Fill and Flatten PDF Forms

PDF forms (AcroForms) are named fields: text boxes, check boxes, choice lists, and radio groups. Fill them by field name. Filling keeps the fields editable; flattening turns their values into ordinary page content so they can no longer be changed.

List the fields in a form

C#

using OfficeIMO.Pdf;

PdfDocumentInfo info = PdfDocument.Load("Application.pdf").Inspect();
foreach (PdfFormField field in info.FormFields) {
    Console.WriteLine($"{field.Name} = {field.Value} ({field.Kind})");
}

PowerShell

Get-OfficePdfFormField -Path .\Application.pdf | Select-Object Name, FieldType, Value

Fill a form

C#

using OfficeIMO.Pdf;

var values = new Dictionary<string, string> {
    ["Applicant.Name"] = "Adele Vance",
    ["Approval.Status"] = "Approved"
};

// Fill and keep the fields editable
PdfDocument.Load("Application.pdf").Forms.Fill(values).Save("Application-filled.pdf");

// Fill and flatten in one step
PdfDocument.Load("Application.pdf").Forms.FillAndFlatten(values).Save("Application-final.pdf");

PowerShell

Set-OfficePdfFormField -Path .\Forms\Access-Request.pdf -OutputPath .\Forms\Access-Request-Ada.pdf `
    -Value @{ Requester = 'Ada Lovelace'; System = 'ERP' }

Set-OfficePdfFormField -Path .\Forms\Access-Request.pdf -OutputPath .\Forms\Access-Request-Final.pdf `
    -Value @{ Requester = 'Ada Lovelace'; System = 'ERP' } -Flatten

Flatten an already filled form

C#

using OfficeIMO.Pdf;

PdfDocument.Load("Application-filled.pdf").Forms.Flatten().Save("Application-flat.pdf");

Exchange form data as XFDF

XFDF is the XML form-data format used by Acrobat and many document workflows. Export the values from one PDF and import them into another copy of the same form.

C#

using OfficeIMO.Pdf;

string xfdf = PdfDocument.Load("Application-filled.pdf").Forms.ExportXfdf();
File.WriteAllText("Application.xfdf", xfdf);

PdfDocument.Load("Application.pdf")
    .Forms.ImportXfdf(File.ReadAllText("Application.xfdf"))
    .Save("Application-restored.pdf");

PowerShell

Export-OfficePdfXfdf -Path .\Application-filled.pdf -OutputPath .\Application.xfdf
Import-OfficePdfXfdf -Path .\Application.pdf -XfdfPath .\Application.xfdf -OutputPath .\Application-restored.pdf

Add form fields to a new PDF

C#

using OfficeIMO.Pdf;

PdfDocument.Create(pdf => pdf.Content(content => content
        .H1("Application")
        .AddParagraph("Applicant name")
        .TextField("Applicant.Name")
        .AddParagraph("Approval status")
        .TextField("Approval.Status")))
    .Save("Application.pdf");

PowerShell

New-OfficePdf -Path .\Review.pdf {
    PdfHeading 'Review'
    PdfFormField -Name Reviewer -Type Text -Value 'Unassigned' -Width 320 -Height 24
    PdfFormField -Name Decision -Type Choice -Option Approve,Reject,Defer -Value Defer
}

Limits and reference

Limits: on hybrid AcroForm/XFA forms the AcroForm fields are filled; XFA-aware viewers may keep showing the original XFA data. For signed or certified forms, Forms.AppendRevision(values) adds the values as a new revision after the original bytes instead of rewriting the file. See the PDF package row.

Reference: OfficeIMO.Pdf API · Set-OfficePdfFormField