https://bugs.documentfoundation.org/show_bug.cgi?id=161992
Bug ID: 161992
Summary: How to repeat a fillable field in LO Writer that still
works when exported to PDF
Product: LibreOffice
Version: 24.2.4.2 release
Hardware: All
OS: Windows (All)
Status: UNCONFIRMED
Severity: normal
Priority: medium
Component: Writer
Assignee: [email protected]
Reporter: [email protected]
Description:
In a use case, Fred Blogs and John Doe enter into a legal agreement. They use
an agreement template that, with minor editing is acceptable to Fred and Joe.
.
So, rather than “Party A” and “Party B” they replace each instance of “Party A”
with a form field named [Party A] and “Party B” with a form field names [Party
B]. In this way, they can enter “Fred Blogs” in any instance of the form field
[Party A] and “John Doe” in any instance of form field [Party B].
.
Instantly, the names “Fred Blogs” and “John Doe” magically appear in all the
appropriate places in the 12 page agreement. At least, that is what expected to
happens.
.
As is now, LO Writer does not prodice that behaviour - even though the PDF
produced by exporting from LO Writer does.
.
So, why does the source LO Writer .odt document *NOT* behave in the same manner
as the exported PDF?
(As an aside, I previously discovered that forms created in Microsoft Word do
not export as live forms. Forms created in Word export as a flat file - in
other words, the form fields appear, but cannot be edited or "filled-in".)
.
In LibreOffice, it seems that forms created in LO can be exported to PDF and
still act as fillable forms (as expected). The problem seems to be that within
the LO Writer document itself, repeated fields appear to act as independent
fields - even if they have the same field [Name].
.
However, this problem is miraculously fixed when exported to PDF if check marks
against both [Create PDF form] AND [Allow duplicate field names] are checked in
the PDF Export Options dialog box. See attached test documents:
LO Duplicate field names - test 01.odt
LO Duplicate field names - test 01.pdf
.
In this test form I have three fields (name, address & date) - repeated
immediately below. However, although the fields above and below have the same
field “names” ([Name], [Address], and [Date]) - they behave as though they had
different names - i.e. as independent variables. Nonetheless, the exported PDF
acts as expected and as intended.
.
Incidentally, for the first one I added BOTH pull down and spin. I assumed that
spin would allow skipping from one day to the next, but I was surprised to see
that it skipped from one year to the next. This is actually great! I am
massively frustrated when asked to fill in birth dates and my finger almost
goes numb clicking back from current month until I finally reach my year of
birth (epic GUI design failure!).
.
In retrospect, in terms of GUI design the field [Properties Date Field] layout
is unwieldly - why are related controls not grouped in some logical fashion.
For example, why is [Spin Button] *NOT* grouped with [Dropdown]?!? And, is
there an option to simply type the date (subject to format restrictions)? In
any event, the [Properties Date Field] is a little verbose - when for most
users they only care about a few variables?
.
Anyway, I would appreciate understanding why the LO Writer test form does not
behave as expected - even though the exported PDF does work exactly as
expected. :thinking:
.
Any thoughts? :upside_down_face:
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Create .odt file
2. Add multiple form fields with the same [Name]
3.
Actual Results:
Duplicated form fields behave as independent fields in Writer, although
synchronized as duplicate fields in exported PDF.
Expected Results:
I expect that identical form fields with the same [Name] should always appear
the same - in other words, editing (or "filling-in") any instance, should
automatically cause all other duplicate instances to update likewise.
Reproducible: Always
User Profile Reset: No
Additional Info:
See attached .odt document (original LO Writer file) and the resulting exported
PDF document. The exported PDF behaves as expected and intended - but the
source ODT document responds as though each of the duplicated form fields are
independent.
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