Forms

Foxit PDF SDK for Android provides AcroForm read, fill, edit, and data import/export through the Core SDK. Forms consist of fields and controls, supporting text fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, combo boxes, list boxes, buttons, and signature fields.

Built-in form filling in UI Extensions

If you use the full reader (UI Extensions), form filling is built in (FormFillerModule); users can tap and fill fields in the document. The form navigation module (FormNavigationModule) supports quick movement between fields. No extra code is required.

Core Classes

Class	Description
Form	Form object; manages fields and controls; supports data import/export
Field	Form field; defines type, name, value, and properties
Control	Form control; visual representation on the page (Widget annotation)
Filler	Form filler; handles form interaction logic

Field Types

Constant	Value	Description
Field.e_TypePushButton	1	Push button
Field.e_TypeCheckBox	2	Checkbox
Field.e_TypeRadioButton	3	Radio button
Field.e_TypeComboBox	4	Combo box
Field.e_TypeListBox	5	List box
Field.e_TypeTextField	6	Text field
Field.e_TypeSignature	7	Signature field

Common Field Flags

Constant	Description
e_FlagReadOnly	Read-only
e_FlagRequired	Required
e_FlagNoExport	Do not export
e_FlagTextMultiline	Multiline text
e_FlagTextPassword	Password input
e_FlagTextComb	Comb spacing
e_FlagComboEdit	Editable combo box
e_FlagChoiceMultiSelect	Multi-select list

Example: Get Form Fields and Controls

import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.PDFDoc;
import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.PDFPage;
import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.interform.Form;
import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.interform.Field;
import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.interform.Control;

PDFDoc doc = new PDFDoc("path/to/Sample.pdf");
doc.load(null);

if (!doc.hasForm()) return;

Form form = new Form(doc);

// Iterate all fields (null filter = no filter)
int fieldCount = form.getFieldCount(null);
for (int i = 0; i < fieldCount; i++) {
    Field field = form.getField(i, null);
    String name = field.getName();
    int type = field.getType();
    String value = field.getValue();
}

// Get all controls on a page
PDFPage page = doc.getPage(0);
int controlCount = form.getControlCount(page);
for (int i = 0; i < controlCount; i++) {
    Control control = form.getControl(page, i);
    Field field = control.getField();
}

Filter fields by type

getFieldCount(String filter) and getField(int index, String filter) support type name filters such as "PushButton", "CheckBox", "RadioButton", "ComboBox", "ListBox", "TextField", "Signature". Pass null for all fields.

Example: Fill Form Fields

Form form = new Form(doc);

// Fill text fields
int count = form.getFieldCount("TextField");
for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
    Field field = form.getField(i, "TextField");
    if ("name".equals(field.getName())) {
        field.setValue("张三");
    }
}

// Set checkbox checked state
int cbCount = form.getFieldCount("CheckBox");
for (int i = 0; i < cbCount; i++) {
    Field field = form.getField(i, "CheckBox");
    Control control = field.getControl(0);
    if (control != null && !control.isEmpty()) {
        control.setChecked(true);
    }
}

doc.saveAs("path/to/filled.pdf", PDFDoc.e_SaveFlagNormal);

Data Import and Export

XML Format

Form form = new Form(doc);

// Export all fields to XML
form.exportToXML("/sdcard/form_data.xml");

// Import from XML
form.importFromXML("/sdcard/form_data.xml");

FDF / XFDF Format

import com.foxit.sdk.fdf.FDFDoc;
import com.foxit.sdk.common.Range;

// Export form data to FDF
FDFDoc fdfDoc = new FDFDoc(FDFDoc.e_FDF);
doc.exportToFDF(fdfDoc, PDFDoc.e_AnnotForm, new Range());
fdfDoc.saveAs("/sdcard/form_data.fdf");

// Import form data from FDF
FDFDoc importFdf = new FDFDoc("/sdcard/form_data.fdf");
doc.importFromFDF(importFdf, PDFDoc.e_AnnotForm, new Range());

Form also supports CSV, HTML, and plain text export. See the API Reference for details.

API Reference

See the API Reference for full Form, Field, and Control documentation.