Skip to Main Content
PDF Hacks
book

PDF Hacks

by Sid Steward
August 2004
Beginner content levelBeginner
298 pages
8h 9m
English
O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Content preview from PDF Hacks

Chapter 6. Dynamic PDF

Introduction: Hacks #74-92

PDF doesn't have to be stuck in a file, created once and then published. PDF can be dynamic in multiple ways, ranging from interactivity through forms to custom generation of PDFs that meet particular user needs. While PDF seems static to a lot of people, that's more a matter of the way it's typically been used rather than an aspect of the technology itself. If you want to do more with PDF than distribute documents, you can.

Hack #74. Collect Data with Online PDF Forms

Turn your electronic document into a user interface and collect information from readers.

Traditional paper forms use page layout to show how information is structured. Sometimes, as on tax forms, these relationships get pretty complicated. PDF preserves page layout, so it is a natural way to publish forms on the Web. The next decision is, how many PDF form features should you add?

If you add no features, your users must print the form and fill it out as they would any other paper form. Then they must mail it back to you for processing. Sometimes this is all you need, but PDF is capable of more.

If you add fillable form fields to the PDF, your users can fill in the form using Acrobat or Reader. When they are done, they still must print it out and mail it to you. Acrobat users can save filled-in PDFs, but Reader users can't, which can be frustrating.

If you add fillable form fields and a Submit button that posts field data to your web server, you have joined the information ...

Become an O’Reilly member and get unlimited access to this title plus top books and audiobooks from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers, thousands of courses curated by job role, 150+ live events each month,
and much more.
Start your free trial

You might also like

Developing with PDF

Developing with PDF

Leonard Rosenthol
PDF Explained

PDF Explained

John Whitington
Encryption

Encryption

Brian Sletten
Security in Computing, Third Edition

Security in Computing, Third Edition

Charles P. Pfleeger, Shari Lawrence Pfleeger

Publisher Resources

ISBN: 0596006551Supplemental ContentErrata Page