Importing/exporting form data

The Acrobat 6 Import/Export feature allows you to move data in and out of a PDF form. That data can be imported into another PDF form or archived in a file format that is optimized to save space. When you export data from your form, Acrobat creates an FDF (Forms Data Format) file. This file contains only the data found in a form’s fields, so it’s much smaller in size than the original PDF form. After converted to FDF, any other PDF can import that data, as long as its field names match those of the original form. Field names that don’t match are ignored in the import process.
After you have your form up and running, you can export its data by choosing Advanced➪Forms➪Export Forms Data. Type a file name for the FDF file in the Export Form Data As dialog box and click the Save button. To import data from an FDF file, choose Advanced➪Forms➪Import Forms Data and then, in the Select File Containing Form Data dialog box, locate the file and click Select (Open on the Mac).
Keep in mind that importing and exporting field data is not the same as collecting and distributing form data through a browser on the World Wide Web. FDF files can reside on a network server, and users can access them on a company intranet, and you can even e-mail the FDF files to others to perform import/export functions right on their computers. In order to collect your form data and distribute it over the Web, you need to use a CGI script written specifically for the form you want to use. If you’re not familiar with coding CGI scripts, you’ll have to leave it to the IT administrator of your company or Internet service provider’s Web server.
Acrobat 6 also allows you to import data from a tab-delineated text file into a PDF form. This type of file is a text table that you create by placing a tab between each entry to create table rows. The first row serves as columnar field headings for the table and is filled with names that correspond to the field names found in your PDF form. Subsequent rows correspond to the data to be entered in those form fields. You can create this text file in a word processor such as Microsoft Word, but I find it easier to create the data table in Microsoft Excel and then save it as a tab-delineated text file in that program.