I am getting an error message referencing a field's custom calculation that says "Expected a dict object." The calculation was working just fine for an hour or more after creation, but then this message starting raising its head after my attempt to copy and paste a radio button caused the program to hang and close.
I am also getting a message when I attempt to import data telling me that security settings prevent me from performing that task. I've imported data into this file many times before this message began to appear, yet another indication of a corrupted file.
Can anyone tell me what this means? I performed a Google search and about everything I find seems to hint that the file is damaged and suggests disabling fast web view and view a pdf in the browser.
This is of concern because I have about 2 full days of work into the file in which this is occurring.
What is "Expected a dict object"
2011-01-17 16:11:15
Answered
My Product Information:
Acrobat Pro 9.4, Windows
Acrobat Pro 9.4, Windows
2011-01-17 20:31:25
#1
Accepted Answer
I've experienced wierdness like you've been describing, and my advice is to start from scratch, particularly with the underlying PDF. Make sure all fonts are embedded. Sorry I can't be more specific, but it's hard to say without having a sample to look at.
2011-01-18 05:35:47
#2
Thank you George. I have a question about embedding fonts but will post it in the pdf Forms forum as a separate question.
2011-01-18 09:50:57
#3
As George Johnson states, your file is most likely messed up beyond repair.
Deactivating "Save as… optimizes for fast web view" is definitely one thing you should do anyway when you work with forms, but I don't think that this was the cause of the troubles.
I have experienced such issues when copying fields between document and also between pages. As far as I have experienced, the "safest" way to get fields from one page to another is to use the "duplicate field" functionalitly, and (but that could be more voodoo) have JavaScript deactivated.
It is known that Acrobat sometimes does not a very good job when cleaning up during a Save as…, but there is not much you can do with it.
HTH.
Max Wyss.
Deactivating "Save as… optimizes for fast web view" is definitely one thing you should do anyway when you work with forms, but I don't think that this was the cause of the troubles.
I have experienced such issues when copying fields between document and also between pages. As far as I have experienced, the "safest" way to get fields from one page to another is to use the "duplicate field" functionalitly, and (but that could be more voodoo) have JavaScript deactivated.
It is known that Acrobat sometimes does not a very good job when cleaning up during a Save as…, but there is not much you can do with it.
HTH.
Max Wyss.
2011-01-18 10:46:39
#4
I was indeed copying nearly all of the many fields in this form between documents and pages. I cannot deactivate JS as I use it extensively in these forms. I appreciate your reply.
2011-01-18 10:51:32
#5
Max is saying do not use the PDF Optimizer as the Optimizer reorganizes the contents of the PDF for a smaller size and sometimes damages forms. So it is always a good idea to keep a version -1 copy.
2011-01-18 11:48:36
#6
Well, the PDF Optimizer can be serious poison for forms anyway, that is indeed true. However, what I did refer to is the "Save as… optimizes for fast web view" setting in the Document tab of the Preferences. Actually, the Fast Web View horrendously slows down forms when viewed under a web browser. It sounds paradox, but it isn't, as a form consists of many small objects, which are transferred object by object when the "fast web view" option is on.
Anyway, to David Dunn, there are two activities you do when developing a form: Developing/Editing and Testing. Being Mac-based, it is possible to have two versions of Acrobat running at the same time, without interference. One version (currently Acrobat Pro 7) has JavaScript deactivated, and is used to edit/develop the form. The other versio (Acrobat Pro 9) has JavaScript active, and is used to test any updated version. For Windows, this can be kind of simulated using virtual machines.
HTH.
Max Wyss.
Anyway, to David Dunn, there are two activities you do when developing a form: Developing/Editing and Testing. Being Mac-based, it is possible to have two versions of Acrobat running at the same time, without interference. One version (currently Acrobat Pro 7) has JavaScript deactivated, and is used to edit/develop the form. The other versio (Acrobat Pro 9) has JavaScript active, and is used to test any updated version. For Windows, this can be kind of simulated using virtual machines.
HTH.
Max Wyss.
2011-01-18 12:59:42
#7
Thanks again to all of you. This is good information. I find the PDF Optimizer paradox aggravating. Up until now I've been very impressed but leery of the fact that I have experienced no significant document corruption problems in Acrobat, even though I'm developing a very complex form with many scripts. I hate it when programs tout a feature like the optimizer which really doesn't do what it is intended to do, and instead causes problems, yet it sounds like this has been a problem for more than Acrobat 9.
2011-04-22 21:35:22
#8
We had one e book created three years back in adobe acrobat 5.0.Few days back we installed new verison of adobe acrobat 10.0 X STANDARD.
I opened this e book using Adobe acrobat 10.0 last week and when I tried to delete pages and added new pages,it is giving me two errors suquentially
1- Expected a dict object and
2- there was a problem reading this document(14).
As an observer I see a missing pages in the e book after editing and we spent almost 48 hours in trying different methods.
Please let us know correct method to address this issue as early as possible.
Thanks.
I opened this e book using Adobe acrobat 10.0 last week and when I tried to delete pages and added new pages,it is giving me two errors suquentially
1- Expected a dict object and
2- there was a problem reading this document(14).
As an observer I see a missing pages in the e book after editing and we spent almost 48 hours in trying different methods.
Please let us know correct method to address this issue as early as possible.
Thanks.