Can PDF outputs be improved?

  • SHECT
    Asked on January 31, 2019 at 8:19 AM

    PDF outputs do not match the onscreen previews, with text disappearing under the page footers. And with no margin at the top of pages.

    Can this be fixed?

    Jotform Thread 1718755 Screenshot
  • Richie JotForm Support
    Replied on January 31, 2019 at 9:03 AM

    You can edit your PDF by using the new PDF editor.

    Kindly use this link https://www.jotform.com/pdf-editor/new to open the new PDF editor and edit your PDF.

    Let us know if the issue still remains.

  • SHECT
    Replied on February 18, 2019 at 4:16 AM

    It is the new editor which is causing the problems.

  • Kiran Support Team Lead
    Replied on February 18, 2019 at 6:26 AM

    As per the screenshot provided by you, it appears that the long text entered to the field might be causing the issue to display correctly on the report. Could you try customizing the PDF report by following the guide below?

    https://www.jotform.com/help/384-How-to-Customize-PDF-Submissions-Report

    If the issue still persists, please provide us with the submission ID so that we can check and assist you further. 

    Thanks!

  • SHECT
    Replied on February 18, 2019 at 1:32 PM

    Hi

    The issue isn't specific to one submission, the general issue is that the pdf output does not match the preview, and with a number of conditionally hidden fields, even if the pdf matched the preview, it is not a realistic option to manually adjusted the pdf output for each individual submission.

    The old system of outputs worked. It didn't look brilliant but it worked. But having spent hours on this, the new system does not produce usable outputs.

    I hope there's a solution to this, or a commitment to maintaining the old system.

    Thanks


  • Richie JotForm Support
    Replied on February 18, 2019 at 3:07 PM

    I have checked your form and it seems you have opted to use the OLD PDF layout. Do note that when you edit the PDF form, you can save it as a template.

    Can PDF outputs be improved? Image 1 Screenshot 20

    May we know what fields are still showing in the new PDF editor even after it is hidden?

    The new PDF editor hides fields that are empty.

    I have tested a cloned version of your form but I can't seem to replicate the issue with the missing fields.

    Looking forward for your response.

  • SHECT
    Replied on February 19, 2019 at 3:41 AM

    We reverted to using the old pdf layout because the new one is thus far unusable for our needs.

    I have saved a template (in the new system).

    My reference to hidden fields was that it's not possible to create a template which avoids long fields spanning a page break because with empty fields hidden, you can't create a general template that will work for different submissions, if the system is going to output these submissions spanning pages and running beneath the page footer as per my screenshot.

    I have retested the form which was used for the screenshot and a new output isn't showing this issue. I'm not sure if this is due to luck or if something in jotform has been fixed. The page margin at the top seems to have been improved (nothing I did) which has affected placement on the page and avoided text spanning pages in the way shown in my screenshot.

    Further issues (from testing with submission id 4257076296617609632):

    If I set empty fields to hidden, this also hides some field labels of fields that have been completed and are outputted, so you get the answers but not the questions, in the pdf output.

    Is there a way to associate sub headings with fields / groups of fields, as otherwise when hiding empty fields the output ends up with meaningless subheadings that have no following field labels/fields.

    Thanks



  • Nik_C
    Replied on February 19, 2019 at 4:39 AM

    I'm sorry if I misunderstood this issue.

    I created another PDF template for testing purposes in your form:

    15505688022019 02 19 10 33 08 Screenshot 10

    Regarding this problem:

    If I set empty fields to hidden, this also hides some field labels of fields that have been completed and are outputted, so you get the answers but not the questions, in the pdf output.

    About this, could you show us the field(s) that are hidden in this situation, I'm not sure if I was able to replicate:

    1550569134screencast Screenshot 21

    We'll wait for your response.

    Thank you!

  • SHECT
    Replied on February 19, 2019 at 5:21 AM

    I've just redone an output and the issue isn't there - I guess I unticked the show all labels box at some point - I think the wording of that setting could be improved to indicate that it is to show labels of non-hidden fields not "all field labels".

    I think the remaining issue is being able to hide subheadings where the following fields it relates to are hidden, if this is possible.

    Avoiding having page breaks at unsuitable points, without then ending up with lots of pages with little content, would also be useful. Something along the lines of the widows and orphans settings in Word, so you don't end up with a heading at the bottom of a page, for instance.

    Thanks for the help.

  • Nik_C
    Replied on February 19, 2019 at 6:45 AM

    I agree, regarding the heading (sub-heading) in the form.

    If fields below it are empty, it should be hidden.

    I opened a separate thread for that issue here: https://www.jotform.com/answers/1736960

    We'll attend it there.

    Thank you!

  • SHECT
    Replied on February 19, 2019 at 9:26 AM

    Hi

    Thanks for the help.

    However, our pdf template has just turned into a mangled mess again. Form fields have been jumbled all over the place. It looks like fields that were hidden for one output have jumped to the top of the template or otherwise scattered throughout the template.

    What should be the start of the form is now half way down page 5.

    The changes to the template were not anything we did (other than in using it to output pdfs). Can this be salvaged to restore the template to how it was earlier today?

    Any idea what caused this / assurance it isn't going to happen again?

    Thanks

  • Richie JotForm Support
    Replied on February 19, 2019 at 11:24 AM

    Unfortunately,there is no option to revert or restore the template to the previous version. You can only use the undo button or edit/move the fields in the PDF editor.

    Sample Screen cast:

    Can PDF outputs be improved? Image 1 Screenshot 40

    I have checked your PDF and compared with my duplicate PDF. Indeed your 1st page is now the 6th or 7th page in my PDF document.

    Can PDF outputs be improved? Image 2 Screenshot 51

    I'm not sure what may have caused these changes in your PDF. However, the test PDF form created by my colleague has the correct format and was not changed.

    Can PDF outputs be improved? Image 3 Screenshot 62

    I have tried to replicate the issue at my end but the PDF format is not changed.

    Can you please use the test PDF my colleague has created and test a submission?


    Let us know how it goes.