt", date);

myfield.value=date;

Hit OK.

I have created a created a text field, but that's where I got stuck!  How do I get to the text field properties?  I cannot see any way of editing the properties of the text field.

Please help!

Thanks,

Kenton

Karl Heinz Kremer
Community Expert
Karl Heinz KremerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 16, 2017

This is not a text field, it's real PDF text (I know, this is confusing). You need to create a form field of type text, to do that, you select "Prepare Form" from the pane on the right side. Once in the form editor, click on the text field button on the toolbar:

Then, click on the PDF page where you want this form field to be (or draw out the rectangle for the button). Now you can double-click on the field to bring up it's properties.

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