Forms (AcroForm)

PDF currently supports two form types for interactively collecting user information: AcroForms and XFA forms.

AcroForms are the original fillable forms based on the PDF specification. Foxit PDF SDK provides rich APIs for programmatically viewing and editing form fields. In PDF documents, form fields are a common way to collect user data. The Form class provides APIs to retrieve form fields or form controls, import and export form data, and perform related operations.

Common APIs (Java Example)

Get form fields:
java
```
int fieldCount = form.getFieldCount();
Field field = form.getField(index);
```
Use Form.getFieldCount() to get the number of form fields and Form.getField(index) to get the form field at the specified index.
Get form controls on a PDF page:
java
```
int controlCount = form.getControlCount(pdfpage);
Control control = form.getControl(pdfpage, index);
```
Use Form.getControlCount(pdfpage) to get the number of form controls on a page and Form.getControl(pdfpage, index) to get the form control at the specified index on that page.
Import/export form data (XML):
java
```
form.importFromXML();
form.exportToXML();
```
Use Form.importFromXML(path) to import form data from an XML file and Form.exportToXML(path) to export form data to an XML file.
Get the Form Filler object:
java
```
FormFiller formFiller = form.getFormFiller();
```
Use Form.getFormFiller() to obtain the FormFiller object used for interactive form filling.
Import/export form data (FDF/XFDF):

To import form data from or export form data to FDF or XFDF files, use the following interfaces on the pdf.PDFDoc class:

java

pdfDoc.importFromFDF(fdfDoc, types, page_range);
pdfDoc.exportToFDF(	fdfDoc, types, page_range);

Load Forms in a PDF

c++

#include "include/common/fs_common.h"
#include "include/pdf/fs_pdfdoc.h"
#include "include/pdf/fs_pdfform.h"

using namespace foxit;
using namespace pdf;
using namespace interform;
...

// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

bool hasForm = doc.HasForm();
if(hasForm)
   Form form(doc);
...

#include "include/fs_basictypes_c.h"
#include "include/fs_common_c.h"
#include "include/fs_pdfdoc_c.h"
#include "include/fs_pdfform_c.h"
...

// Assuming FS_PDFDOC_HANDLE doc has been loaded.

FS_BOOL hasForm;
FSDK_PDFDoc_HasForm(doc, &hasForm);
if(hasForm)
    FS_FORM_HANDLE form;
FSDK_Form_Create(doc, &form);
...

java

import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.interform.Form;
...

// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.
...

Boolean hasForm = doc.hasForm();
if(hasForm)
   Form form = new Form(doc);
...

import sys
import site

if sys.version_info.major == 2:
    _PYTHON2_ = True
else:
    _PYTHON2_ = False

if _PYTHON2_:
    #replace with the python2 lib path
    site.addsitedir('../../../')
    from FoxitPDFSDKPython2 import *
else:
    from FoxitPDFSDKPython3 import *

...
# Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

hasForm = doc.HasForm()
if hasForm:
    form = Form(doc)
...

objc

#include "FSPDFObjC.h"
...

// Assuming FSPDFDoc doc has been loaded.

BOOL hasform = [doc hasForm];
if(hasform)
  FSForm *form = [[FSForm alloc] initWithDocument:doc];
...

const FSDK = require("@fuxinsoft/foxit-pdf-sdk-node");

...
// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

let hasForm = doc.HasForm()
if(asForm){
    let form = new FSDK.Form(doc)
}
...

csharp

using foxit;
using foxit.common;
using foxit.common.fxcrt;
using foxit.pdf;
using foxit.pdf.interform;
using foxit.pdf.annots;
...

// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

Boolean hasForm = doc.HasForm();
If(hasForm)
Form form = new Form(doc);
...

import (
. “foxit.com/fsdk”
) 
...
# Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

hasForm := doc.HasForm()
if hasForm{
form := NewForm(doc)
defer DeleteForm(form)
}
...

Get the Form Field Count and Set Field Properties

c++

#include "include/common/fs_common.h"
#include "include/pdf/fs_pdfdoc.h"
#include "include/pdf/interform/fs_pdfform.h"

using namespace foxit;
using namespace pdf;
using namespace interform;

...
// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

Form form(doc);
int countFields = form. GetFieldCount(NULL);
for (int i = 0; i < nFieldCount; i++)
{
     Field field = form.GetField(i, filter);
     Field::Type type = field.GetType();
     WString org_alternateName = field.GetAlternateName();
     field.SetAlternateName(L"signature");
}

#include "include/fs_basictypes_c.h"
#include "include/fs_common_c.h"
#include "include/fs_pdfdoc_c.h"
#include "include/fs_pdfform_c.h"

...
// Assuming FS_PDFDOC_HANDLE doc has been loaded.

FS_FORM_HANDLE form;
FSDK_Form_Create(doc, &form);
int countFields = 0;
FSDK_Form_GetFieldCount(form, NULL, &countFields);
for (int i = 0; i < nFieldCount; i++)
{
     FS_FIELD_HANDLE field;
     FSDK_Form_GetField(form, i, NULL, &field);
     FSFieldType type;
     FSDK_Field_GetType(field, &type);
     FS_WSTR org_alternateName;
     FSDK_Field_GetAlternateName(field, &org_alternateName);
     FSDK_Field_SetAlternateName(field, L"signature");
}

java

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

// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.
...

Form form = new Form(doc);
String filter = "";
            
int nControlCount = form.getFieldCount(filter);
for (int i=0; i<nControlCount; i++)
{
Field field = form.getField(i, filter);
Field.Type type = field.getType();
String fdName = field. getAlternateName ();
field.setAlternateName("signature");
}

import sys
import site

if sys.version_info.major == 2:
    _PYTHON2_ = True
else:
    _PYTHON2_ = False

if _PYTHON2_:
    #replace with the python2 lib path
    site.addsitedir('../../../')
    from FoxitPDFSDKPython2 import *
else:
    from FoxitPDFSDKPython3 import *

...
# Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

form = Form(doc)
countFields = form.GetFieldCount("")
for i in range(0, countFields):
    field = form.GetField(i, filter)
    type = field.GetType()
    org_alternateName = field.GetAlternateName()
    field.SetAlternateName("signature")

objc

#include "FSPDFObjC.h"
...

// Assuming FSPDFDoc doc has been loaded.
FSForm *form = [[FSForm alloc] initWithDocument:doc];
int count = [form getFieldCount:@""];
for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
    FSField* field = [form getField:i filter:@""];
    FSFieldType field_type = [field getType];
    NSString* name = [field getAlternateName];
    [field setAlternateName:@"signature"];
}

const FSDK = require("@fuxinsoft/foxit-pdf-sdk-node");

...
// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

let form = new FSDK.Form();
let count = form.GetFieldCount("");
for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
  let field = form.GetField(i, filter);
  let type = field.GetType();
  let org_alternateName = field.GetAlternateName();
  field.SetAlternateName("signature");
}

csharp

using foxit;
using foxit.common;
using foxit.common.fxcrt;
using foxit.pdf;
using foxit.pdf.interform;
using foxit.pdf.annots;
...

// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

Form form = new Form(doc);
int count = form.GetFieldCount("");
for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
{
Field field = form.GetField(i, "");
Field.Type type = field.GetType();
WString org_alternateName = field.GetAlternateName();
field.SetAlternateName("signature");
}

import (
. “foxit.com/fsdk”
) 

...
# Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

form := NewForm(doc)
defer DeleteForm(form)
countFields := form.GetFieldCount("")
for i:=0;i< countFields;i++{
    field := form.GetField(i, filter)
    type := field.GetType()
    org_alternateName := field.GetAlternateName()
field.SetAlternateName("signature")
}

Export Form Data from a PDF to an XML File

c++

#include "include/common/fs_common.h"
#include "include/pdf/fs_pdfdoc.h"
#include "include/pdf/interform/fs_pdfform.h"

using namespace foxit;
using namespace pdf;
using namespace interform;
... 
// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

Form form(doc);
...
form.ExportToXML(XMLFilePath);
...

#include "include/fs_basictypes_c.h"
#include "include/fs_common_c.h"
#include "include/fs_pdfdoc_c.h"
#include "include/fs_pdfform_c.h"
... 
// Assuming FS_PDFDOC_HANDLE doc has been loaded.
char* wstring2string(const wchar_t *source, size_t source_size, char *dest, size_t dest_size) {
  char* curLocale = setlocale(LC_ALL, NULL);
  setlocale(LC_ALL, "chs");
  memset(dest, 0, dest_size);
  wcstombs(dest, source, dest_size);
  setlocale(LC_ALL, "C");
  return dest;
} 
...
FS_FORM_HANDLE form;
FSDK_Form_Create(doc, &form);
...
FS_BOOL return_value;
xmlFileSize = wcslen(XMLFilePath);
destXMLsize = xmlFileSize _size + 1;
char* destXML =  (char*)malloc(dest_size);
wstring2string(XMLFilePath, xmlFileSize, destXML, destXMLsize);
FSDK_Form_ExportToXML(form, , &return_value);
free(destXML);
...

java

import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.interform.Form;
...

// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.
...

Form form = new Form(doc);
form.exportToXML("form.xml");
...

import sys
import site

if sys.version_info.major == 2:
    _PYTHON2_ = True
else:
    _PYTHON2_ = False

if _PYTHON2_:
    #replace with the python2 lib path
    site.addsitedir('../../../')
    from FoxitPDFSDKPython2 import *
else:
    from FoxitPDFSDKPython3 import *

...
# Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.
form = Form(doc)
...
form.ExportToXML(XMLFilePath)

objc

#include "FSPDFObjC.h"
...

// Assuming FSPDFDoc doc has been loaded.
...

FSForm *form = [[FSForm alloc] initWithDocument:doc];
BOOL is_success = [field exportToXML:@"test.xml"];
...

const FSDK = require("@fuxinsoft/foxit-pdf-sdk-node");

...
// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.
let form = new FSDK.Form(doc);
...
form.ExportToXML(XMLFilePath)

csharp

using foxit;
using foxit.common;
using foxit.common.fxcrt;
using foxit.pdf;
using foxit.pdf.interform;
using foxit.pdf.annots;
...

// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

Boolean hasForm = doc.HasForm();
If(hasForm)
Form form = new Form(doc);
...
form.ExportToXML(XMLFilePath);
...

import (
. “foxit.com/fsdk”
) 
...
# Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.
form := NewForm(doc)
defer DeleteForm(form)

...
form.ExportToXML(XMLFilePath)

Import Form Data into a PDF from an XML File

c++

#include "include/common/fs_common.h"
#include "include/pdf/fs_pdfdoc.h"
#include "include/pdf/interform/fs_pdfform.h"

using namespace foxit;
using namespace pdf;
using namespace interform;
... 
// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

Form form(doc);
...
form.ImportFromXML(XMLFilePath);
...

#include "include/fs_basictypes_c.h"
#include "include/fs_common_c.h"
#include "include/fs_pdfdoc_c.h"
#include "include/fs_pdfform_c.h"
... 
// Assuming FS_PDFDOC_HANDLE doc has been loaded.

FS_FORM_HANDLE form;
FSDK_Form_Create(doc, &form);
...
FS_BOOL return_value;
wstring2string(XMLFilePath, xmlFileSize, destXML, destXMLsize);
FSDK_Form_ImportFromXML(form, destXML, &return_value);
...

java

import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.interform.Form;
...
Form form = new Form(doc);
form.importFromXML("form.xml");
...

import sys
import site

if sys.version_info.major == 2:
    _PYTHON2_ = True
else:
    _PYTHON2_ = False

if _PYTHON2_:
    #replace with the python2 lib path
    site.addsitedir('../../../')
    from FoxitPDFSDKPython2 import *
else:
    from FoxitPDFSDKPython3 import *

# Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.
form = Form(doc)
...
form.ImportFromXML(XMLFilePath)
...

objc

#include "FSPDFObjC.h"
...
FSForm *form = [[FSForm alloc] initWithDocument:doc];
BOOL is_success = [field importFromXML:@"test.xml"];
...

const FSDK = require("@fuxinsoft/foxit-pdf-sdk-node");

// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.
let form = new FSDK.Form(doc);
...
form.ImportFromXML(XMLFilePath)
...

csharp

using foxit;
using foxit.common;
using foxit.common.fxcrt;
using foxit.pdf;
using foxit.pdf.interform;
using foxit.pdf.annots;
...

// Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.

Boolean hasForm = doc.HasForm();
If(hasForm)
Form form = new Form(doc);
...
form.ImportFromXML(XMLFilePath);
...

import (
. “foxit.com/fsdk”
) 

# Assuming PDFDoc doc has been loaded.
form := NewForm(doc)
defer DeleteForm(form)

...
form.ImportFromXML(XMLFilePath)

Get Form Field Coordinates

Load the PDF file with PDFDoc.
Iterate through the form fields in PDFDoc to obtain each field object.
Iterate through the form controls of each field object to obtain each form control object.
Obtain the related widget annotation object from the form control.
Call the widget annotation object's GetRect method to get the form field coordinates.

c++

#include <iostream>

#include "../../../include/common/fs_common.h"
#include "../../../include/pdf/fs_pdfdoc.h"
#include "../../../include/pdf/annots/fs_annot.h"
#include "../../../include/pdf/interform/fs_pdfform.h"

using namespace foxit;
using namespace foxit::common;
using namespace pdf;
using namespace annots;
using namespace interform;

...

PDFDoc doc(input_file);
ErrorCode error_code = doc.Load();
if (error_code != foxit::e_ErrSuccess) {
  printf("The Doc [%s] Error: %d\n", (const char*)String::FromUnicode(input_path), error_code);
  return 1;
}

if (!doc.HasForm()) return 1;
interform::Form form(doc);  
for (int i = 0; i < form.GetFieldCount(NULL); i++) {
  interform::Field field = form.GetField(i, NULL);
  if (field.IsEmpty()) continue;
  for (int j = 0; j < field.GetControlCount(); j++) {
    interform::Control control = field.GetControl(j);
    annots::Widget widget = control.GetWidget();
    / Get rectangle of the  annot widget.
    RectF rect = widget.GetRect();
  }
}

#include "include/fs_basictypes_c.h"
#include "include/fs_common_c.h"
#include "include/fs_pdfdoc_c.h"
#include "include/fs_pdfform_c.h"

...
FS_PDFDOC_HANDLE doc;
FSErrorCode error_code = FSDK_PDFDoc_Create0(input_file, &doc);
if (error_code != e_FSErrSuccess) return 1;

error_code = FSDK_PDFDoc_Load(doc, NULL);
if (error_code != e_FSErrSuccess) {
  FSDK_PDFDoc_Release(doc);
  return 1;
}
FS_BOOL isHaveForm;
FSDK_PDFDoc_HasForm(doc, &isHaveForm);
if (!isHaveForm) return 1;
FS_FORM_HANDLE form;
FSDK_Form_Create(doc, &form);
int fieldCount = 0;
FSDK_Form_GetFieldCount(form, NULL, &fieldCount);
for (int i = 0; i < fieldCount; i++) {
  FS_FIELD_HANDLE field;    
  FSDK_Form_GetField(form, i, NULL, &field);
  FS_BOOL isEmpty;
  FSDK_Field_IsEmpty(field, &isEmpty);
  if (isEmpty) continue;
  int controlCount = 0;
  FSDK_Field_GetControlCount(field, &controlCount);
  for (int j = 0; j < controlCount; j++) {
    FS_CONTROL_HANDLE control;
    FSDK_Field_GetControl(field, j, &control);
    FS_WIDGETANNOT_HANDLE widget;
    FSDK_Control_GetWidget(control, &widget);
    FSRectF rect;
    /Get rectangle of the annot widget.
    FSDK_Annot_GetRect(widget, &rect);
  }
}
FSDK_Form_Release(form);
FSDK_PDFDoc_Release(doc);
...

java

import com.foxit.sdk.common.Constants;
import com.foxit.sdk.common.fxcrt.RectF;
import com.foxit.sdk.PDFException;
import com.foxit.sdk.common.Library;
import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.annots.Widget;
import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.interform.Control;
import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.interform.Field;
import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.interform.Form;
import com.foxit.sdk.pdf.PDFDoc;

...
// Load a document
PDFDoc doc = new PDFDoc(input_file);
int error_code = doc.load(null);
if (error_code != Constants.e_ErrSuccess) {
    System.out.println("The Doc " + input_file + " Error: " + error_code);
    return;
}

if (!doc.hasForm()) return;
Form form = new Form(doc);      
for (int i = 0; i < form.getFieldCount(null); i++) {
    Field field = form.getField(i, null);
    if (field.isEmpty())  continue;
    for (int j = 0; j < field.getControlCount(); j++) {
        Control control = field.getControl(j);
        Widget widget = control.getWidget();
        /Get rectangle of the annot widget.
        RectF rect = widget.getRect();
    }
}
...

import os
import sys
import site

if sys.version_info.major == 2:
    _PYTHON2_ = True
else:
    _PYTHON2_ = False

if _PYTHON2_:
    site.addsitedir('../../../')
    from FoxitPDFSDKPython2 import *
else:
    from FoxitPDFSDKPython3 import *

...

# Load a document
doc = PDFDoc(input_file)
error_code = doc.Load("")
if error_code != e_ErrSuccess:
    print("The PDFDoc {} Error: {}".format(input_file, error_code))
    return 1

if not doc.HasForm(): return 1
form = Form(doc);  
for i in range(0, form.GetFieldCount("")):
    field = form.GetField(i, "")
    if field.IsEmpty(): continue
    for j in range(0, field.GetControlCount()):
      control = field.GetControl(j)
      widget = control.GetWidget()
      # Get rectangle of the annot widget.
      rect = widget.GetRect()
...

objc

#include "FSPDFObjC.h"

...
// Load a document
FSPDFDoc* doc = [[FSPDFDoc alloc] initWithPath:input_pdf_path];
FSErrorCode errorCode = [doc load:nil];
if (errorCode != FSErrSuccess) {
  NSLog(@"The Doc [%@] Error: %ld", input_pdf_path, errorCode);
  return -1;
}
if (![doc hasForm]) return -1;
FSForm *form = [[FSForm alloc] initWithDocument:doc];
int fieldCount = [form getFieldCount:@""];
for (int i = 0; i < fieldCount; i++) {
  FSField *field = [form getField:i filter:@""];
  if ([field isEmpty])  continue;
  int controlCount = [field getControlCount];
  for (int j = 0; j < controlCount; j++) {
    FSControl *control = [field getControl:j];
    FSWidget *widget = [control getWidget];
    /Get rectangle of the annot widget.
    FSRectF *rect = [widget getRect];
  }
}
...

const FSDK = require("@fuxinsoft/foxit-pdf-sdk-node");

...
let doc = new FSDK.PDFDoc("Sample.pdf");
let error_code = doc.Load("");
if (error_code != FSDK.e_ErrSuccess) {
    return 1;
}

if (!doc.HasForm()) return 1;
let form = new FSDK.Form(DOC);
let count = form.GetFieldCount("");
for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
  let field = form.GetField(i, "")
  if(field.IsEmpty()) continue
  for (let j = 0; i < field.GetControlCount(); i++) {
    let control = field.GetControl(j)
    let widget = control.GetWidget()
    / Get rectangle of the annot widget.
    let rect = widget.GetRect()
}
...

csharp

using foxit;
using foxit.common;
using foxit.common.fxcrt;
using foxit.pdf;
using foxit.pdf.interform;
using foxit.pdf.annots;

...
using (PDFDoc doc = new PDFDoc(input_file))
{
    ErrorCode error_code = doc.Load(null);
    if (error_code != ErrorCode.e_ErrSuccess)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("[Failed] Cannot load PDF document: " + input_file + ".\r\nError Code: " + error_code + "\r\n");
        return;
    }
    if (!doc.HasForm()) return;
   using (Form form = new Form(doc))
    {
        for (int i = 0; i < form.GetFieldCount(null); i++)
        {
            using (Field field = form.GetField(i, null))
            {
                if (field.IsEmpty()) continue;
                for (int j = 0; j < field.GetControlCount(); j++)
                {
                    using (Control control = field.GetControl(j))
                    using (Widget widget = control.GetWidget())
                    /Get rectangle of the annot widget.
                    using (RectF rect = widget.GetRect()){}          
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
...
```go
```FSDK_Field_GetControl
import (
. “foxit.com/fsdk”
“fmt”
) 
...

# Load a document
doc := NewPDFDoc(input_file)
defer DeletePDFDoc(doc)
error_code := doc.Load("")
if error_code != E_ErrSuccess{
    fmt.Printf("The PDFDoc %s Error: %d", input_file, error_code)
    return 1
}
if !doc.HasForm(){return 1}
form := NewForm(doc)
defer DeleteForm(form)
for i :=0; i< form.GetFieldCount("");i++{
    field := form.GetField(i, "")
if field.IsEmpty(){
 continue
}
    for j :=0;j< field.GetControlCount();j++ {
      control := field.GetControl(j)
      widget := control.GetWidget()
      # Get rectangle of the annot widget.
      rect := widget.GetRect()
}
}
...

Document Basics

Page Management

Content and Search

Annotations

Bookmarks

Forms

Signatures

Security and Protection

Layers

Attachments

Document Processing

Scripting and Actions

Format Conversion

Recognition

Standards and Compliance

Specialized Features

Low-Level Operations

Forms (AcroForm)

Common APIs (Java Example)

Load Forms in a PDF

Get the Form Field Count and Set Field Properties

Export Form Data from a PDF to an XML File

Import Form Data into a PDF from an XML File

Get Form Field Coordinates

Forms (AcroForm) ​

Common APIs (Java Example) ​

Load Forms in a PDF ​

Get the Form Field Count and Set Field Properties ​

Export Form Data from a PDF to an XML File ​

Import Form Data into a PDF from an XML File ​

Get Form Field Coordinates ​

Forms (AcroForm)

Common APIs (Java Example)

Load Forms in a PDF

Get the Form Field Count and Set Field Properties

Export Form Data from a PDF to an XML File

Import Form Data into a PDF from an XML File

Get Form Field Coordinates