I have a fillable pdf form who's end users are using it on an ipad. I can't figure out how to "lock" down the data when submitting (or saving or printing). I can get it to work on a desktop by using a signature field, but it appears that signature field doesn't show up on the ipad or doesn't appear like an active form field. Any suggestions?
iPad 2, iOS 9
Preview can be a bit persnickety. It's not quite clear to me what your goal is. Are you trying to retain the ability to fill out the form on an iPad? Or are you just trying to send it to folks for viewing? If the latter, you can try printing the form to a PDF. Yeah, I know it's already a PDF. If that doesn't work, you can export it as a JPEG, then open it up and re-save it as a PDF.
If you need to retain the ability of the people you're sending it to to fill out the form, do yourself a huge favor and spring for Acrobat Pro or another genuine PDF editor.
Thanks for the reply IdrisSeabright. Let me see if I can add some more details. I am creating the form in Indesign, for users that will be out in the field using their iPads to fill out the data (mixture of drop downs, text fields and checkboxes). My goal is for them to open the file, fill it out as they need then they somehow "save as" a "flattened" version/copy. So when it gets emailed/submitted/printed to someone, they won't be able to manipulate the data and the fields flatten so it can print clean (right now when it gets returned to me, I can manipulate the data and I see the drop down arrows and such). We have tried using the iOS software and Acrobat Reader on an iPad to return the form and it all comes back like a form. I am not sure if the end users are able to download any other programs to help, but we could ask. Thanks again.
You might consider something like PDF Expert. I've used it for things that you can't do natively on an iPad, but it has a cost. There are lots of other PDF editing apps available as well. Anything that lets you fill out the form and then export/save it as a JPEG should probably work.
PDFs were supposed to be this great universal format...... Uh huh.
Flatten a form pdf after filling it out to send it
