Choosing the type of PDF form

You can create many kinds of forms as either static or dynamic with little difference to the end-user experience. However, some forms work as designed only if they are created as a static or dynamic PDF forms. In general, the choice of static over dynamic is determined by the following considerations:

  • If the form works as either a static PDF form or a dynamic PDF form, use a dynamic PDF form to reduce server-side processing, which results in a greater number of transactions per second.

  • If the form relies on client-side scripts to change the layout (for example, it uses scripts to add or remove rows from a table or to make text fields grow), use a dynamic PDF form.

  • If end users will need to add annotations or comments to the PDF form, use a static PDF form.

  • If the form must work with Acrobat installations earlier than version 7.0, use a static PDF form.

Additionally, there are a number of specific issues to consider when choosing to create a static or dynamic PDF form. These issues are differences in the behavior between the form types that may be critical in making your decision:

As you design a form, you can see how the form behaves as a static or dynamic PDF form in the Preview PDF tab.

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