manipulate pdf form with fill-able form fields and keep them fillable by user?

Question

I got a form with fill-able form fields made by Acrobat, it is rather complex. Via PHP I want to "simply" attach another page, add a barcode to the form page and add meta info.

Currently I do not manage to retain the fields fill-able or tcpdf/fpdi simply cannot read the compression of the pdf. I tried a couple of different pdf version but don't succeed so far.

I tried pdflib but work now with tcpdf and fpdi, however there seems no way to make it happen. I can attach pdf files and use templates, just not in any format that has or retains fill-able fields.

1. Is tcpdf/fpdi able to do this at all?
2. Do you know of any other solution to achieve this? (PHP/linux based)

Answer 1

What you want to do is not possible.

Adobe uses an own proprietary way to create and fill PDF forms. Adobe Reader does only support to fill PDF forms...

• ...which were created by an Adobe product and
• ...which have been assigned 'extended rights' so Reader can indeed save the formdata alongside the document.

There are a number of methods, utilities, tools and programs to create and fill PDF forms nevertheless: Scribus, iText, pdflib, tcpdf, pdftk, Foxit, XSL FO, OpenOffice.org or LibreOffice and more... However, Adobe Readers will refuse to fill+save form data with documents created by these means.

The technical mechanism behind this is: Adobe digitally sign their form documents with their own key. This key is known to the Adobe Reader and all Adobe Products. And you agreed to not reverse engineer that key when you accepted the Adobe Reader EULA.... --

This means:

• Most non-Adobe PDF Readers will not be able to 'fill+save' forms created with Adobe products (they can 'fill+print' them however), unless they may have licensed from Adobe said signature key.
• Adobe PDF readers will refuse to 'fill+save' forms created with non-Adobe products (they will 'fill+print' them however).