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Answered

Can't save data placed in form fields

Forum|Forum|9 years ago
February 2, 2016
10 replies
152627 views

Hi Folks,

I am trying to filling a government form from the US and it is a PDF. I am using the latest Adobe Acrobat Reader DC on my iMac. I fill in the fields and click save or save as but nothing sticks. When I reopen the file the data is gone. I tried getting an Adobe ID but that didn't change anything. HELP! Thanks, Rick

Correct answer AadeshSingh

Hi rickh17115353,

You can not Reader Extend the PDF forms using Acrobat Reader DC.

However you can fill the PDF form using Acrobat Reader DC. The only thing is that you won't be able to save the filled form on your computer. If the form has a Submit or Send button you can directly send it after filling the PDF form by click on that button.

Try the 30 days trial of Acrobat Pro DC application to Reader Extend the PDF forms Download Adobe Acrobat free trial | Acrobat Pro DC

Regards,
Aadesh

S

steve_k._7203

New Participant

Looks like they patched the "solution" highlighted for the thread.

I've found two other solutions. For the first one, using Chrome, navigate to url chrome://flags and enable PDF XFA support. Then open the PDF via the Chrome browser.

If the solution above doesn't work for you, the second solution it is an convoluted one that took me hours to figure out. I will tell you what worked for me on Mac.

If you don't have a printer connected to your computer, add a fake printer (aka one with dummy values like an IP address of 0.0.0.0). Not sure how to do on Windows, but for Mac, you go to Settings > Printers & Scanners > Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax... I'm sure there are tutorials on YouTube for both if needed.

Then on Adobe Acrobat, print the document to that printer. Open Terminal (Mac) or Command Prompt (Windows). Now this part if where it gets a little complicated. Enter the following command to see what print jobs have been issued:

sudo ls -lh /var/spool/cups/

You will likely be prompted for you password. After you type your password and press enter, you will see something like :

user@KW2CRGQYPL ~ % sudo ls -lh /var/spool/cups/

Password:
total 21904
-rw-------  1 root  _lp   2.1K Oct 20 21:57 c00001
-rw-------  1 root  _lp   2.4K Oct 20 22:58 c00002
drwxrwx---  9 root  _lp   288B Oct 20 23:15 cache
-rw-r-----  1 root  _lp   2.1M Oct 20 21:54 d00001-001
-rw-r-----  1 root  _lp   2.1M Oct 20 22:58 d00002-001

What you want to look for is the file that corresponds with the time that you pressed print that begins with the letter 'd.' To copy that file as a normal pdf to your desktop, enter the command:

sudo cp /var/spool/cups/d00001-001 ~/Desktop/file.pdf

Keep in mind to change the "d00001-001" value in the command above to the one that you actually want.

file.pdf should be in your Desktop folder!

Spectator 1

New Participant

Update Jan 2022:

I was having this same problem (trying to save IRS forms from my free Acrobat Reader), and solved it quickly:

Help > Repair Installation.

Done!

D

default5pc60iwb6u7z

New Participant

I tried all of the suggestions here and none worked.

Real solution is don't use Adobe.

PDF-Xchange editor is free and you can open, edit, save and reload fillabile forms without any work arounds.

https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor

E

Ernestine5E9E

Participating Frequently

No, your software is not free.

T

Tricia5FC8

New Participant

You can "sign or initial" the document and it will save as Read Only pdf. 🙂

R

Researcher4ever

New Participant

I found myself with this issue today, in 2021, with Reader DC. I am using a MacBook Pro. Here's what DID NOT work for me. Save As, Save As other (not an option), Converting to Word from Reader DC (not without a 30-day trial or paid subscription), and no go on the last option to Print as PDF (LOL - I was politely told, "saving a PDF file when printing is not supported" - although I've done this several times before in other apps).

So what DID work for me? File > Save As > Document Cloud. Log into Document Cloud > Convert to Word > Download (automatic for me) > Open file in Word > Save As PDF🙄 - worked perfectly 1.5 hrs later😮

Tip - for me a simple download from the document cloud put me right back into the Groundhog Day cycle - until I tried the convert to Word function.

I hope this helps someone save time. Good luck!

jayvedmls

New Participant

I had the same exact issue today. I filled out a form (that had fillable fields). Trying to save the form gives the prompt "The document restricts some Adobe Acrobat features... To create a copy that is not restricted, click Save a Copy".

Clicking Save a Copy does nothing. This has been the effect on two different secured California State forms.

None of the above solutions worked EXCEPT for printing the file and choosing Microsoft Print to PDF.

It is impressive that in 2021, Adobe Acrobat Reader DC still cannot save an editable PDF except through ludicrous workarounds.

Bernd Alheit

Braniac

Acrobat Reader DC can save filled Acrobat forms!

P

Phil5FDC

New Participant

Hoping to save someone else some time on this. It was very easy once I figured it out. Instead of saving, print as a PDF and that will allow you to save the filled in document. As I said, easy once you figure it out.

H

hpsauce

New Participant

Hello !!! I am having this exact issue with some of my people losing information after they save. Confirming your suggestio is instead of saving, go print as pdf and it will give you the option to save document and filled fields stay intact?

P

passportscar

New Participant

Hi- that is correct. select “print”, and instead of sending the document
to a printer, select “save as Pdf”.
The next screen, in Windows 10, will ask you where to save it. Then, press
“save”.
when you go to the destination folder or window where you saved the pdf,
your users entries should still be there as described after you open the
file.

P

passportscar

New Participant

Solved? I didn't see my solution...I was filling out a 7 page job app. I saved to desktop. Opened saved doc, my input wasn't there.

Solution for me:

used Chrome-Saved doc to Google Drive.

Opened Google Drive

Opened saved doc (info was there still)

Downloaded to desktop

opened doc from desktop

All my input is intact! Yay!

G

gremar2000

New Participant

I've read through this enitre post and hoping I can also find some help for my very similar issue.

I have a form I designed using AEM Designer 6.4 and it loads using an XML payload. When rendered I have the following:

Facts:

1) The document is created as a PDF with prefilled data from an payload via AEM Designer / Workbench. The PDF looks fine and I can type in all the fields w/o issue given the update below for security.

2) Open document in Adobe Acrobat DC

3) File >> Save As Other >> Reader Extended PDF >> Enable More Tools ...

4) Open saved filed in Adobe Crobat DC Reader

5) Confirmed Document Extensions include "this document includes interactive form fields" and "You can save data typed into this form" and also has "You can digtally sign this document"

The new document in reader is certainly enabled for saving but when I update, save, close and reopen all the data is reset to the values from the prefill that was sent in with the initial payload. Note that I am prefilling the document in the initialize event of the top level subForm.

Interestingly the document also has other controls like drop downs. If I set them to hidden (via javascript) they remain hidden but the textfield updates revert to the original document.

Any thoughts?

G

gremar2000

New Participant

OK I think I figured this out. I am loading up the payload in the initialiaze event and it is executed every time you load the form. I created a hidden variable to allow bypassing of the initialize event after the initial render and it's working! Locally anyway. Deploying now.

B

barnsley71

New Participant

I have Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. I have followed instructions to allow users to fill in our PDF form and save the data (and made it Reader Extended).

However, whilst this works for some users, it doesn't work for all users. We still get some people who cannot save their data in the form - for what reason I do not know.

I have asked users to update their adobe software,
Try a different browser,
Download the form first on their PC

- but even after all of the above, some users still have issues and the forms are still blank (no data saved in the boxes)!

try67

Braniac

You need to get the exact details of what application(s) they're using. There's a big difference between opening the file in a browser and opening it in Adobe Reader. If they do the latter it should work. If they do the former all bets are off, basically.

c4lin001

New Participant

I know this is a late reply...See if you have the option to print to "Cute PDF Writer". If so, select it as your printer, and it should sae the document as a pdf document...and for me, it also saved all the form data I had input.

W

WKR

New Participant

Thank you for the info about sending the PDF's to Cute PDF writer. It did work for me and I can view the fields that were filled in on the application. (The same fields / drop down's that I can not see in My Adobe Acrobat Pro DC or Adobe Acrobat Reader DC). I have also had luck by attaching them to an email in outlook and then hitting the "preview". But all of these extra steps are time consuming. Is there a way to have Adobe Acrobate Pro DC or Adobe Acrobate Reader DC, just show the test that is filled in?

AadeshSingh

Community Manager

Hi rickh17115353,

PDF form is not set to Save the form data/print.

It needs to be Reader Extended your acrobat application so that these permissions are allowed.

If you have Acrobat application you can do it, pen PDF in Acrobat -> File menu -> Save As other -> Reader Extended PDF -> Enable more tools.

Save the PDF & now try to fill & save the data in the PDF form using Reader application.

Regards,
Aadesh

R

rickh17115353Author

New Participant

Thanks very much,Aadesh2789. The Reader Extended PDF option does not show on my free version of Adobe Acrobat DC. It looks like I can no longer fill in forms with out paying money to Adobe. Cheers, Rick

AadeshSingh

Correct answer

Community Manager

Hi rickh17115353,

You can not Reader Extend the PDF forms using Acrobat Reader DC.

However you can fill the PDF form using Acrobat Reader DC. The only thing is that you won't be able to save the filled form on your computer. If the form has a Submit or Send button you can directly send it after filling the PDF form by click on that button.

Try the 30 days trial of Acrobat Pro DC application to Reader Extend the PDF forms Download Adobe Acrobat free trial | Acrobat Pro DC

Regards,
Aadesh

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