In this chapter…

…we present a collection of hints and tips for working with FDFMerge Lite and FDFMerge. If you are having trouble with the software, consult this list of issues for a possible solution. Information that is specific to FDFMerge is in green text followed by a notation: (FDFMerge only).

Common Error Checklist

Before proceeding, if you are having problems with your PDF files, check that they are well formed, and not corrupt. Refer to Cleaning Up PDF Documents.

  • When using FDFMerge Lite or FDFMerge in a script, be sure to use full path names for all files and applications accessed from within the script. If you cannot get your script to work, make sure that you can run FDFMerge Lite or FDFMerge from a command line.
  • If you find your files are not working as you had expected, you may wish to try re-saving them in Acrobat as Optimized.
  • Check to see that the PDF file is listed before the FDF file on the command line. However, if you are running with -reverse, then the FDF should be listed before the PDF file.
  • Review the command-line options to be sure they are entered properly. Make sure options -f <FormInfo file>, -cmds <CommandFile.txt>, -l <logfile> and -o <output file> have file names specified after them. Missing file names will cause unintended results.
  • Make sure all file and path names are correct. If you are working in one directory and FDFMerge Lite or FDFMerge resides in another, you must account for that in the command-line call. We recommend that you always use full paths to all files including FDF, input, output and log files.
  • Even if you are running FDFMerge Lite or FDFMerge in its own directory, enter the command with the dot-slash in front (./fdfmergelite or ./fdfmerge), to tell your system that the application is in the current directory. This is more important for UNIX than for Windows.
  • We recommend that you always use the -o <output file> option so that you do not overwrite your original file in case you may need it later.
  • If you get an error from FDFMerge Lite or FDFMerge that the file was unable to write, check to make sure that the file isn’t open in Adobe Acrobat or any other application. Also be sure the file is not set as read-only or encrypted.

If you are using a FormInfo file with FDFMerge, double check the following (FDFMerge only):

  • Are all the Form Field names correct, including capitalization and spelling?
  • Are the parameter names correctly spelled, such as ColorRed, not Color Red, etc.?
  • Are the paths correct for font files?
  • Are the .pfm and .pfb files for the fonts in the same directory?
  • If you are using colors for fonts, borders, backgrounds, etc., have you specified values for all three colors: Red, Green, and Blue? or all four colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black?

 

Cleaning Up PDF Documents

Not all PDF files are created equal. The way in which a PDF document is generated makes a difference, and PDFs generated by third party tools in particular can vary in quality. PDF documents can also become corrupted.

To check how the file was created:

  • In Acrobat X, XI and DC select File > Properties… and click Description. Under Advanced, look at PDF Producer.

If the PDF Producer field is blank, consider the file suspect.

Making a Clean PDF

If you are having problems with a specific PDF, try to create “clean” version of your document. There are two ways of doing this using Adobe Acrobat. If you use other PDF manipulation software, check the documentation for functions that may be equivalent to those found in Adobe Acrobat.

Method 1: “Optimize” your PDF

  • In Acrobat X, XI and DC > File Menu > Save As > Optimized PDF

If saving as optimized does not work, distill the document by following the steps below.

Method 2: Distilling PDF Documents

Distilling a document will remove all comments and form-fields from the PDF. If the PDF contains these items and you wish to preserve them, you must save them before Distilling.

To save existing comments

  • In Acrobat X, XI and DC select Comments > Comments List > click the Options icon > Export All to Data File… In the Export Comments dialog box, select a name and location for the Forms Data File (.fdf), and click Save.

See the additional step below for saving form fields (if any):

Delete all comments:

  • In Acrobat X, XI and DC select all the comments in the Comments List pane and press the Delete key.

To save form fields (if any):

  • Save a copy of the original file. You will copy and paste the form fields from the original file into the new file after the distilling procedure.

Distilling the document

To distill a PDF document do the following:

  • In Acrobat X and XI select File > Save As > More Options > PostScript. Choose a name and location for the file and click Save.
  • In Acrobat DC select File > Export to > PostScript. Choose a name and location for the file and click Save
  • Open Acrobat Distiller > select File > Open… In the Open PostScript File dialog, locate the PostScript file created in the previous step and click Open.

The distiller will create a new PDF file with the same name and location as the PostScript file.

Restoring comments

To restore the comments:

  • In Acrobat X and XI, select Comments > Comments List > click the Options icon > Import Data File… In the Import Comments dialog box, locate the Forms Data File (.fdf) previously saved and click Select. In the next pop-up box, click Yes. The comments are restored.
  • In Acrobat DC, select Tools > Comments > Comments List > click the Options icon > Import Data File…In the Import Comments dialog box, locate the Forms Data File (.fdf) previously saved and click Select. In the next pop-up box, click yes. The comments are restored

Restoring form fields

To restore form fields:

  • Open the original PDF file that includes form fields.
  • In Acrobat X and XI select Tools > Forms > Edit Form)
  • In Acrobat DC > select Tools > Prepare Form > Form fields will automatically appear
  • The form fields will appear, do a Control-A to select all the form fields.
  • Open the new distilled PDF file which has no form fields.
  • Do a Control-V to paste all the form fields onto the page.

You may need to reposition the fields by selecting them again with the Select Object Tool and moving them to the correct position. For multi-page forms you must do this for each page separately.