dump_data_fields

Print PDF form field data with XML-style escaping

Usage

pdftl <input> dump_data_fields [output <output>]

Details

Extracts data from all interactive form fields (AcroForm fields) within the input PDF.

The output uses a stanza-based format compatible with pdftk. All string values (such as the field’s content) are processed with XML-style escaping.

This output is for informational purposes or for use in external scripts. It is not designed to be read by the update_info operation. To fill form fields, use the fill_form operation.

Field Stanza Format

Each field is represented by a single stanza. Each stanza consists of a separator line ---, followed by:

• FieldName: <full_field_name>

  The unique identifying name of the field (e.g., form1.name).

• FieldNameAlt: <tooltip_text>

  The alternate name (tooltip) of the field, if present.

• FieldType: <Text|Button|Choice|Signature|...>

  The readable type of the field.

• FieldValue: <current_value>

  The current value of the field.

• FieldValueDefault: <default_value>

  The default value of the field, if defined.

• FieldFlags: <integer>

  An integer representing a bitmask of field properties.

• FieldJustification: <Left|Center|Right>

  Text alignment for text fields.

• FieldStateOption: <option_value>

  Available options for Choice (dropdown/list) fields or Button (checkbox/radio) fields. Multiple lines may appear.

• FieldStateOptionDisplay: <display_text>

  The display text corresponding to the preceding FieldStateOption, used when the export value differs from the display value.

Examples

Print XML-escaped form field data for in.pdf

pdftl in.pdf dump_data

Save XML-escaped form field data for in.pdf to data.txt

pdftl Form.pdf dump_data_fields output data.txt

Tags: info, forms

Source: pdftl.operations.dump_data_fields

Read online: https://pdftl.readthedocs.io/en/stable/operations/dump_data_fields.html

Type: Operation