Error when trying EXPORT FORM DATA on IRS form

[avito52]

I am trying to extract the filled-in form data on an IRS-supplied PDF to a CSV. When I do I get a NO PERMISSIONS FOR THIS OPERATION error. See attached zip.

PDF-Tools Permission Error.zip

(283.65 KiB) Downloaded 45 times

If I try it on another simple fillable form it works fine. I have tried to remove all security on the original PDF as well as the filled-out one without any luck.

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hi, avito52

Unfortunately, this file is an adobe proprietary "Dyanmic XFA" file which, even with all restrictions manually removed, still cannot be edited freely with software which is not adobe. This is what the Security on this file specifies when you open it in our Editor:

Form field data extraction is among those functions which cannot be performed in an XFA form, you may be able to ask them for a copy which does not contain and Adobe "XFA" content, which you can then fill and extract without issue from our software, but you will not be able to do with our software currently.

Kind regards,

[avito52]

Thanks for the prompt reply. I'll look into getting a non-XFA version.

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

[avito52]

OK, follow-up questions.

I took the IRS-protected form and removed the document-level restrictions by printing the blank form to a PDF. Now I have added in a few of the fields in Editor to test. I can fill out the fields and SAVE AS to not overwrite the original. I have a couple of issues:

1) When I open the form in a web browser (Edge or Chrome) I can fill in fields but when I try to save it the entries are lost. Thoughts?
2) Is there a way to designate a form as a template so that it gets another name when saved?
3) Can the filename be determined from a field(s) in the filled-out PDF? i.e. Intake_Form_Smith? Maybe a SUBMIT button with some DOCUMENT ACTIONS or Javascript behind it?
4) I can EXPORT FORM DATA in PDF-Tools to a CSV. I want to be able to have the batch of PDF forms processed into a single CSV. I read in another post that this function produces one CSV file per processed PDF. Is this correct? I can merge them in Excel but I'd rather avoid that step since I am handling a large number of forms (2-3K).

IRS 13614c(Print2PDF).zip

(1.42 MiB) Downloaded 42 times

[TrackerSupp-Daniel]

Hi, avito52

1) When I open the form in a web browser (Edge or Chrome) I can fill in fields but when I try to save it the entries are lost. Thoughts?

That is dependent on how the browser chooses to fill in the form. If i am not mistaken, both Chrome and Edge "fill" with a printable overlay but do not make actual changes to the file (this gives them some more freedom for filling potentially locked files), which is useful when printing the file, but it cannot be saved with those changes intact. To properly edit and save the file, you will need to have a local copy for use in a PDF editor like ours.

2) Is there a way to designate a form as a template so that it gets another name when saved?

Unfortunately no, users will need to manually save filled versions with alternate names. Alternatively they can use the "Export form" function on the form tab to save an FDF file which can be imported to the form in the future (this is great for saving space)

3) Can the filename be determined from a field(s) in the filled-out PDF? i.e. Intake_Form_Smith? Maybe a SUBMIT button with some DOCUMENT ACTIONS or Javascript behind it?

No, this is not currently possible.

4) I can EXPORT FORM DATA in PDF-Tools to a CSV. I want to be able to have the batch of PDF forms processed into a single CSV. I read in another post that this function produces one CSV file per processed PDF. Is this correct? I can merge them in Excel but I'd rather avoid that step since I am handling a large number of forms (2-3K).

Currently, this is not possible, but I have just started the discussion with our Dev team on the matter, and will see if it is possible for you.

[Edit: the following ticket was created on this matter:
RT#5354: FR: Create multi-lin CSV from multiple input forms]

Kind regards,