Javascript support on mobile

[Michael Peters]

Does anyone know which PDF viewer on mobile currently has the most support for the javascript object model. I am particularly interested in forms support for functionality such as showing/hiding fields, validation and formatting. Adobe offerings are really inadequate in these areas.

[Joel Geraci]

PDF Expert by Readdle has pretty extensive JavaScript support but it's not free.

PDF Expert by Readdle on the App Store

[Michael Peters]

I have seen this, but I understand this is only available on iOS. Does anyone know about a viewer for iOS and Android?

[Joel Geraci]

As limited as Adobe Reader is on Android compared to the desktop versions, it actually is the most capable. If you need to recommend a single viewer for mobile. It's Adobe Reader.

[Michael Peters]

It may be in some areas, but I can't recommend it without the forms support that I mentioned at the beginning of the thread. On further investigation it seems as if the Foxit PDF viewer supports far more of the JavaScript object model and it is available on iOS and Android. I wish Adobe would try a little harder to make the Portable Document Format (PDF) portable across its various offerings. This lack of mobile support for simple operations in forms through JavaScript such as showing and hiding fields is making PDF forms useless in certain industries.

[Joel Geraci]

Be careful with the Foxit JavaScript. Even on the desktop machines, it gets a lot of stuff wrong. Foxit is just not a general solution for forms. You'll need to test them thoroughly.

A better solution is to add a "warning" layer to the PDF that only an Adobe viewer on desktop can hide. That way the user knows they shouldn't use the viewer they're in if they see the warning.

[Michael Peters]

So basically there is no worthwhile solution for PDF forms on millions of users devices, so lets forget PDF forms and move to another technology. That is exactly what is now happening in the Insurance industry and as an Adobe Partner it has lost us a lot of money.

[gkaiseril]

Many suggest using HTML ver 5.

[Joel Geraci]

Honestly Michael, using a PDF form to collect data on a mobile device other than a fairly large tablet is a horrid experience regardless of the PDF viewer. That does not make PDF forms obsolete, it makes them a record of the data entered. The fact that the form is presented as PDF on the device adds nothing to the experience of filling it. It's far better to collect the data in responsive HTML 5, submit the data to a server, populate the PDF and show the result to the user to verify that it looks correct.

Yes - It's a more complicated workflow but it works. And it works consistently across devices and platforms.

Now, before anyone jumps on me about translating the validation scripts, formatting, and calculations consider that the Datalogics PDF Java Toolkit can run all of those on the server as well as generate appearances the same way as Acrobat does and using Adobe technology to do it.

There is... literally... nothing stopping a developer from creating a server based PDF filling solution that can proxy Acrobat... not just Reader... Acrobat.

It's just engineering effort. The technology is all there. If I had the funding to create such a tool, I'd have done it already.

[Michael Peters]

I understand what you are saying, however immediately sending up to a server is not always an option. In the insurance market where a claim form is being filled it may be outside an area for an internet connection. You really need to be able to store the data locally and maybe submit later. Typically the devices would either be PCs or large screen mobiles such as iPads etc.

[Joel Geraci]

The Microsoft Surface is a perfect solution for those applications. It runs Windows 10 and Acrobat Pro DC perfectly. I love my iPads - they're all over my house but I'd never recommend them for enterprise class applications.

[Michael Peters]

I agree - I am using one now, but it is not commercially viable and the clients want to be able to use mobile devices.

[Joel Geraci]

Understood... But I'd like to play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on my XBox One... but I can't. That doesn't mean that Microsoft or Nintendo are doing anything wrong or that either device is not commercially viable; both are wildly successful. It just means I need to match my requirements to the right device.

[mohunu96546120 · Accepted solution]

I agree with you michael that the Adobe Reader Android App lacks this basic function of Show/Hide field which renders most of our existing forms unusable in mobile environment.  If there could could have been a work thru in Acroforms, that would have been welcomed.