Automatic XML generation as an attachment in the PDF

[Kaxkul]

Hi everyone,

Please excuse my limited knowledge with this question as I just wanted to first clarify if it is possible before exploring how to do it 🙂

In my form, I want to implement a button that users can click to check if any field is still pending and then save the form as a PDF file with a different name.

My question is (I know they can save it in XML format): When the file is exported in PDF format, can it also generate the XML at the same time and include it in the PDF as an attachment automatically? as I will need both files (it was generating confusing requesting users to upload both files).

Is that possible?

Thanks a lot

[Thom Parker]

This would only be possible for a script that has privilege.  And I'm not sure it would work in Reader, Pro might be required. 

Read this article on how to write a script to save a PDF. 

https://www.pdfscripting.com/public/How-to-Save-a-PDF-2.cfm

[Kaxkul]

Many thanks @Thom Parker. After reading through what you shared, I'm still unsure. I use the code below in the button to generate the submission form (basically to check if all fields completed) :

var emptyFields = [];

for (var i = 0; i < this.numFields; i++) {
var f = this.getField(this.getNthFieldName(i));

var aPages = (typeof(f.page) == "object") ? f.page : [f.page];
aPages = aPages.filter(a => a > -1 && a < 9);

if (f.type !== "button" && f.required && aPages.length && f.required) {
if (f.valueAsString === f.defaultValue) {
emptyFields.push(f.name);
}
}
}

if (emptyFields.length > 0) {
app.alert("Please complete the following fields:\n" + emptyFields.join("\n"));
} else {
app.execMenuItem("SaveAs");
}

To generate the PDF file for submission, I thought it would be possible to attach a copy of the form in a "*.xfdf" embedded automatically in the PDF

[Thom Parker]

You can generate the XFDF for the form and make it an attachment. However, adding an attachment requires privilege, so it can't be automatically done from a document script. 

See these entries in the Acrobat JavaScript Reference:

https://opensource.adobe.com/dc-acrobat-sdk-docs/library/jsapiref/doc.html#exportasxfdf

https://opensource.adobe.com/dc-acrobat-sdk-docs/library/jsapiref/doc.html#createdataobject

Those are the two functions you'll need to make this work.