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PDF Acroforms - writable forms

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Top 500 Contributor
Posts 21
Burton Posted: Fri, Jun 20 2008 12:44 PM

I downloaded the new versions and I see Acroforms in your demo, but when when I search your documentation for "Acroform" I get nothing.  I'd have a great use for creating writable forms (PDF or otherwise), however, I can't tell by the demo or documentation how the data is stored with the writable form.

Is the client data stored in an XML file (or other format) that can be read programmatically?

Can you direct me to the documentation for Acroforms for PDF?

Can I create writable forms that aren't PDF with C1Reports?

Thanks
Burton Roberts

Top 500 Contributor
Posts 21
Burton replied on Fri, Jun 20 2008 2:01 PM

I think I get it now.  The data is in an FDF file, which must be a proprietary Abobe file, I guess. Does this mean that I have to purchase Adobe Acrobat Professional to use Acroforms?

Is there a C1 solution that doesn't require I buy Adobe Acrobat Pro?

Thanks

Top 10 Contributor
Posts 1,362

To create a PDF form using C1Report, you do not need Adobe Acrobat Pro or any other 3rd party software. The Acroforms feature is provided by the C1PrintDocument component (which is now shipped together with C1Report, and lives in the same dll), or more specifically by the "preview forms" feature that existed for a long time. To create an Acroform (i.e. a PDF that is a form fillable in Adobe Acrobat), two steps must be performed:

  1. Create a C1PrintDocument with input controls (RenderInputBase derived objects)
  2. Export that document to a PDF file.
The resulting PDF will preserve preview (C1PrintDocument) input controls as PDF fields.

I have attached a small sample showing how this can be done.

The documentation will be updated shortly.

Cheers, Dima.
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