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This is going to be a really big document, indeed. You will end up with some 6000 fields, which do make the document rather heavy ... unless you have a lot of information overlap among the partial forms.
In such a case, it is more recommendable to keep the forms as different documents, and use links or Open File commands to navigate between the forms.
Another approach is to go over the forms again, and see if it is possible to use List Boxes instead of Check Boxes, as since Acrobat 5, it is possible to allow a List Box to have multiple selections. Of course, this would mean a redesign of the form, and if a similarity to a paper form is required, it would not work.
Now, for the communication needs. You do not need to send the completed filled out document (unless you are using digital signatures, which apply only to a document ... on Acrobat level). It is sufficient to send around the data, which you can do by exporting the data ... for example in the FDF format. However, for that you would need either Extended Rights for your form, or your users would need Approval or a full version of Acrobat.
And if size still matters, you could compact the data from the check boxes into bit patterns which then can be converted numbers which you again can convert to base-62 numbers ... giving you a very high compaction rate. You would then only transmit these base-62 numbers. A quick guesstimate reveals that for 128 check boxes, you would either get a numeric string of 39 digits, or a base-62 number of 22 digits (or a 32 digit long hexadecimal number). That is much more manageable, but would, of course, require some scripting on your form's side.
Hope, this can help.
Max Wyss PRODOK Engineering Low Paper workflows, Smart documents, PDF forms CH-8906 Bonstetten, Switzerland
Fax: +41 1 700 20 37 or +1 815 425 6566 e-mail: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.prodok.com
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I am presently working on a PDF fill-in form that makes generous use of combo and check boxes. The problem is that the check boxes (around 120 required per form) consume a lot of storage space whereby the form has grown to 280 kb. As I intend to have around thirty-four forms total (all need to be in the same PDF file), the PDF file size could well approach 9 MB. This aside, I've already completed one fill-in form and it works better than I anticipated. Furthermore, as these forms are intended for use in my profession, there is no problem using the forms on a PC or laptop. However, the problem presents itself with regard to interactive online use as the file size is much too large to email given the average size of most recipients email boxes. I've looked at one option whereby I can zip and shrink the PDF file to about 27% of its total size or just over 2MB. Any thoughts or suggestions as to how I might be able to further reduce the size of the PDf form are appreciated. I am presently working in Acrobat 5.0.
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