What format is an FDF file?

[Bob Sneidar via use-livecode]

Hi all.

Just curious, I've been calling an FDF file produced by exporting fillable PDF form data, an XML file. Clearly it is not, I see now. The beginning of one looks soomething like this, and I'm wondering if this is a standard file format, or if it is something proprietary that Adobe came up with:

%FDF-1.2
%âãÏÓ
1 0 obj
<</FDF<</F(IT Install Form.pdf)/Fields[<</T(Signature)/V()>><</Kids[<</T(0)/V(RADF Document Feeder)>><</T(1)/V(Toshiba Copier Stand)>><</T(10)/V()>><</T(11)/V()>><</T(2)/V(Console Finisher)>><</T(3)/V(Bridge Kit)>><</T(4)/V(15 Amp Line Filter)>><</T(5)/V()>><</T(6)/V()>><</T(7)/V()>><</T(8)/V()>><</T(9)/V()>>]/T(accessorydescrip)>><</Kids[<</T(0)/V(MR3031)>><</T(1)/V(...

Bob S

[Mark via use-livecode]

I believe it’s proprietary...

https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/acom/en/devnet/acrobat/pdfs/fdf_data_exchange.pdf

They also offer some api’s...

https://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/fdftoolkit.html

Mark

Post by Bob Sneidar via use-livecode
Hi all.
%FDF-1.2
%âãÏÓ
1 0 obj
<</FDF<</F(IT Install Form.pdf)/Fields[<</T(Signature)/V()>><</Kids[<</T(0)/V(RADF Document Feeder)>><</T(1)/V(Toshiba Copier Stand)>><</T(10)/V()>><</T(11)/V()>><</T(2)/V(Console Finisher)>><</T(3)/V(Bridge Kit)>><</T(4)/V(15 Amp Line Filter)>><</T(5)/V()>><</T(6)/V()>><</T(7)/V()>><</T(8)/V()>><</T(9)/V()>>]/T(accessorydescrip)>><</Kids[<</T(0)/V(MR3031)>><</T(1)/V(...
Bob S
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[John McKenzie via use-livecode]

Hello.

There is no concrete reason I should be posting this off topic
question to this list but you all just seem like the sort of people who
would know how to go about a particular task I need help with. Previous
off topic posts showed good knowledge of programming ideas from non-me
list members.


I want to automate the process of marking lines on a PDF file. Right
now a PDF is sent to my work from an airline, someone prints it out,
then using some rubber stamps to mark certain flight numbers. The
gflight number always gets marked the same way. So flight 3452 might
get marked with "LV" and flight 252 might get marked with "LVT" for
example. Then we scan the stamped print out and email the image to
someone. When you are doing it it feels even more stupid than it sounds.

My goal is to automate this. Load the PDF into a programme or run a
script on it, have the script replace the flight numbers with the
number and what should be on the stamp. For example it would find
flight "252" and replace it with "LVT 252". It would do this for every
flight, then save a new PDF (or overwrite the original, does not
matter).

Would like to receive the PDF from the airline, run the
programme/script and then send a new PDF back to them.

I labelled this off topic because I am thinking someone will suggest a
python library or somesuch (command line script is OK) but if by some
miracle LiveCode can do it, great, I will do it that way and it will
become on-topic.

Thanks for any guidance.

[Geoff Canyon via use-livecode]

My first guess would be to find a MacOS PDF editing application that is
either AppleScript-able, or experiment with using Automator. The
alternative might be just cracking open the binary of the PDF file in LC
and see what you find.