Save PDF file with all data typed into form by using Adobe Reader! HELP! | Community
Skip to main content
February 6, 2006

Save PDF file with all data typed into form by using Adobe Reader! HELP!

  • February 6, 2006
  • 37 replies
  • 392761 views
Hello,



This is my first time here and I have a little problem. I designed the form in the Adobe LiveCycle Designer 7.0 and saving it as dynamic PDF. All I want is to fill it out, save a copy of that in hard drive and then email it as a attach file. I don't want any XML data file or any thing else, I want real completed document in PDF. That's all!



We can save a copy of completed document in Adobe Acrobat Pro but how we can save it in Adobe Reader?



My form is some thing like this (link below), every time you open it in Adobe Reader, it will tell you that "You cannot save data typed into this form." and let you print it.



Example: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/sf269.pdf



But at this link



http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf



you can cancomplete this form and save a copy of it into your hard drive with all data typed for ever. Yes by using Adobe Reader! But I have a no idea HOW?



Does anybody have any suggestion? Please any help solving these problems would be most appreciated.



Thanks again,

Daniel
This post is no longer active and is closed to new replies. Need help? Start a new post to ask your question.

37 replies

New Participant
December 1, 2010

Good info CDesign2, I didn’t realize that option existed. I’m currently downloading the trial version of Acrobat X Pro and intend to modify my form in the same way that Audition_Denver has mentioned. Failing that, I will try to change the target version that my Livecycle form is set up for. Thanks for your help.

New Participant
December 1, 2010

Sounds like I need a more up to date version of Acrobat than my current Standard 7.0 version. When I try to open the form I’ve created it produces an error page:

Adobe Acrobat 7.0 has encountered a problem and needs to close.  We are sorry for the inconvenience.”

So maybe it’s not possible to open a form created in Livecycle Designer ES2 in early versions of Acrobat Standard/Pro. I think I have read the solution you are talking about Audition Denver and it referred specifically to Acrobat 8.0, 9.0 and Pro. At least one of us is sorted out. I will try and look for an updated version of Acrobat for download so I can complete this one form I’m stuck doing.

Cheers

New Participant
December 1, 2010

In Livecycle ES2 there is an option under Form Properties>Defaults that lets you choose the target version of Acrobat and Reader that will be using your form.  If this is set at v9.0 or X, you may be preventing the form from being openend in the older versions.

Good luck

New Participant
December 1, 2010

Can you explain further Audition Denver? I’ve read the link but still can’t achieve the desired. I’m trying to open the form I’ve created using Livecycle Designer ES2 in Acrobat Standard 7.0 (which I can’t do…it produces an error message). Did you open the form in a more recent version of Acrobat? Or did you open it in Adobe Reader? I.e. where did you find this menu option?

Thanks

Colin

New Participant
December 1, 2010

Hmm. I opened the form I created in ES2 in Reader 9.I hope it'll work with earlier Readers. I'll have the confirm that.

First, I first opened the file in Acrobat X Pro, made sure I was not in Edit mode, chose Save As.., selected Reader Extended PDF, then Enable Additional Features.

New Participant
December 1, 2010

Can someone from Adobe help? How is this handled in your latest releases, X Pro and Lifecycle ES2?

New Participant
November 26, 2010

Almost 5 years talking about the same problem, jeeez!

I’m within the same problem scope:

Using Acrobat Standard 7 and Livecycle Designer 7 ES2 to create a form which the user can fill in, save as a PDF complete with their details and email back to me.

Surely we can move away from the print out and fax option of the 90’s!?

For this version of Livecycle ES2 (as Audition_Denver has alluded to above), there seems to be no “ADVANCED” menu option in LS2 therefore removing the possibility of “enabling usage rights”.

In this case I only have one form to make, can someone suggest a solution? Maybe an alternative download to the READER EXTENSION file?

Colin (Toronto)

New Participant
December 1, 2010
New Participant
December 1, 2010

Many thanks CDesign2, that worked! I was a little leery when I saw the article seemed to be for Acrobat 8, but the menu choice was there and sub-choices were available. They must have been grayed out before because I was still in Edit mode.

New Participant
November 23, 2010

I've read through this entire thread, but nothing seems to apply to

Acrobat X Pro and LiveCycle Designer ES2. There isn't an Advanced menu option in either product, thus no "Enable Usage Rights in Acrobat Reader" option either. Did it move? If so, to where?

I found that if I choose Save As.. in X Pro there's an option "Reader Extended PDF" with 3 choices, but none are available.

I'm looking for what a number of others were looking for:  I've created a form I want to send via email, have someone complete, save, and re-attach to an email message, which will come back to me. Nothing fancy at all.

Can anyone help? All the online tutorials are for earlier versions of Acrobat Pro. I must be on the bleeding edge.

New Participant
November 24, 2010

For a PDF to be filled and the data to be saved, we have 2 options.

1 ) Reader extend the PDF using Reader extension feature in Adobe LC

2 ) Use Acrobat Pro to edit is and save.

In your case . I think u have to make the file reader extended.

Other wise make sure ur user is opening with Acrobat Pro for editing and saving.

thanks

ReV

New Participant
November 24, 2010

Thanks ReV. Since I cannot expect all recipients of this form to have Acrobat vs. Acrobat Reader, I need to use the extend to Reader feature/command. But since I cannot find that option, or what I have found is not allowed, per my post, in X Pro, I'm stuck. I cannot find any X Pro information such as tutorials, help text, posts, etc. Even Adobe hasn't updated it's library of how to videos for X Pro. Very frustrating!

New Participant
February 25, 2010

Just to add an updated response to this thread:

in Acrobat Pro v9 go to the menu and select Advanced > Extend Features in Adobe Reader...

In Acrobat Standard v9 go to the menu and select Advanced > Extend Forms Fill-in & Save in Adobe Reader...

You can now save the form with your data.

April 27, 2010

Many thanks to Dave Hoder.

In Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional for Mac, I found the command was named differently:

Advanced: Enable Usage Rights in Acrobat Reader

Save your PDF form with that option enabled, and then your users should be able to save their edits. Hope that helps.

Note: They will be saving their edits to the same PDF, not to a copy, so if they need to fill out the same form twice, or want to keep a backup, they need to use Save As.

For the tax preparer concerned about her customers: Even with the additional Adobe software, it sounded like your tax prep clients wouldn't have had to buy the software -- just you, so you could modify your docs so that your end-users could save the filled forms (and do more, I guess). However, I still agree with you -- selling Acrobat so that people can make PDF forms but then limiting it so you can't make useful PDF forms is chintzy. Adobe clearly doesn't need to stoop to such levels to make money. They should just empower the software to make good docs easily. However, this thread started three years ago; perhaps what I'm seeing in the "Enable Usage Rights" command is Adobe's agreement with us.

New Participant
March 5, 2009
This does assume your users do want to use their computer this way.



You are aware that there is a big security problem with any sensative. data being kept on a system with a WiFi and music sharing software, especially when this software is configured to also share data files or documents. Many of the sites warning of this are being censored because there is just so much personal data for so many persons being disclosed. Up to 27,000 returns at one time.
New Participant
March 5, 2009
You can always try to Word and use Word's form fields to make your organizer.
New Participant
March 5, 2009
Do you do taxes for free?



Do you pay for tax software or do the programers give it to you for free?



Well if you answered yes to any of the above, Adobe is making its living by creating software that can create forms, but it is not for free and the more features you want the more it will cost you.



I assume you do not use Turbo Tax as your software, so you do pay more than $29.95 so you can have the advanced features to handle the more complex returns.
New Participant
July 5, 2011

You seriously miss the point. The issue is clarity. I got Pro 9 after reading of Adobe's own stuff saying it would let Reader users use the forms. After a week of frustration, I dug deeper and discovered you had to have Pro Extended to let Reader users use and SAVe the file. My complaint is to ask why Adobe is so obtuse with what's needed. Fine, I bought Pro Extended, they want to charge what they charge, fine. But make it clear that you need a specific version in the first place.

Now I have X and cannot figure out how to extend to Reader users, and again the literature at least implies nothing else is needed for functionality of Pro Extended. Am I wrong? Did Adboe's lack of clarity once again put me in a loop where one more time I have to buy some toher thing to do what I need to do? It sure looks that way. Who writes your literature anyway?