PDF reading xml file

[j._4883]

Our company has a form that reads off an xml to produce a menu for the pdf (dynamic buttons), and this form has been enabled to Reader Extended PDF. Is there a way that I can extract the xml file and its contents from that PDF form? I do have access to AEM app, but don't know how to be able to access it. TIA.

[Thom Parker]

If this is an AEM form, then you should be asking in the AEM forum. But yes, there are ways to extract all kinds of XML from an AEM form using a script. 

[j._4883]

Is it an AEM form if produced from it or a LiveCycle PDF form? But thank you for your suggestion.

[Thom Parker · Accepted solution]

Yes, both LiveCycle and AEM create XFA (XML Forms Architecture) forms, also called LifeCycle forms, or AEM forms.   The underlying structure of these document is XML, and there is a scripting model specifically created for examining and manipulating this structure, which also includes methods for exporting various parts of the model, which, when combined with XSLT, has the ability to create any XML format you might want of data extracted from the XFA structure. 

[radzmar]

You'll need the Windows-only app Adobe Designer (formerly AEM Forms Designer or LiveCycle Designer) to open the PDF. The PDF is just a nutshell around a XML-based document named XDP which contains multiple XML files like the template. That's the building plan of that form that Acrobat/Reader or any other XFA compatible Viewer will render in real time on the screen. Think of it like a website in a PDF. Designer is the app you'll create or edit this template with. 

[j._4883]

Thank you  Thom Parker and radzmar!