Marking Form Fields Read Only

How to Mark Form Fields as Read Only

Below are the steps and C# sample code to mark form fields as read only.

Steps for Marking Form Fields as Read Only

1. Create a MergeDocument object with the desired PDF.
2. Set the field values.
3. Set the IsReadOnly property on the form to true.
4. Add the MergeDocument object's Draw method to draw and save the PDF document.

Sample Code - C#

MergeDocument document = new MergeDocument(pdfFilePath);
document.Form.Fields["TextBox1"].Value = "My Text"; 
document.Form.IsReadOnly = true;
document.Draw("Output.pdf");  

Note: marking form fields as read only does not prevent the PDF from being modified when an end-user uses a PDF viewer. You must add encryption in addition to marking a field read only, as the next example illustrates.

How to Mark Form Fields as Read Only with Encryption

Below are the steps and C# sample code to to mark form fields as read only with encryption.

Steps for Marking Form Fields as Read Only with Encryption

1. Create a MergeDocument object with the desired pdf.
2. Set the IsReadOnly property on the form to true.
3. Create a RC4128Security with owner and user password.
4. Set the AllowFormFilling and AllowUpdateAnnotsAndFields properties to false.
5. Set the MergeDocument instances Security property to the RC4128Security instance.
6. Add the MergeDocument object's Draw method to draw and save the PDF document.

Sample Code - C#

MergeDocument document = new MergeDocument(pdfFilePath);
document.Form.IsReadOnly = true;
RC4128Security security = new RC4128Security("owner", "user" );
security.AllowFormFilling = false;
security.AllowUpdateAnnotsAndFields = false;
security.AllowEdit = false;
document.Security = security;
document.Draw("Output.pdf");  

GitHub Project

An example project is available on GitHub (examples.dynamicpdf-core-suite-dotnet-core). Examples are provided in C# and VB.NET. Clone or view the example project at GitHub. This specific example discussed on this page are all contained in following classes on GitHub

• C# - FormFieldsReadOnly.cs
• VB.NET - FormFieldsReadOnly.vb

Getting Started

Get started easily by installing DynamicPDF Core Suite for .NET through NuGet or manually. Then, refer to the documentation for more information on using and purchasing the product.

NuGet Package

The easiest way to install DynamicPDF Core Suite is by obtaining the NuGet package using Visual Studio's Package Manager. You can also obtain the NuGet package by downloading it directly. Refer to the installation documentation for more information.

DynamicPDF Core Suite Information

DynamicPDF Core Suite for .NET combines creating, merging, and visual report creation into one powerful product for creating PDF documents. It is ideal for anyone who needs to generate PDF documents or reports or work with existing PDFs in their applications. With a free Evaluation Edition to try and with flexible and royalty-free licensing options, why not start using DynamicPDF Core Suite for .NET today!

• DynamicPDF Core Suite for .NET Product Page
• DynamicPDF Core Suite for .NET Documentation

More Information on Form Fields

• Refer to the Marking Form Fields Read Only documentation topic, or
• Chapter 24, Modifying Forms, in the book DynamicPDF Core Suite for .NET by Example available on GitHub.

Available on Other Platforms

DynamicPDF Core Suite is also available for the Java and COM/ActiveX platforms. Refer to the respective product pages for more details.

• DynamicPDF Generator
  • Java - DynamicPDF Generator for Java
  • COM/ActiveX - DynamicPDF Generator for COM/ActiveX
• DynamicPDF Merger
  • Java - DynamicPDF Merger for Java
  • COM/ActiveX - DynamicPDF Merger for COM/ActiveX