GUI Program to create PDF Form?
 

A few years ago, I was working on a free project for a non-profit. They needed a PHP program to create a printable PDF form with data filled in from a database. I created a fillable PDF form in Adobe Acrobat (running on their Windows box) then used PHP to create a FDF document with the form data, and used pdftk to create a final filled-in PDF form using the empty form and the FDF file as inputs.

I'd like to do something like this for a personal project. However, Adboe Acrobat isn't available for Linux. Does anyone know of a GUI program that will allow me to create a fillable PDF form?

I considered using PHP for everything, but it would require coding the entire PDF form by hand - which I'm not too crazy about.

There's a new application (I think pdfedit is the name) which may serve your needs. Otherwise, you could create postscript documents and convert them to pdf with ps2pdf.

Search via www.google.com/linux, search words 'create pdf' gives a lot of reading material.
http://www.google.com/linux?hl=en&q=...df&btnG=Search

I've spent about 3 hours on Google so far. No luck.

My main issue is that I can't find anything (like ps2pdf) that allows creation of "dynamic" fillable PDF forms.

Ideally, I'd like something that works like Acrobat Writer (which I used years ago under Windows) that allows me to just drag & drop text boxes, check boxes, etc. onto the form.

See if this link helps: http://www.linux.com/feature/35022

Fillable PDF workaround
 

I have had the same problem for months. The Kubuntu universal archive version of PDFEDIT seems slow and cumbersome to use. Crashes often. I've tried quite a few methods of use, but between the crashes and the slowness, its too onerous for me.

My workaround ... convert the blank document that needs to be fillable to a graphics image file (scan it in using gscan2pdf, I save it as an LZW compressed TIFF, 2-bits BW). Single page at a time.

Then I use OpenOffice word processor, INSERT-PICTURE-FILE, point to page, and voila, its inserted into the current page. I adjust location and size, then protect size and position ... FORMAT-PICTURE get to these options, then set wrap-around to through-background so you can type over the image and place text where needed..

Next, I start typing in the text onto the image to fill-in the form. Lastly, FILE-EXPORT to PDF. And, I now have the PDF image with overlaid text that I can send off.

The placement of text is done by vertical line spacing using 1-pt empty line sizes for vertical placement, and spaces for horizontal.

This seemed like the path of least resistance until I can find a better fillable Linux PDF editor or until the PDFEDIT team has time to improve that editor.

Still experimenting for more efficient way ... wish I had time to help the PDFEDIT folks ... they seem like the most advanced of the various projects out there.

Try open-source Scribus www.scribus.net

Particularly, Your_first_PDF_form_with_Scribus

Google has you

Thanks. This seems like it'll work. I'll give it a try later.

Success: How to fill even "read-only" PDF forms (better than Acroread v9 for Linux)
 

I agree with continentaltest above regarding using OpenOffice.org Writer to overlay text onto a background image. I have posted a "success story" post with details on how to convert the PDF file, settings within OOo Writer, etc. Here is the post:

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...0/#post3905741

May be too little too late but see this.

http://www.paehl.de/pdf/gui_pdftk.html