How do I enable saving of filled-in fields on a PDF form?

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Some PDF forms can be saved, including all filled-in field data:

Some others can not be saved, and all filled-in field data are lost:

How do I enable saving of filled-in fields on my PDF form?

Lighten answered 12/3, 2009 at 19:9 Comment(1)

I've discovered that these restrictions can be bypassed by printing to a file instead of saving. – Theirs 5/9, 2014 at 22:47

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When you use Acrobat 8, or 9, select "enable usage rights" from the Advanced menu. This adds about 20 kb to the pdf.

The other possibility is to use CutePDF Pro, add a submit button and have the XFDF data submitted to your self as an email or to a web server. The XFDF data can then reload the original PDF with your data.

Banjermasin answered 15/3, 2009 at 4:7 Comment(5)

Adobe Reader XI allows form data to be saved. – Gentleness 29/8, 2013 at 15:26

In what way? I have Adobe Reader XI, and you can't save many forms. It depends on whether the form publisher enabled it: help.adobe.com/en_US/acrobat/X/pro/using/… – Stopper 13/10, 2013 at 16:37

In Acrobat 8, you go to the advanced menu, and select to enable usage rights in Adobe Reader... – Recor 17/10, 2013 at 0:14

Where is "Advanced" menu? – Aminaamine 28/8, 2015 at 12:59

I can't find the "Advanced" menu in Acrobat Reader DC 2019.010-20098 – Darkroom 19/3, 2019 at 2:19

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Open your PDF in Google Chrome. Edit the PDF as you want. Hit ctrl + p. Save as PDF to your desktop.

Ie answered 11/6, 2014 at 15:32 Comment(3)

The PDF you get will save the filled info but will not have fillable forms anymore. – Housekeeping 17/2, 2016 at 21:33

works well - you can then use "fill and sign" in acrobat on the resulting document but you can't delete and of the text that you put in during the first step, so I recommend that you err on the side of filling out just a bare minimum prior to doing the "save as PDF" step – Syriac 9/4, 2018 at 3:59

@Housekeeping There now exists an experimental flag #pdf-form-save that allows saving PDFs with filled forms, although I haven't tested it yet – Teleview 29/2, 2020 at 18:6

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When you use Acrobat 8, or 9, select "enable usage rights" from the Advanced menu. This adds about 20 kb to the pdf.

The other possibility is to use CutePDF Pro, add a submit button and have the XFDF data submitted to your self as an email or to a web server. The XFDF data can then reload the original PDF with your data.

Banjermasin answered 15/3, 2009 at 4:7 Comment(5)

Adobe Reader XI allows form data to be saved. – Gentleness 29/8, 2013 at 15:26

In what way? I have Adobe Reader XI, and you can't save many forms. It depends on whether the form publisher enabled it: help.adobe.com/en_US/acrobat/X/pro/using/… – Stopper 13/10, 2013 at 16:37

In Acrobat 8, you go to the advanced menu, and select to enable usage rights in Adobe Reader... – Recor 17/10, 2013 at 0:14

Where is "Advanced" menu? – Aminaamine 28/8, 2015 at 12:59

I can't find the "Advanced" menu in Acrobat Reader DC 2019.010-20098 – Darkroom 19/3, 2019 at 2:19

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If you are using Adobe Acrobat X to make the form, set all the fields as you want them, then click File, Save As, Reader Extended PDF, Enable Additional Features. The resulting PDF form can be saved when filled in, if opened in versions of Adobe Reader before XI.

Scrutiny answered 14/12, 2012 at 18:38 Comment(2)

And for those with Adobe Reader XI and above you need Adobe Acrobat XI and newer? – Preconcert 14/12, 2012 at 19:5

This works. In addition, Adobe Reader DC on Mac behaves like an old Adobe Reader on Windows. (Why?) – Janie 29/10, 2016 at 5:15

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You can use the free foxit reader to fill in the forms, and if you pay a little you can design the forms that way you want.

You can also us iText to programmaticly create those forms.

There are free online services that allow you to upload a pdf and you can add fields also.

It depends on how you want to do the designing.

EDIT: If you use foxit reader, you can save any form that is fillable.

Translatable answered 12/3, 2009 at 19:14 Comment(6)

I have used foxit, and it does not have the ability to enable saving of filled-in fields on my PDF form. – Lighten 12/3, 2009 at 19:16

We use version 2.3 at work and it allows our customers to save the fields. – Translatable 12/3, 2009 at 19:18

You are correct that foxit cant "enable" saving for users using Adobe, but for foxit it works. – Translatable 12/3, 2009 at 19:19

Shame there is no Mac version of Foxit :( – Shrum 28/2, 2015 at 19:18

Foxit Reader allows you to fill in the forms, and the form will still be fillable after you save the info on the forms. But when you open it in Adobe Reader you will still be unable to save data on the form, it will just show you what info you saved using Foxit Reader. – Housekeeping 17/2, 2016 at 21:37

I use Foxit reader for .pdf form saving as follows: fill out form, export form (menu -> form -> export), then import form data when i want to continue with the exported data. For the final version of the form, using "print" function. – Widower 16/4, 2016 at 15:49

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In Acrobat, click on the "Advanced" tab, then click on "Enable Features in Adobe Reader." This should do the trick.

Praise answered 24/2, 2011 at 19:26 Comment(0)

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In Acrobat XI, (Close Form Editing if open) File > Save As Other > Reader Extended PDF > Enable Additional Features

Rattly answered 14/3, 2013 at 23:16 Comment(2)

This is a very relevant answer for those using Acrobat XI professional. – Recent 5/11, 2014 at 7:34

If you use Acrobat XI Professional, this is the correct answer. – Savory 18/9, 2017 at 17:33

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There is a setting inside the PDF file that turns on the allow saving with data bit. However, it requires that you have a copy of Adobe Acrobat installed to change the bit.

The only other option is to print it to a PDF print driver which would save the data merged with the pdf file.

UPDATE: The relevant information from adobe is at: http://www.adobeforums.com/webx?13@@.3bbb313f/7

Ultra answered 12/3, 2009 at 19:16 Comment(2)

I have Acrobat 6.0 Professional installed. Where is that setting? – Lighten 12/3, 2009 at 19:46

Dead link, can you find a new one? – Zymogen 17/7, 2012 at 20:28

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With the latest version of Adobe Reader, Adobe Reader XI, it seems that you can save the form.

From their webpage: Type your responses right on the PDF form, or click through and fill in the form fields. Then save and submit

Adage answered 28/2, 2013 at 19:44 Comment(1)

Again, this only works if the form was created in Acrobat 8+ (or LiveCycle Designer) with the extra "usage rights" enabled. If not, no version of Reader can save form info. – Piers 4/3, 2014 at 22:48

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Preview in OS X seems to be able to do this out of the box. Adobe Reader shows the doc as "data typed can't be saved" but Preview was able to save my changes without hassle.

Halm answered 22/2, 2011 at 18:45 Comment(3)

Preview has a nasty habit of letting you close without prompting to save. At least that is my experience in Yosemite. – Shrum 28/2, 2015 at 19:19

I have just found from khkonsulting.com/2013/06/preview-app-killer-of-pdf-files that you can enable the prompting by enabling Ask to keep changes when closing documents in System Preferences > General. – Shrum 28/2, 2015 at 20:4

This solution indeed works and you don't have to worry about adobe reader's version. This is definitely a good approach to save PDF in OSX. – Dacron 20/6, 2015 at 1:46

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On linux use cabaret stage:

https://www.cabaret-solutions.com/download/caba-lin-64

You can fill and save cleanly

Kliber answered 1/4, 2016 at 20:8 Comment(0)

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