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To understand the difference between static and dynamic
PDF forms, it is important to understand what the term render means.
Rendering a form is the process of creating the precise final layout
and formatting from the form design. The form may or may not be
merged with data, depending on the form design and data. Rendering
can be done by LiveCycle on the server or by Adobe Reader on the
client. A PDF form must be rendered before it can be displayed to
the end user or printed. Therefore, the rendering is the final image.
Characteristics of static PDF formsForm designs saved as static PDF forms render once on the
server and are displayed on the client in the Acrobat or Adobe Reader
target version. They are not rerendered in response to user interaction.
The form may have been designed with a flowable layout; however,
when the static PDF form is created, its layout is fixed and the
resultant PDF form will not rerender on the client.
- File size
- In general, forms saved as static PDF forms render to larger
file sizes than the equivalent files saved as dynamic PDF forms.
- Rendering location
- Static PDF forms render once and are displayed on the client
in Acrobat or Adobe Reader. They are not rerendered in response
to user interaction. Because rendering is performed on the server,
only small changes to the final output are possible on the client.
For example, the value area may show a different color after the
user clicks a button or exits a field.
- Display speed
- In general, static PDF forms require more time to render
on the server than dynamic PDF forms but are displayed faster in
the client software on the end-user’s computer. Static PDF forms
require more time on the server because the server performs the
page layout operations, data merging, and final rendering. In the
case of dynamic PDF forms, the server performs only data merging.
The client software on the end-user’s computer performs the page layout
operations and final rendering. As a result, the rendering time
for dynamic PDF forms relies on the processing power of the end-user’s
computer, especially when the PDF file size is large.
Characteristics of dynamic PDF formsForms saved as dynamic PDF forms render on the client in
Acrobat or Adobe Reader and, depending on the end-user interactions,
can rerender on the client several times. Changes to the appearance
of objects is possible in Acrobat or Adobe Reader because Acrobat
or Adobe Reader have enough information to rerender the final output.
For example, objects can change color, pagination can change, and
objects can appear or disappear. If the end user clicks a button
that adds a new row to a table, the form is rerendered in Acrobat
or Adobe Reader. Dynamic PDF forms were first introduced in Adobe
Reader, Acrobat Professional and Acrobat Standard 7.0.
- File size
- In general, forms saved as dynamic forms render to smaller
file sizes than the equivalent files saved as static PDF forms.
- Rendering location
- Form designs saved as dynamic PDF forms render on the client
in Acrobat or Adobe Reader. Because rendering is performed on the
client, the form can rerender several times based on end-user interactions.
- Display speed
- In the case of dynamic PDF forms, the server performs only
data merging. The client software on the end-user’s computer performs
the page layout operations and final rendering. As a result, the
rendering time for dynamic PDF forms relies on the processing power
of the end-user’s computer, especially when the PDF file size is
large.
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