You cannot insert pages from an Adobe XML form into another PDF file...

[matttttttt-oEK1ew]

I am getting this error when trying to combine two PDF files.

As far as I can tell, neither PDF file is an XML file.

The problem PDF file is from the Department of Veterans Affairs website and can be found here: https://www.vba.va.gov/pubs/forms/VBA-26-1852-ARE.pdf

If I try to combine this file with any other PDF I get this error.  It looks like a normal PDF file to me, with a .PDF extension.

What's the problem here?

[Test Screen Name · Accepted solution]

There is a kind of PDF form called an XFA form, which contains XML. It looks like a normal PDF, but the error message shows that you have one of these. Acrobat can fill in these as forms but cannot edit them, including work with pages, in any way.

[matttttttt-oEK1ew]

Ok thanks, good to know.

Any way to convert it into a normal PDF yet still keep the form fillable?  Judging from a search on Google it doesn't look promising.

[Test Screen Name]

No, it's a one way trip. Consider combining using a portfolio. (Combining ordinary forms is often a fraught process, because the form field values get mixed up between them).

[matttttttt-oEK1ew]

I actually managed to convert it into a normal PDF and was able to overcome my original problem but I used third party tools.  Am I allowed to post info about third party apps here?  I will describe what I did if so.

Thanks to you for suggesting I had an XFA form, I was able to Google what I needed with that info.

[nic@fundraise_up]

Here's a native solution using Acrobat Pro.

I neeeded to combine a W-9 with other PDF docs and had the same issue you described. I was able to combine the documents by using Acrobat to extract and save the pages from the original W-9 document as a new PDF. I then dragged the newly-extracted W-9 PDF into the Page Thumbnails of my other PDF document and saved the PDF without error.

[SUSAN5FF3]

Thank you! Your tip worked.

[defaultsdln72znasiy]

Thank you kindly! You saved my sanity today!

[Joyal287312034l2d]

Thank you so much for the solution!

[Joanne29947254xhnl]

Thank you so much for this tip.  I extraced a W4 fillable form and saved it as another file.  I then combined the new file into my other fillable pdf file.  It worked like a charm.  I was going crazy until I found your tip.  THANK YOU THANK YOU

[jibaeja]

Thank you so much, this worked!

[TinaMK1108]

When you say "page thumbnails" are you talking about the thumbnails that are in a portfolio?   

Does this work for you when its a single pdf of 20 pages and you use "organize pages" in the toolbar?

[Mark33037292dws9]

I was able to solve this problem by opening the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Standard, then printing the document to the printer "Adobe PDF".   Hit print, then choose a location to save the new PDF. This flattens the form-fillable PDF into a regular PDF.  The new PDF can be inserted into another PDF!