Form Field Character Spacing Changes Unexpectedly

[tgtech]

1. IRS Form 1040 SSN entry filled out using latest Acrobat Reader (2024.002.20759 64bit):

reader - reader.png

2. Same form entry filled out with with latest paid version of PDF-XChange Plus Editor 10.3.0:

xchange - xchange.png

When opening #1 with PDF-Xchange, SSN is properly spaced as shown in #1, but when the form field is clicked, the nine characters instantly space out:

Before click:

before and after click.png

After click:

afterclick.png

When opening #2 with PDF-XChange, the characters are spaced out prior to and after clicking in the form field.

The printed version of #2 is also spaced out ... the issue is the characters overlay the form image lines.

I searched and couldn't find this exact issue. Help?

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, tgtech

Thank you for the report, XFA is a bit special in that it has multiple extra data storage locations and "intents" to each of those, beyond what a normal form field does. It seems that this form is requesting one be filled and another shown, which explains the difference you see when opening and simply viewing form#1 compared to when selecting and editing the field.

I have passed this file along to our Dev team to investigate if we are properly following the rules this file has laid out, or if we need to update our definitions. I cannot promise when a fix will be available for this however. In the meantime, you may want to ask the IRS if they have a version of the form which is not an XFA formatted form, as those do still tend to be quite problematic to a number of PDF handlers.

Kind regards,

[tgtech]

Thanks for the quick response. Asking the IRS for anything takes hours and many phone calls, so that isn't a practical option.

I read elsewhere the IRS uses static XFA forms "wrapped" in a PDF via Live Cycle Designer, which seems to be the case based on the file properties:

live cycle designer.png

This morning I paid to upgrade from PDF-XChange v9.x to the most recent version hoping the XFA problem was "fixed" but it wasn't

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, tgtech

I am sorry to hear that, But a few hours or days response from the IRS will likely be faster than we can look into, hopefully resolve, and push out a new release. I am afraid that if this is something on our end, it is not a high priority issue, XFA problems have been an ongoing item for many years now, and they come out only when the rest is ready for a new release. Now that we have these files, we can begin that process, but it could be weeks or months before the next release is available.

In the future, our software is free for use in an evaluation mode at all times, this gives you access to all features, with the only limitation being Demo stamp application when using premium features, and the EOCR engine (on a 14 day trial).
It is never advised to purchase a renewal "hoping" that something was fixed without confirmation. We always recommend that you update first, to see if it has been fixed. This way if it is fixed, you can make your purchase then and input the key, but if it is not, you can easily roll back and are not spending when you do not need to.

[Edit:A quick followup] - A ticket has been made on this item for tracking purposes:
RT#6918: Bug: XFA "combing" not reflected properly in PDF

Kind regards,