Edited PDF form data no displayed in Adobe Reader

[sdcorey]

I filled out a PDF form in PDF-XChange Viewer, saved it, and emailed it to a third party. The third party informed me it was blank! Sure enough, if I open the filled-in and saved form in Adobe Reader X, none of the filled-in text shows up. That said, having opened the document in Reader X, if I click in one of the form fields, the text I entered in PDF-XChange Viewer appears, but when I click out of it, the text disappears.

I have had this same problem in the past. My workaround was and is to print from PDF-XChange Viewer to a PDF file and send that file. Or sometimes I just use Adobe Reader to fill in the form. (Especially when I have 30 seconds to wait for it to load...) I didn't come across a clear mention of this on the forums. Am I the only once with the problem?? It's a little embarrassing when it happens.

-- Steve

[Paul - PDF-XChange]

HI sdcorey

thanks for the post. the first thing you should do ius make syure you are running the latest build of the Viewer., We are constantly fixing little issues with forms and it may be that this is already dealt with. take a look here for details on updating your Viewer.

https://www.pdf-xchange.com/knowled ... nt-version

If it'
s still an issue with the current build (210) then please send us the form and we'll take a look.

hth

[Tracka1]

Can confirm this happening with the latest version (210). While Adobe Reader doesn't SumatraPDF shows the form data.

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]

Hello Tracka1,

Thanks for your report. V3 of the PDF XChagne Viewer/Editor is due for release in a few weeks and it will have a fully re-hauled form handling engine so this should not be an issue there, but could you please attach one such form for us to investigate?

Best,
Stefan

[Tracka1]

Tested 2 forms and here are the (very mixed) results:







n: input not visible
v: input visible
e: input visible and editable
*: https://forum.pdf-xchange.com/ ... 35&t=16932

Can't say that v3 looks finished but it solved the problem with v2 (link above).

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]

Hi Tracka1,

Thanks for the samples!
Yes there's still some work to be done around form handling in the new Editor, and it will be done in the coming weeks.

Best,
Stefan

[sdcorey]

Here is, for all practical purposes, the file I ran into problem with. I don't know if it adds any information beyond the files that others have posted. It's a form that is used by many real estate professionals across WA state.

Interesting that it seems to put Acrobat Reader X into a weird state where it will allow me to edit the fields in question, but will not display the edited data once I click out. I would say that it exercises a bug in Adobe Reader.

[Paul - PDF-XChange]

Hi sdcorey

what is the history of the file you attached? I am assuming you modified the form fields in our Viewer? If so what build of the Viewer V2 are you running?

I tried modifying this file in build 210 and the saved file displays in AR perfectly but only after first deleting the field contents in Adobe Reader. If I delete the contents in our Viewer then I do see your file has the issue where it doesn't display the field until clicked on.

What I'd like to have is the original file before it is touched by our Viewer. Do you have that or can you point me to where I can grab a copy?

[sdcorey]

Thanks, Paul. Sorry so slow -- I lost track of this item. I have subscribed to the topic so can respond more quickly moving forward.

Here is the file I started with that caused me problems. When I edited it and sent it to a customer, they couldn't see the data. When I opened it myself in Adobe Reader X, I saw the behavior described in my initial post.

The file I provided earlier started the same as this one. Here is its history:

1. I opened it in XChange Viewer (version discussion below), added text to the fields, and saved it.
2. I opened it in Adobe Reader X and verified that the data didn't display properly
3. I uploaded it to this forum.

For better or for worse, I can't replicate the problem now by following the same pathway. I am currently running PDF-xChange Viewer Pro, version 2.5, build 210.0 (Feb 25, 2013; 15:34:29). I'm pretty sure I upgraded to the latest before submitting the last file on 3/19, but it's been long enough ago that I can't say for certain. I snooped around in the "Tracker Software" install directory to see if there was an obvious way to find out my upgrade history, but I didn't see it, other than one directory's ("Shell Extensions") timestamp of 3/18/2013 which might imply that I upgraded that day. I take it XChange Viewer doesn't write a version stamp in the PDF files it saves. I should point out that it wasn't just an issue with this one file. I had the same problem with multiple files from the same organization, but now I can't replicate it with any of those.

Let me know if there's more info I can provide to help out on this. Now that I'm subscribed to the topic I can give you a more timely response.

[Paul - PDF-XChange]

Thhanks for that sdcorey,

you should be able to see the version of PDF-XChange Viewer that was used to modify the file by going to the document properties (File --> Document Properties or CTRL+D). When I do this all I see is Adobe LiveCycle listed and no evidence of PDF-XChange Viewer being used so I can't tell either what version you used. If I understand you correctly it is not happening now? If that is the case then I wouldn't think there is naything more we would do, especially since this document uses LiveCycle as it's document security method and the details of that are cloesed to us.

Have I missed anything?

[sdcorey]

Thanks, Paul. I tried a few more times to reproduce the behavior, and haven't been able to. I found some time stamps in my XChange Viewer install directories that appear to confirm my memory of the events. After my original post and your response, I installed the latest version (2.5, build 210) on 3/18 at 9:27 am. I verified that the behavior was still there in the latest version, created the example file a half hour later, and uploaded it to the forum. The files that I created at the time still trip up Adobe Reader, but the files I create now do not. I would guess the issue is still floating around out there, maybe due to some other dependency that is not currently present on my system.

You're right, I don't currently have a problem, so you're welcome to close the topic if that makes sense. Moving forward, when I fill out a form and send it to someone I will test it in Adobe Reader before sending it. If I see the problem again, I can open up a new topic.

[Will - Tracker Supp]

Hi Corey,

Thanks for the update - if you're still having the problem, then feel free to post back here and we'll 'reopen' the issue (the actual forum topic always stays active). Also, if anyone else viewing this topic experiences the same issue, then by all means, definitely post back as we'd love to be able to find a resolution to the issue.

Cheers,
Will