PDFForm

---

_invoke()

Manipulates existing forms created in Adobe Acrobat and Adobe LiveCycle Designer.

This component is only available to Boxlang+/++ subscribers only but can be installed in conjunction with the bx-plus Module with a limited trial.

Component Signature

<bx:PDFForm action=[string]
source=[any]
destination=[string]
overwrite=[boolean]
overwriteData=[boolean]
XMLdata=[string]
fdf=[boolean]
fdfdata=[string]
result=[string] />

Attributes

Atrribute	Type	Required	Description	Default
action	string	true	String - The action to perform on the PDF form. Valid values: "populate", "read" Required.
source	any	true	Any - The source PDF document to operate on. Can be a file path, byte array, or PDF document variable. Required.
destination	string	false	String - The output file pathname for populate action. File extension determines format (PDF or XDP for LiveCycle forms). If not specified, form is displayed in browser.
overwrite	boolean	false	Boolean - Whether to overwrite the destination file. Default: false	false
overwriteData	boolean	false	Boolean - Whether to overwrite existing data in form fields with data from the data source (populate action only). Default: false	false
XMLdata	string	false	String - XML data file pathname, XML object, or XML string. For populate: data to populate form fields. For read: variable name to store extracted XML data.
fdf	boolean	false	Boolean - If true, creates FDF format instead of XML (populate action). Default: false	false
fdfdata	string	false	String - FDF data file pathname. For populate: file to import FDF data from. For read: file to export FDF data to.
result	string	false	String - ColdFusion structure variable name to contain form field values (read action). Either result or XMLdata must be specified for read action.

Examples

Populating Form Fields with Data

<!-- Create form data structure -->
<bx:set formData = {
    "employeeName": "John Doe",
    "employeeID": "12345",
    "department": "Engineering",
    "startDate": "2024-01-15",
    "salary": 75000
} />

<!-- Convert to XML for population -->
<bx:set xmlData = serializeXML(formData) />

<!-- Populate the PDF form -->
<bx:pdfform action="populate"
            source="employee-form-template.pdf"
            destination="completed-employee-form.pdf"
            xmldata="#xmlData#"
            overwrite="true" />

Reading Form Field Values

<!-- Read form data into a structure -->
<bx:pdfform action="read"
            source="submitted-form.pdf"
            result="formFields" />

<!-- Display the extracted data -->
<bx:output>
<h3>Form Data Extracted:</h3>
<ul>
<bx:loop collection="#formFields#" item="fieldName">
    <li><strong>#fieldName#:</strong> #formFields[fieldName]#</li>
</bx:loop>
</ul>
</bx:output>

Using XML Data File

<!-- Populate form from XML file -->
<bx:pdfform action="populate"
            source="contract-template.pdf"
            destination="personalized-contract.pdf"
            xmldata="/data/client-info.xml"
            overwrite="true" />

<!-- Read form data to XML file -->
<bx:pdfform action="read"
            source="signed-contract.pdf"
            xmldata="/exports/contract-data.xml" />

FDF Data Handling

<!-- Populate form using FDF data -->
<bx:pdfform action="populate"
            source="registration-form.pdf"
            destination="completed-registration.pdf"
            fdfdata="/imports/registration-data.fdf"
            overwrite="true" />

<!-- Export form data as FDF -->
<bx:pdfform action="read"
            source="filled-form.pdf"
            fdfdata="/exports/form-data.fdf"
            fdf="true" />

Multiple Form Fields with XML

<!-- Example XML data file (client-data.xml) -->
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<form>
    <firstName>Jane</firstName>
    <lastName>Smith</lastName>
    <email>[email protected]</email>
    <phone>555-0123</phone>
    <address>
        <street>123 Main St</street>
        <city>Anytown</city>
        <state>CA</state>
        <zip>90210</zip>
    </address>
    <preferences>
        <newsletter>true</newsletter>
        <notifications>false</notifications>
    </preferences>
</form>

<!-- Use the XML file to populate form -->
<bx:pdfform action="populate"
            source="customer-profile-form.pdf"
            destination="jane-smith-profile.pdf"
            xmldata="/data/client-data.xml"
            overwriteData="true"
            overwrite="true" />

Complex Form Processing Workflow

<bx:try>
    <!-- Step 1: Read existing form data -->
    <bx:pdfform action="read"
                source="partial-application.pdf"
                result="existingData" />
    
    <!-- Step 2: Merge with new data -->
    <bx:set updatedData = structCopy(existingData) />
    <bx:set updatedData.reviewDate = dateFormat(now(), "yyyy-mm-dd") />
    <bx:set updatedData.reviewedBy = "Manager" />
    <bx:set updatedData.status = "Approved" />
    
    <!-- Step 3: Convert to XML -->
    <bx:set xmlData = serializeXML(updatedData) />
    
    <!-- Step 4: Populate final form -->
    <bx:pdfform action="populate"
                source="application-template.pdf"
                destination="approved-application.pdf"
                xmldata="#xmlData#"
                overwriteData="true"
                overwrite="true" />
    
    <p>Application processed and approved successfully!</p>
    
<bx:catch type="any">
    <p>Error processing form: #cfcatch.message#</p>
</bx:catch>
</bx:try>

Conditional Field Population

<bx:set clientType = "premium" />

<!-- Create conditional data based on client type -->
<bx:if clientType eq "premium">
    <bx:set formData = {
        "clientName": "Premium Client Corp",
        "tier": "Premium",
        "discount": "15%",
        "supportLevel": "24/7 Priority",
        "accountManager": "Senior Account Manager"
    } />
<bx:else>
    <bx:set formData = {
        "clientName": "Standard Client Inc",
        "tier": "Standard", 
        "discount": "5%",
        "supportLevel": "Business Hours",
        "accountManager": "Account Representative"
    } />
</bx:if>

<!-- Populate appropriate form template -->
<bx:pdfform action="populate"
            source="service-agreement-template.pdf"
            destination="client-service-agreement.pdf"
            xmldata="#serializeXML(formData)#"
            overwrite="true" />

Form Field Types Supported

The PDFForm component supports all standard PDF form field types:

• Text Fields - Single and multi-line text input

• Checkboxes - Boolean values (true/false)

• Radio Buttons - Single selection from options

• Dropdown Lists - Selection from predefined options

• Signature Fields - Digital signature areas

• Date Fields - Date picker controls

Data Format Requirements

When populating forms, ensure your data structure matches the field names in the PDF form. Field names are case-sensitive and must match exactly.

Related Components

• PDF - Main PDF manipulation component

• PDFFormParam - Specify individual form field parameters