Javascript Print Today's Date Stopped Working - Prints Created Date Instead

[lyndac9119544]

We use javascript on our PDF documents that print today's date. Last week the javascript stopped working and prints the date the PDF was created instead.

Here is the javascript we use:

var f = this.getField("DatePrinted");

        f.hidden = false;

        f.value = "Printed on: " + util.printd("mmm dd, yyyy", new Date());

These are our company's legal documents and the printed date is very important, as the documents are uncontrolled 24 hours after printing.

Could anyone provide assistance to this?

Thank you.

[George_Johnson]

Where is that code placed, exactly, and what PDF viewer is being used to open the document?

[lyndac9119544]

Hi George,

Thank you for your reply. The code is placed in a field called "DatePrinted" and we are using Adobe Acrobat and Reader to open the files. This has worked for us for years, so I'm all sorts of confused as to why it would suddenly print the document's creation date instead. All of our PDFs are now suddenly doing this.

Thanks,

Lynda

[George_Johnson]

OK, you told us what field the script is placed in, but not the event (e.g., calculate, validate, format, etc.) The script may not be getting triggered as you expect, depending on where it is placed.

[lyndac9119544]

Oh, sorry abou that. We use "Document Javascripts" and type "Load" in the "Script Name" field. We click "Add" and paste the javascript in that window.

We have hundreds of controlled documents with this script going back 5 years now - changing it would be next to impossible and the older documents are also printing the date incorrectly, not just the new ones we are creating. 

I'll add that these documents are secured and not accessible for editing by anyone but me.

Thanks again!

[Bernd Alheit]

Open the file in Adobe Acrobat. What date does you see in the field?

[lyndac9119544]

Hi Bernd,

The field is set as "Hidden but Printable" and "Read Only" is checked. 

[Bernd Alheit]

Use the menu File > Print. What can you see on the printout?

[George_Johnson]

OK, so the script is supposed to be executed when the document is opened. You might want to check the JavaScript console (Ctrl+J) to see if any errors are reported. It's hard to say what's going on without being able to test one of the documents myself.

[lyndac9119544]

Thanks George. I'm thinking it has something to do with the documents being secured. I just printed one that's unsecured and it printed today's date (this doc was created in March of 2019). I have "Enable Global Object Security Policy" checked in "Preferences - Javascript".

I wonder if something changed with Acrobat recently that overwrites Javascript running on a secured document, as these documents have always been secured and have always printed today's date.

What I noticed was the debugger said "NotAllowedError: Security settings prevent access to this property or method. Field.value:3:Document-Level:Load"

The debugger did not have an error on the unsecured file. 

[Bernd Alheit]

Use the script at the event "Document Will Print".