Problem Merging PDFs with PDF-Tools V6

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cgolds
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Problem Merging PDFs with PDF-Tools V6

Post by cgolds »

I am having a problem using the Split/Merge PDFs feature in PF-Tools V6. The pdfs I am trying to merge have fillable form fields, some with dropdowns. The merged file is not retaining the unique values in the dropdown fields. I had no problem merging those same files and retaining those unique values in V4. Has V6 lost this capability?

Thanks.
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Patrick-Tracker Supp
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Re: Problem Merging PDFs with PDF-Tools V6

Post by Patrick-Tracker Supp »

Hello cgolds,

Thank you for the post. Could you please send use these files that you are trying to merge so that we can investigate this further?

Thank you!
If posting files to this forum, you must archive the files to a ZIP, RAR or 7z file or they will not be uploaded.
Thank you.

Cheers,

Patrick Charest
Tracker Support North America
cgolds
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Re: Problem Merging PDFs with PDF-Tools V6

Post by cgolds »

Thank you for your reply. I have attached six of the pdfs that I am trying to merge.
Attachments
PrintShopCard_2016-08-23_0231_dmedlin.pdf
(60.64 KiB) Downloaded 160 times
PrintShopCard_2016-08-23_0208_mfedewa.pdf
(61.33 KiB) Downloaded 159 times
PrintShopCard_2016-08-23_0132_vbrackney.pdf
(60.81 KiB) Downloaded 159 times
PrintShopCard_2016-08-22_0219_tdrost.pdf
(60.71 KiB) Downloaded 163 times
PrintShopCard_2016-08-22_0146_tdrost.pdf
(60.69 KiB) Downloaded 169 times
PrintShopCard_2016-08-22_0121_tdrost.pdf
(60.65 KiB) Downloaded 156 times
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Patrick-Tracker Supp
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Re: Problem Merging PDFs with PDF-Tools V6

Post by Patrick-Tracker Supp »

Hi cgolds,

Merging these files seems to have worked correctly and retained all the form data. Please see attached.

Could you please upload the file post merge?

Thank you!
Attachments
Document 1 - Merged.pdf
(326.49 KiB) Downloaded 158 times
If posting files to this forum, you must archive the files to a ZIP, RAR or 7z file or they will not be uploaded.
Thank you.

Cheers,

Patrick Charest
Tracker Support North America
cgolds
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Re: Problem Merging PDFs with PDF-Tools V6

Post by cgolds »

I have looked at the file you merged, and I see the same results that I get. One thing that I forgot to mention in my original post, however, is that my merged file does print correctly, as does the one you created. However, what I see on-screen is what is incorrect.

*I have attached a pdf called "Print Screens of File Sent from Tracker." This is what I see on-screen when I open your file. I pasted print screens into a Word document and converted it to a pdf.
*I have also attached a pdf called "Printed Hard Copies." This file is the result of printing your file, then scanning it.

*If you look at the Bill Type field in the upper right corner, all sheets show "BILL" in the on-screen version. Looking at the same field, sheets 2, 3 and 6 in the printed hard copy version show "NO BILL," which is what I expect to see.

*If you look at page 5 of the on-screen version, the "BW or Color" and the "Print Size" fields are blank on lines 2, 3, and 4. In the printed hard copy version, you will see values in those fields for all of those lines.

So basically, my problem is that all fields with unique values on these merged sheets print on hard copies correctly, but appear to lose the unique values when viewing on-screen. As I said in my original post, they do merge correctly using V4.

Thank you for your help.
Attachments
Printed Hard Copies.pdf
(1.92 MiB) Downloaded 178 times
Print Screens of File Sent from Tracker.pdf
(573.25 KiB) Downloaded 158 times
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Patrick-Tracker Supp
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Re: Problem Merging PDFs with PDF-Tools V6

Post by Patrick-Tracker Supp »

Hello cgolds,

I received a phone call from your colleague regarding this issue. It is quite interesting. I've shown our development team with some sample forms I created today. This issue can be reproduced reliably.

The dev team have determined that this is happening because these form fields have the same name, with multiple widgets. Meaning that the fields are synchronised. I will not bore you with the technical details as I do not fully understand them myself. This is expected behavior as there cannot be multiple form fields with the same name. The solution is somewhat simple compared to the issue itself. The solution is to automatically rename the fields when merging documents with fields containing the same names. We hope to have this implemented in build 319. or 320, though I cannot promise anything at this time.

In the mean time, you may install Tools V4 alongside Tools V6 from the link below:

http://www.docu-track.co.uk/builds/5.5.316.1/PDFT4.zip

I believe your colleague mentioned that the previous version worked correctly, so please give that a try as a temporary solution.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in the matter.

Cheers!
If posting files to this forum, you must archive the files to a ZIP, RAR or 7z file or they will not be uploaded.
Thank you.

Cheers,

Patrick Charest
Tracker Support North America
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Re: Problem Merging PDFs with PDF-Tools V6

Post by Patrick-Tracker Supp »

Please reference this topic or FR#3640: FR:Auto rename form fields when merging PDF with fields of the same name when requesting an update to this issue.

Again, thank you for your patience and understanding.

Cheers!
If posting files to this forum, you must archive the files to a ZIP, RAR or 7z file or they will not be uploaded.
Thank you.

Cheers,

Patrick Charest
Tracker Support North America
cgolds
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Re: Problem Merging PDFs with PDF-Tools V6

Post by cgolds »

Thank you for your help. I have downloaded V4 and will use that for the time being.
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Re: Problem Merging PDFs with PDF-Tools V6

Post by Patrick-Tracker Supp »

:D
If posting files to this forum, you must archive the files to a ZIP, RAR or 7z file or they will not be uploaded.
Thank you.

Cheers,

Patrick Charest
Tracker Support North America
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Re: Problem Merging PDFs with PDF-Tools V6

Post by Patrick-Tracker Supp »

Hello,

Thank you all for your patience and understanding. I am happy to announce that the feature request in the ticket above (RT#3640) has been set to resolved status. The function should be available in the next update.

Take care!
If posting files to this forum, you must archive the files to a ZIP, RAR or 7z file or they will not be uploaded.
Thank you.

Cheers,

Patrick Charest
Tracker Support North America
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