Editing PDF (section)

=== Forms ===

''Interactive Forms'' is a mechanism to add forms to the PDF file format. PDF currently supports two different methods for integrating data and PDF forms. Both formats today coexist in the PDF specification:<ref name="iso32000">{{cite web |url=https://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/pdfs/PDF32000_2008.pdf |title=Document Management – Portable Document Format – Part 1: PDF 1.7, First Edition |author=Adobe Systems Inc.|date=July 1, 2008|access-date=January 12, 2023|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203002256/https://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/pdfs/PDF32000_2008.pdf|archive-date=December 3, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://gnupdf.org/Forms_Data_Format |title=Gnu PDF – PDF Knowledge – Forms Data Format |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130101054615/http://www.gnupdf.org/Forms_Data_Format |archive-date=January 1, 2013 |access-date=January 12, 2023|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://livedocs.adobe.com/coldfusion/8/htmldocs/help.html?content=formsPDF_02.html |title=About PDF forms |access-date=February 19, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110429032948/http://livedocs.adobe.com/coldfusion/8/htmldocs/help.html?content=formsPDF_02.html |archive-date=April 29, 2011 |publisher=Adobe Systems Inc.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-sdk-discussions/convert-xfa-form-to-acroform/td-p/1175365|title=Convert XFA Form to AcroForm?|last=Demling|first=Peter|date=July 1, 2008|access-date=January 12, 2023|archive-date=January 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112153241/https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-sdk-discussions/convert-xfa-form-to-acroform/td-p/1175365|url-status=live}}</ref>

* AcroForms (also known as Acrobat forms), introduced in the PDF 1.2 format specification and included in all later PDF specifications.
* [[XML Forms Architecture]] (XFA) forms, introduced in the PDF 1.5 format specification. Adobe XFA Forms are not compatible with AcroForms.<ref>{{cite web |url = http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/tips/topic_tip2.html |title=Migrating from Adobe Acrobat forms to XML forms |access-date=January 12, 2023 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101006151011/http://partners.adobe.com/public/developer/tips/topic_tip2.html |archive-date=October 6, 2010 }}</ref> XFA was deprecated from PDF with PDF 2.0.

AcroForms were introduced in the PDF 1.2 format. AcroForms permit the uses of objects (''e.g.'' [[text box]]es, [[Radio button]]s, ''etc.'') and some code (''e.g.'' JavaScript). Alongside the standard PDF action types, interactive forms (AcroForms) support submitting, resetting, and importing data. The "submit" action transmits the names and values of selected interactive form fields to a specified uniform resource locator (URL). Interactive form field names and values may be submitted in any of the following formats, (depending on the settings of the action's ExportFormat, SubmitPDF, and XFDF flags):<ref name="iso32000" />

; HTML Form format: HTML 4.01 Specification since PDF 1.5; HTML 2.0 since 1.2
; <span class="anchor" id="Forms_Data_Format_(FDF)"></span>Forms Data Format (FDF): based on PDF, uses the same syntax and has essentially the same file structure, but is much simpler than PDF since the body of an FDF document consists of only one required object. Forms Data Format is defined in the PDF specification (since PDF 1.2). The Forms Data Format can be used when submitting form data to a server, receiving the response, and incorporating it into the interactive form. It can also be used to export form data to stand-alone files that can be imported back into the corresponding PDF interactive form. FDF was originally defined in 1996 as part of ISO 32000-2:2017.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
; XML Forms Data Format (XFDF): (external XML Forms Data Format Specification, Version 2.0; supported since PDF 1.5; it replaced the "XML" form submission format defined in PDF 1.4) the XML version of Forms Data Format, but the XFDF implements only a subset of FDF containing forms and annotations. Some entries in the FDF dictionary do not have XFDF equivalents – such as the Status, Encoding, JavaScript, Page's keys, EmbeddedFDFs, Differences, and Target. In addition, XFDF does not allow the spawning, or addition, of new pages based on the given data; as can be done when using an FDF file. The XFDF specification is referenced (but not included) in PDF 1.5 specification (and in later versions). It is described separately in ''XML Forms Data Format Specification''.<ref name="xfdf" /> The PDF 1.4 specification allowed form submissions in XML format, but this was replaced by submissions in XFDF format in the PDF 1.5 specification. XFDF conforms to the XML standard. XFDF can be used in the same way as FDF; e.g., form data is submitted to a server, modifications are made, then sent back and the new form data is imported in an interactive form. It can also be used to export form data to stand-alone files that can be imported back into the corresponding PDF interactive form. As of August 2019, XFDF 3.0 is an ISO/IEC standard under the formal name ''ISO 19444-1:2019 - Document management — XML Forms Data Format — Part 1: Use of ISO 32000-2 (XFDF 3.0)''.<ref>{{cite web |title=ISO 19444-1:2019(en) |url=https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:19444:-1:ed-2:v1:en |publisher=The International Organization for Standardization |access-date=December 3, 2020 |archive-date=June 17, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617031837/https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:19444:-1:ed-2:v1:en |url-status=live }}</ref> This standard is a normative reference of ISO 32000-2.
; PDF

The entire document can be submitted rather than individual fields and values, as was defined in PDF 1.4.

AcroForms can keep form field values in external stand-alone files containing key-value pairs. The external files may use Forms Data Format (FDF) and XML Forms Data Format (XFDF) files.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/acrobat-forms-form-data-web.html |title=Using Acrobat forms and form data on the web |author=Adobe Systems Incorporated |date=September 20, 2022 |access-date=January 12, 2023 |archive-date=January 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230112153235/https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/acrobat-forms-form-data-web.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="xfdf">{{cite web|title=XML Forms Data Format Specification, version 2|date=September 2007|url=https://www.immagic.com/eLibrary/ARCHIVES/TECH/ADOBE/A070914X.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730100811/https://www.immagic.com/eLibrary/ARCHIVES/TECH/ADOBE/A070914X.pdf|url-status=dead|access-date=February 19, 2010|archive-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref><ref name="fdf-exchange">{{cite web|url=https://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/pdfs/fdf_data_exchange.pdf |title=FDF Data Exchange Specification |date= February 8, 2007 |access-date=January 12, 2023|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203041943/https://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/pdfs/fdf_data_exchange.pdf|archive-date=December 3, 2008}}</ref> The usage rights (UR) signatures define rights for import form data files in FDF, XFDF, and text ([[comma-separated values|CSV]]/[[delimiter-separated values|TSV]]) formats, and export form data files in FDF and XFDF formats.<ref name="iso32000" />

In PDF 1.5, Adobe Systems introduced a proprietary format for forms; [[Adobe XML Forms Architecture]] (XFA). Adobe XFA Forms are not compatible with ISO 32000's AcroForms feature, and most PDF processors do not handle XFA content. The XFA specification is referenced from ISO 32000-1/PDF 1.7 as an external proprietary specification and was entirely deprecated from PDF with ISO 32000-2 (PDF 2.0).