[Tex/LaTex] Losing check box entries when saving LaTeX-generated PDF form

formshyperrefpdftex

The code below implements a simple PDF form. Some PDF readers can save the form after it has been filled to a PDF with the new state. This works for the text entry whose entry is saved but the state of any checkbox is lost. Any remedy?

\documentclass{minimal}
\usepackage[pdftex]{hyperref}

\begin{document}
\begin{Form}
    \noindent
    \CheckBox[bordercolor={0 0 0},height=1ex,width=1.5ex,name=yes]{Yes}\quad
    \CheckBox[bordercolor={0 0 0},height=1ex,width=1.5ex,name=no]{No}\quad
    \TextField[name=textfield,width=3cm]{Text:}
\end{Form}
\end{document}

I noted on Mac OS X in the Preview.app that checking a check box alone does not lead the document to be considered as modified. Only entering text leads to a modified state and subsequently only a modified document can be saved. What is special about check boxes?

Maybe this is a reader issue and I would be interested to hear if the example above indeed works. There is a similar question How to get radio boxes right in PDF forms using hyperref? which was closed as off topic.

Edit: I have added name fields for the check boxes. On OS X with Preview.app this still does not solve the problem for me.

Best Answer

PDF forms are very similar to HTML forms. You need to add "name" for the CheckBoxes. this worked, when I tested it with Acrobat Pro.

enter image description here

\documentclass{minimal}
\usepackage[pdftex]{hyperref}
\begin{document}
\begin{Form}
    \noindent
    \CheckBox[bordercolor={0 0 0},height=1ex,width=1.5ex, name=ch1]{Yes}\quad
    \CheckBox[bordercolor={0 0 0},height=1ex,width=1.5ex, name=ch2]{No}\quad
    \TextField[name=textfield,width=3cm,value=default]{Text:}
\end{Form}
\end{document}

Any further processing must be done with JaVaScript. A good bundle of packages is provided by acrotex. The insdljs package provided by acrotex can be very useful for producing forms.

So how were the radio buttons in the linked form created?

The answer is quite surprising: The "radio buttons" in this PDF don't have the Radio flag set, which technically turns them into simple check boxes. However, as you can see, they still behave like radio buttons, so you can only select one option at a time. You can exploit this oddity by removing this flag in the form fields created by hyperref:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[bookmarks=false]{hyperref}

% Make radio buttons completely deselectable by removing the "Radio" flag
% (http://tex.stackexchange.com/a/74543/3323)
\usepackage{etoolbox}
\makeatletter
\patchcmd{\HyField@FlagsRadioButton}{\HyField@SetFlag{Ff}{Radio}}{}{}{}
\makeatother
\def\DefaultOptionsofRadio{print}

\begin{document}
\begin{Form}
{Do you want to: }%
\ChoiceMenu[radio,radiosymbol=\ding{52},name=myGroupOfRadiobuttons]{}{Do it all again=Again}
\ChoiceMenu[radio,radiosymbol=\ding{52},name=myGroupOfRadiobuttons]{}{Pretend it never happened=Pretend}
\ChoiceMenu[radio,radiosymbol=\ding{52},name=myGroupOfRadiobuttons]{}{Write a book about it=Write}
\end{Form}
\end{document}

Like this, you get completely deselectable radio buttons like the ones in the form you provided.

[Tex/LaTex] Table cells as CheckBoxes

Maybe the following is closer to what you want to achieve. I have used fixed width centered columns and removed the horizontal white space between table borders and the contents of the correnponding cells:

\documentclass[a4paper,10pt]{article}
\usepackage{amssymb} % needed for math
\usepackage{amsmath} % needed for math
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc} % this is needed for german umlauts
\usepackage[ngerman]{babel} % this is needed for german umlauts
\usepackage[T1]{fontenc}    % this is needed for correct output of umlauts in pdf
\usepackage[margin=1cm]{geometry} %layout
\usepackage{graphicx}   % to enable \resizebox for table sacling to \linewidth


\usepackage{array} % needed for \newcolumntype
% specifics

%\def\DefaultHeightofSubmit{12pt}
%\def\DefaultWidthofSubmit{2cm}
%\def\DefaultHeightofReset{12pt}
%\def\DefaultWidthofReset{2cm}
%\def\DefaultHeightofCheckBox{0.5\baselineskip}
%\def\DefaultWidthofCheckBox{0.5\baselineskip}
\usepackage{multirow}                           % for cells with multiple rows
\usepackage{graphicx}                           % needed for the tables
\usepackage{xcolor}                             % to make text in required color
\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}       % use non serif font
\usepackage{helvet}                             % use non serif font
\definecolor{orng}{HTML}{ff6700}                % define colors
\definecolor{grey}{HTML}{F0F0F0}                % define colors
\newcommand{\agencyName}{Agency}                % specific agency name
\newcommand{\mailAddr}{example@test.ch} % mailto addresses list

% Global Styles for the \TextField
\def\DefaultOptionsofText{
        print,
        %bordercolor={0 0 0},
        backgroundcolor=grey,
        width=4.6cm,
        borderwidth=0
        %height=5pt
}


\usepackage{hyperref}  % this is needed for forms and links within the text
\hypersetup{
  pdfauthor   = {XXX},
  pdfkeywords = {XXXXX},
  pdftitle    = {YYYYYYYYY}
}


\newcolumntype{C}[1]{>{\centering\arraybackslash}p{#1}}


\begin{document}
\begin{Form}[action=mailto:\mailAddr{},encoding=html,method=post]

%\begin{table}[!ht]
%\resizebox{\textwidth}{!}{
\noindent
\begin{tabular*}{\textwidth}{l@{\extracolsep{\fill}}r@{\extracolsep{\tabcolsep}}r}
\textcolor{orng}{TITLE MAGIC \agencyName{} XXXX}&
\Submit[color=grey,bordersep={0 1 0}]{Send}&
\Reset[backgroundcolor=grey]{Reset}
\end{tabular*}%}
%\end{table}

%\begin{table}[!ht]
%\begin{small}
\small
\begin{tabular}{llll}
Kunde:&\TextField[name=customer]{}&Einsatzdauer Basis in Stunden:&\TextField[name=onSetTime]{}
\vspace{1mm}\\
Kundennummer:&\TextField[name=customerNr]{}&Einstzfauer Zusatz in Sunden:&\TextField[name=onSetExtras]{}
\vspace{1mm}\\
Anzahl Zimmer:&\TextField[name=roomFromAmount,width=1cm]{} von \TextField[name=roomToAmount,width=1cm]{}&Einsatztag:&\TextField[name=onSetDay]{}
\vspace{1mm}\\
Etage:&\TextField[name=floor]{}&Einsatzzeit:&\TextField[name=seviceTime]{}
\vspace{1mm}\\
Anzahl Stockwerke:&\TextField[name=floorFromAmount,width=1cm]{} von \TextField[name=floorToAmount,width=1cm]{}&Putzfrau:&\TextField[name=employee]{}
\vspace{1mm}\\
Haustiere:&\TextField[name=petAnimals]{}&Rhytmus:&\TextField[name=interval]{}
\vspace{1mm}\\
&&&\\
\multicolumn{4}{l}{asldkjflkasj faslkj flkasdj flksadj fjkasdlj flaskdfj!}\\
\end{tabular}
%\end{small}
%\end{table}

%\begin{table}[!ht]
%\begin{small}
\begin{tabular}{|l|l|@{}C{4ex}@{}|@{}C{4ex}@{}|l|l|l|}
\cline{3-7}
\multicolumn{1}{l}{Anz. sep. WC}        &\TextField[width=3cm,name=toilAmount]{}        &\multirow{3}{*}{\rotatebox{90}{\hfill wöchentlich }} & \multirow{3}{*}{\rotatebox{90}{\hfill täglich }} & \multirow{3}{*}{\rotatebox{90}{\hfill monatlich }} & \multirow{3}{*}{\rotatebox{90}{\hfill bei Bedarf }} & \multirow{3}{*}{\rotatebox{90}{\hfill Zusatzarbeiten }} \\
\multicolumn{2}{l|}{}                   &&&&&\\
\multicolumn{2}{l|}{}                   &&&&&\\
\multicolumn{1}{l}{Anz. Nasszellen}     &\TextField[width=3cm,name=wetCellAmount]{}     &&&&&\\
\multicolumn{2}{l|}{}                   &&&&&\\
\multicolumn{2}{l|}{}                   &&&&&\\

\hline
\multicolumn{2}{|l|}{Nasszellen (Bad / Dusche / Toiletten)}&\CheckBox[borderwidth=0.1mm,name=tblWetCell1,width=4ex,height=1.5ex]{}&\CheckBox[borderwidth=0.1mm,name=tblWetCell2,width=4ex,height=1.5ex]{}& &            &                \\

\hline
\multicolumn{2}{|l|}{Abfalleimer in Küchenabfall leeren} &\CheckBox[borderwidth=0.1mm,name=tblWetCell3,width=4ex,height=1.5ex]{}&\CheckBox[borderwidth=0.1mm,name=tblWetCell4,width=4ex,height=1.5ex]{}          &           &            &                \\
\hline
\multicolumn{2}{|l|}{Wasserhähne polieren}             &             &         &           &            &                \\
\hline
\multicolumn{2}{|l|}{Duschkabine} &             &         &           &            &                \\
\hline
\multicolumn{2}{|l|}{Fliesen entkalken}&             &         &           &            &                \\
\hline
\multicolumn{2}{|l|}{Lavabo inkl. Zahngläser + Seifenschalen}&             &         &           &            &                \\
\hline
\multicolumn{2}{|l|}{Lüftung / Abzug}  &             &         &           &            &                \\
\hline
\multicolumn{2}{|l|}{Radiator für Frottetücher abstauben}&             &         &           &            &                \\
\hline
\multicolumn{2}{|l|}{ } &           &         &           &            &                \\
\hline
\end{tabular}
%\end{small}
%\end{table}

%
%
%\hfill ~\\

\end{Form}
\end{document}

Best Answer

Related Solutions

[Tex/LaTex] question on radiobuttons ( \ChoiceMenu[radio,…] ) of a fillable form made with package hyperref

So how were the radio buttons in the linked form created?

[Tex/LaTex] Table cells as CheckBoxes

Related Question