Hi, I am wondering if anyone can help me with this one ...
I am creating a set of PDF forms for users who will mostly be using Acrobat Reader. I had originally intended for them to be able to fill out the forms, then add a digital signature and save the files. Then I learned that there is a 500-use limit to saving of PDF forms like this - is this correct?
So instead of having the users save the form with their data, I am planning to add submit buttons to the forms and have the users fill out the forms and submit the data online. I have backend ASP scripts that will collect the submitted data and write them to a database.
This is set up and is working well so far. The complication is that the client I am doing this for really wants the forms to be "signed" by the user. This works okay with the saveable form option, but as I said then I run into the 500-copy limit. If they are not saving the form but just filling it and submitting it online, is there any equivalent way to "sign" the form before submitting the data? I understand that a digital signature would not work in this case, because the digital signature has to be attached to a form, not just the form data that are being submitted. I was thinking of simply adding a checkbox with text such as "By checking this box, I certify that I am the person named above and that all the information supplied here is true and accurate." I know this is not a signature as such - but would it server the purpose? Or is there another way I might be able to do this?
Thanks.
How to "sign" an online submitted PDF form
2011-02-08 11:28:08
Answered
My Product Information:
Acrobat Pro 9.4, Macintosh
Acrobat Pro 9.4, Macintosh
2011-02-08 11:45:04
#2
Thanks Thom for the quick response. I like the ideas about additional validation - especially the idea of using the email/confirmation link. Something like that should be easy enough to set up ... Thank you!
2011-02-08 11:57:53
#3
Actually, if you submit as FDF and include incremental changes, you can include digital signature data without sending the entire PDF file. The server will have to do some processing to extract the incremental changes that are included in the FDF and concatenate them with the original PDF. The FDF Toolkit will help with this if you can use it. Unfortunately, it is no longer being updated by Adobe and may not work on the lastest server operating systems, which is a real shame.
I don't know the legal implications about your check box idea but it seems sound. You could block the user from submitting until they check the box.
You might also be able to come up with some other kind of validation. I imagine that this is an AcroForm, so you could use the server script to deliver some kind of random data to the form that the user has to manually enter correctly before submitting. Like those images that are used for login validation. Images can be loaded into a button from an FDF.
The process could also be tied to an email approval process, i.e., the user enters their email into the form. They get an email with a link they have to click on before the form is approved. To show that they are in fact the person that submitted the form.
Thom Parker
The source for PDF Scripting Info
www.pdfscripting.com
Very Important - How to Debug Your Script