Can't save data placed in form fields

[rickh17115353]

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

[Ernestine5E9E]

Here goes...the popup reads

The document enabled extended features in Aobe Acrobat Reader. The document has been changed since it was creaed and use of extended features is no longer available. 

I created the document in AEM and extended features in adobe, but it will not work.

[Ernestine5E9E]

so reader will not work and your users will need Adober pro or some paid subscription for file to work.

[try67]

No, that's not what I said... Read more carefully, please.

[Bernd Alheit]

When you have Adobe Acrobat Pro then fill and save the form with it.

[Tricia5FC8]

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

[default5pc60iwb6u7z]

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

[Ernestine5E9E]

No, your software is not free.

[Spectator 1]

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!

[steve_k._7203]

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!