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How can multiple users save data entry to one PDF document?

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2009-12-18 09:57:14
rvisco
Registered: Feb 25 2009
Posts: 21
Answered

Hi,

I encounterd a problem that I did not forsee while I developed the form. The form is for student behavior plan and its purpose is to collect data like points for their behaviors.

I discovered that if a PDF file is stored on a remote server, two teachers happened to edit it at the same time, it doesn't give a warning to each other that the document is currently edited by one user.

With Microsoft documents, it will pop up a window warning that it is locked by another user because s/he is editing the document remotely. (In my case, feeding data to the PDF form)

Is there a solution? Maybe I developed it with a wrong state of mind? Or I need to develop the form to be deployed remotely and collect its data to a spreadsheet?

I'm curious what kind of solutions you may offer.

Thanks and Happy Holidays!

Rene

My Product Information:
Acrobat Pro 9.0, Windows
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2009-12-18 13:37:57
#1
thomp
Expert
Registered: Feb 15 2006
Posts: 4411
PDF files, and Acrobat, are not designed for concurrent usage. You can think of the PDF form as the user interface, and several people can use the UI at the same time. But it is not a multi-user data storage mechanism. That's what a database is for.

You said that it's loaded and edited from a remote server. Do you mean a Network Drive? Not a Web server? Because if this PDF file is on a shared Intranet drive you have a fairly simple solution. You can connect a LiveCycle form to a DB, including an Excel file (Although excel isn't the best choice). Then users can submit the data back to the DB without fear of overwriting each other.

I did a session on this at the PDF Central Conference called Practical DB Connected Forms for the Office. My slides are availible there, they have code and samples.
http://www.pdfcentralconference.com

I also have more detailed videos on this topic at www.pdfscripting.com (which is a membership site)

Another solution is to use a web server with a server script to manage the Database. Then the PDF submits entered data to the DB. This is a much more flexible solution, but requires more programming.

Thom Parker
The source for PDF Scripting Info
[url=http://www.pdfScripting.com]pdfscripting.com[/url]

The Acrobat JavaScript Reference, Use it Early and Often
[url=http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/javascript.php]http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/javascript.php[/url]

Then most important JavaScript Development tool in Acrobat
[url=http://www.pdfscripting.com/public/34.cfm#JSIntro][b]The Console Window (Video tutorial)[/b][/url]
[url=http://www.acrobatusers.com/tutorials/2006/javascript_console][b]The Console Window(article)[/b][/url]

Thom Parker
The source for PDF Scripting Info
www.pdfscripting.com
Very Important - How to Debug Your Script

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