PDF without Adobe: 23 The nightmare of forms
eclecticlight.co
Just fill in this form – then the problems start. They look fine in Preview or another app, but don’t work right. Here’s why.

I was forced to fill out an XFA form (that was pretending to be a PDF) from the Canadian government and the experience left me feeling completely subjugated. The lengths that Adobe go to to make sure that you have the most frustrating experience possible is unbelieveable. Searching for alternatives or help leads you to either: be forced to buy their premium software (or a licensed equivalent) or subscribe for Adobe’s online tools. Why is this propriety format allowed in government forms? What is so fantastic/irreplaceable about this format?

  • lemini
    1·
    1 year ago

    Thanks for fighting the good fight in any government. Bring it to people’s attention when you can and its not too out of place. Some people might genuinely not know about this and even if they don’t make it better at least there’s some chance you stopped them from making it worse.

    • bionicjoey
      2·
      1 year ago

      Unfortunately, certain things have actually become codified institutions in the government. Like the way we handle digitally signed forms is with a proprietary Adobe Acrobat plugin.