Merge Data File into Spreadsheet Acrobat X

I am also having the same problem using Acrobat X and trying to merge form data to a spreadsheet. It is disheartening to see how long the previous post has been waiting for a reply without any feedback.

I have seen posts that make me think that fields with scripts as well as hidden fields may be the problem. I have looked into the references about the function "remove hidden information" which would allow for scripts to be removed, but, this function is unavailable in my form (greyed out). And, in any case, I think the form data would go if the scripts were removed.

I would very much appreciate a solution for this problem. The 'Merge data files into spreadsheet' works beautifully in Acrobat 9. I may have to uninstall Acrobat X simply because of this problem. Meanwhile, I have a second computer with Acrobat 9, which needs to be used in order to process the forms as they come in.

I have noticed that when I view the XML for the form without any data, all looks fine. When I view the XML for the form with data added, the fields that do not 'compute' have a different structure in the XML code.

Here's an example showing two fields from the XML exported from my PDF form, one field (schlocation) imports into Excel with no problem and the other(schoolname) will not import into Excel.

Here is what the xml looks like with data. (I removed all of the 'less than' symbols so that the code shows. Please assume each new line begins with 'less than' symbol.) As you can see all sorts of gobbledegook is added for the schoolname field:

- Page2>
- schdetails>
- schoolname>
- body xmlns:xfa="http://www.xfa.org/schema/xfa-data/1.0/" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xfa:APIVersion="Acroform:2.7.0.0" xfa:spec="2.1">
p style="margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;text-valign:middle;font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt">test school
/body>
/schoolname>
schlocation>test location-----
-----


Here is what the XML looks like without data:

- Page2>
- schdetails>
schoolname />
schlocation />

It appears that rich text formatting is being added to the field. Are there any text formatting properties on this field on the form? Was data pasted into the "schoolname" field from a rich text source?

The previous poster had a slightly different issue. That data in hidden fields was not being exported to a CSV file.

In both these cases it seems as if Acrobat is trying to be "smart" about what it's doing. I would think there must be settings to control these export issues. I don't know about the hidden field issue, but in your case there should be a setting that disabled rich text formatting for the fields on the form.

Hi Thom, thanks for weighing in on this.

Since some of my fields are hidden, I do share some of the problem with the original poster. Hidden fields don't export to the spreadsheet, but some other fields don't work either, and I don't know why.

You may be right about rich text, but I created the two fields referenced above exactly the same. The schoolname field is compulsory while the schlocation field is not. Otherwise, they are the same.

There are a total of perhaps twenty fields that don't export with Acrobat X but work fine with Acrobat 9.

How would we go about adjusting the settings for the export form data to spreadsheet so that all required fields are properly exported?

The form is already in the wild, so to speak. So I can't make adjustments to the form at this stage. What I need is a way of modifying what Acrobat X is doing when it exports the form data.

Thanks for any advice.

Regards,
jeannie

I'm not clear on the exact details and I haven't had time to dig into it, but the data processes between Acrobat 9 and X are different. This is one of the few areas where Adobe has been making changes. They did the same thing going from 8 to 9. Its messed up quite a few existing processes. Basically, the rule of thumb is to process the forms/data with the same version you built it on.

Ideally it shouldn't matter what version of Acrobat the user fills the form in, but I know there have been issues with this as well, especially for reader enabled forms.

I don't have any advice beyond, "keep using the same version of Acrobat until you create a new form", or hire an expert to investigate the issue and maybe create a workaround solution.

The form was originally created with LiveCycle Designer, the version that came with Acrobat 9. Then it was worked on and saved with the version that came with the Acrobat X. So it wasn't made with Acrobat but with LiveCycle Designer. Just thought I'd toss that in, in case it makes any difference.

Is there no one in Adobe that I can appeal to in order to address this issue?

That should a difference, now it's an Acrobat X document. Are the fields marked as "hidden" or "invisible", and what is the Binding? Is there a data connection on the form?

You could try Adobe Support.

The form is available at: http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/schoolsweb/studentsupport/programs/disabilitypgrms/refercer.pdf
if you'd like to have a look at it.

It is not connected to any data source. It has hidden, scripted, compulsory and calculated fields. There are a few fields that I don't need to have exported; however, they all export nicely with Acrobat 9 and that's fine, I just ignore the few columns in the spreadsheet that I don't need.

If there is a way to tell Acrobat which fields to export and how to export them so that they appear as required on the spreadsheet, that would be ideal. Stopping Acrobat X from skipping some fields while adding gobbledegook to others would be good progress.

Thanks for any continuing assistance or advice on where to get more help!

I noticed that there were several invisible date fields. Are there any hidden fields that are not dates?

Since the values in these fields are both invisible and calculated there is no reason for them to be Date fields. They can be plain text fields, which may be better because the Date functionality may be getting in the way of the calculation.

There is a way to force Acrobat to export a specific set of fields. Create a data connection to a sample XML file. Then bind the fields your interested into nodes in the XML.

Unfortunately, the form is already in use. So I can't change the form at this stage.

I will note your advice for future reference about the date fields. These do export nicely with Acrobat 9, however, so there should be some way to export them with Acrobat X. There are some fields on the last page that are hidden but are not date fields. These are use to invoke a script and some are required to be exported.

As far as the binding goes, I don't know what you are talking about, but it sounds like something that needs to be done to the form before it is out in the wild. Is that correct?

Thanks for helping!
jeannie

Yes, I was talking about making changes on the form. However, I don't know for sure that this is the issue. I was suggesting the changes as a way of trying to nail down the real issue. There may very well be a way to export the hidden data.

Yes, I was talking about making changes on the form. However, I don't know for sure that this is the issue. I was suggesting the changes as a way of trying to nail down the real issue. There may very well be a way to export the hidden data.