Which Adobe product/What API for form entry

Question

I have an embedded PDF in a Java-centric web application.

I want to enable users to type data directly into the PDF, and to receive that data on the server side.

What API am I looking for? LiveCycle might do this, wondering what else might fit the bill.

Answer 1

To allow data capture in a PDF you will not necessarily need LiveCycle on the server side, but it will make your life much easier. The module you're looking for is LiveCycle Forms ES2. This provides a host of functionality for stripping info out of dynamic and static PDF (and HTML) forms.

As a cheaper option you can also consider simply embedding a PDF Form (XFA standard) in your client app. This form will have to be designed using the LiveCycle designer tool which is fairly inexpensive. If you want a lot of interactivity inside the PDF itself (for example allowing users to save it offline for later use or to make Acrobat comments) then you'll also need to apply a reader extension credential to the PDF.

Reader extended forms give you another option, i.e. submitting data directly from a PDF form into a SOAP web service.