![]() Some features only work fully if you purchase a software licence and enter the licence key. Neither application is open-source, though. This application from Canadian company Tracker Software Products supersedes their deprecated PDF-XChange Viewer and has additional features. So, in summary, Acrobat Reader DC is not a viable option if you have to deal with forms that include automatically-updating bar codes. This is the ubiquitous ‘free’ closed-source application you can download from Adobe.īelow are screenshots of the four sample PDF forms opened in Acrobat Reader DC…ġ.1.1 I could enter text in the three fields in acrobat8_barcodedforms.pdf, and the bar code was updated accordingly:Īcrobat Reader DC - sample_barcoded_demo.pdf sample_barcoded_demo.pdf, a December 2005 sample PDF form from Adobe with an automatically-updating bar code (PDF417 symbology).PdfFormExample.pdf, a June 2013 sample PDF form created using LibreOffice (and therefore not containing automatically-updating bar codes). ![]() barcode_field.pdf, a February 2013 sample PDF form with three fields and three associated bar codes of different symbologies (PDF417, Data Matrix and QR Code).acrobat8_barcodedforms.pdf, an October 2006 PDF article from Adobe containing three sample form fields and an associated automatically-updating bar code (PDF417 symbology).I did not bother trying the GNOME document viewer Evince, as I could find no evidence on the Web of it having the capability of updating bar codes automatically, and I use KDE.įor my tests I used the following four PDF forms I found on the Web: In summary, I discovered that I could do all these things in Linux as well as in Windows 10, although in Linux I had to resort to running a Windows application under WINE if a PDF form contained automatically-updating bar codes. My investigations were carried out in Linux and Windows 10, and my findings are given below. I decided to investigate if free applications could be used to complete PDF forms (including those with automatically-updating bar codes) and add a written signature. That would be neat too.Īlthough I have sometimes added my signature to a PDF form before printing it out - more on that later - I had never come across PDF forms with automatically-updating bar codes, so my curiosity was piqued. Some forms (all?) when you fill them out and print them have a bar of machine-readable gobbledygook on the page which lets the recipient of a printed pdf scan the data back in with 100% accuracy. ![]() It would be really neat if there were an app which could handle all that. I know that on Windows and Mac OS your adobe software can sign the pdf, but I don’t even know how that works exactly. At the moment I get them, print them, sign them and scan them back in to return to the sender. I need to sign pdfs, and sometimes fill out pdf forms which also need to be signed. ![]() However, the enquiry in the above-mentioned forum thread was not about designing PDF forms, it was about being able to complete existing PDF forms (including forms that have automatically-updating bar codes, and including being able to add a written signature to the form without printing it out): See the Adobe demonstration video Capture electronic data from printed forms. As forms usually have several fields, 2D bar code symbologies are used in order to be able to encode the amount of data in a practical way. In order to create PDF forms that contain automatically-updating bar codes it is necessary to purchase Adobe Acrobat DC or Adobe LiveCycle Designer, which are Windows-only applications. It is possible to create PDF forms with LibreOffice, although LibreOffice cannot create a form containing bar codes that get updated automatically with the information entered in fields on the form. A recent post in the Gentoo Forums made me interested to find out what is actually achievable with fillable PDF forms in Gentoo Linux and Windows 10 without being required to purchase a software licence, be it for personal or professional use, in order to be able to complete PDF forms (including forms that have automatically-updating bar codes).
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