Filling and Exporting Form Data
Spark recognises AcroForm fields (text inputs, checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdowns, list boxes, signature fields, buttons) on load and lets you fill them interactively.
Identifying Form Fields
- A page with form fields shows a "Highlight Form Fields" banner on first interaction. Click it or enable via View → Highlight Form Fields to see a pale blue overlay on every field.
- Hovering a field shows the cursor change (text I-beam for text, pointing finger for buttons).
Filling Fields
| Field type | How to fill |
|---|---|
| Text input | Click and type |
| Checkbox | Click to toggle |
| Radio button | Click to select (auto-deselects others in group) |
| Dropdown | Click and pick from list |
| List box | Click; Ctrl+Click for multi-select if allowed |
| Signature | Click to open signature dialog (draw or import) |
| Button | Click to trigger action (e.g. submit, reset, print) |
Tab Order
Press Tab to advance to the next field in the form's defined order. Shift+Tab goes backwards.
If the PDF defines no tab order, Spark follows top-to-bottom, left-to-right.
Saving Filled Forms
Flatten vs Preserve
When you save a filled form, Spark offers two modes (via File → Save As options):
| Mode | Effect |
|---|---|
| Preserve form fields (default) | Saves values into the form. Fields remain editable. |
| Flatten form | Burns values in as visible text. Fields are no longer editable. |
Flattening is one-way. Use for final distribution when you don't want recipients to edit.
Importing Form Data
File → Form Data → Import…
Supports:
- FDF (Adobe's form data exchange format).
- XFDF (XML variant).
- CSV / JSON (Spark extensions, for bulk data filling).
Workflow:
- Pick the import file.
- Preview mapping of file keys to form field names.
- OK — values populate the fields.
Useful for pre-filling forms from a database export.
Exporting Form Data
File → Form Data → Export…
Export to FDF / XFDF / CSV / JSON.
Export captures current field values only. Useful for:
- Returning data to a server without sending the PDF.
- Aggregating responses from many filled forms.
Bulk Field Operations
The Form Fields panel (View → Form Fields) lists every field with:
- Name
- Type
- Current value
- Required flag
From the panel:
- Jump to a field.
- Edit value inline.
- Reset to default.
- Sort / filter by name, type or page.
Signature Fields
Clicking an unsigned signature field opens the signature workflow:
- Draw / Import your signature.
- Optionally tie to a digital certificate (for cryptographic signing).
- Signed fields are locked thereafter unless the form allows re-signing.
See 03.6 for signature management.
Read-Only Forms
Some forms are read-only (view-only). Spark respects the PDF's permission flags:
- View — allowed.
- Fill — blocked with a notice.
To unlock, you need the document owner password.
Common Issues
Warning — Some forms use JavaScript for field validation (e.g. numeric-only, date format). Spark supports core JavaScript but may not execute very advanced form scripts. If validation warnings don't fire as expected, open in the authoring tool or Acrobat to verify.
Tip — To spot all required-but-blank fields before submitting, open the Form Fields panel and sort by Required = Yes, Value = empty.