PDF: View interactive fields of PDF document in WinForms

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The fields of PDF document interactive form can be displayed on PDF page in WinForms image viewer using the visual tool - PdfAnnotationTool.

The visual appearance of interactive field is defined using the PdfWidgetAnnotation class, an instance of which can be obtained using PdfInteractiveFormField.Annotation property. For each type of interactive field is implemented the annotation appearance, which defines how the interactive field is displayed and how the user can interact with the interactive field:

PdfPushButtonWidgetAnnotationView - defines the appearance and logic of interaction with interactive field PdfInteractiveFormPushButtonField
PdfCheckBoxWidgetAnnotationView - defines the appearance and logic of interaction with interactive field PdfInteractiveFormCheckBoxField
PdfComboBoxWidgetAnnotationView - defines the appearance and logic of interaction with interactive field PdfInteractiveFormComboBoxField
PdfInteractiveFormRadioButtonField - defines the appearance and logic of interaction with interactive field PdfInteractiveFormRadioButtonField
PdfListBoxWidgetAnnotationView - defines the appearance and logic of interaction with interactive field PdfInteractiveFormListBoxField
PdfTextWidgetAnnotationView - defines the appearance and logic of interaction with interactive field PdfInteractiveFormTextField
PdfBarcodeWidgetAnnotationView - defines the appearance and logic of interaction with interactive field PdfInteractiveFormBarcodeField
PdfSignatureWidgetAnnotationView - defines the appearance and logic of interaction with interactive field PdfInteractiveFormSignatureField

PdfAnnotationTool class allows to display the interactive fields in two modes: None and View.

In None mode the PdfAnnotationTool class:

Allows to view interactive fields.
Does NOT raise and process events (Activate, MouseDown, Keystoke, etc) of interactive fields.
Does NOT interact with interactive fields.

In View mode the PdfAnnotationTool class:

Allows to view and fill interactive fields.
Raises and processes events (Activate, MouseDown, Keystoke, etc) of interactive fields.
Uses PdfAnnotationView.ViewTransformer as an interaction controller for interactive field.

Here is C#/VB.NET code that demonstrates how to display interactive fields of PDF file in WinForms image viewer:

/// <summary>
/// Creates the PDF annotation tool.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="viewer">The image viewer.</param>
public static Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool CreatePdfAnnotationTool(
    Vintasoft.Imaging.UI.ImageViewer viewer)
{
    // create Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool
    Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool annotationTool = new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool(true);
    annotationTool.InteractionMode = Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationInteractionMode.Markup;

    // create an application action executor
    Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfActionCompositeExecutor applicationActionExecutor = 
        new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfActionCompositeExecutor();
    // add executor for PdfGotoAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.PdfGotoActionExecutor(viewer));
    // add executor for PdfNamedAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.PdfNamedActionExecutor(viewer));
    // add executor for PdfResetFormAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(
        new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationToolResetFormActionExecutor(annotationTool));
    // add executor for PdfAnnotationHideAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(
        new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationToolAnnotationHideActionExecutor(annotationTool));
    // add executor for PdfUriAction to the application action executor,
    // executor is located in WpfPdfDemosCommonCode
    //applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new PdfUriActionExecutor());// PdfDemosCommonCode
    // add executor for PdfLaunchAction to the application action executor,
    // executor is located in WpfPdfDemosCommonCode
    //applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new PdfLaunchActionExecutor());// PdfDemosCommonCode
    // add executor for PdfSubmitFormAction to the application action executor,
    // executor is located in WpfPdfDemosCommonCode
    //applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new PdfSubmitActionExecutor(viewer));// PdfDemosCommonCode
    // add the default executor (for PdfResetFormAction and PdfAnnotationHideAction)
    // to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfActionExecutor());

    // set the application action executor as action executor of PDF annotation tool
    annotationTool.ActionExecutor = applicationActionExecutor;

    return annotationTool;
}

VB.NET

''' <summary>
''' Creates the PDF annotation tool.
''' </summary>
''' <param name="viewer">The image viewer.</param>
Public Shared Function CreatePdfAnnotationTool(viewer As Vintasoft.Imaging.UI.ImageViewer) As Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool
    ' create Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool
    Dim annotationTool As New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool(True)
    annotationTool.InteractionMode = Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationInteractionMode.Markup

    ' create an application action executor
    Dim applicationActionExecutor As New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfActionCompositeExecutor()
    ' add executor for PdfGotoAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.PdfGotoActionExecutor(viewer))
    ' add executor for PdfNamedAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.PdfNamedActionExecutor(viewer))
    ' add executor for PdfResetFormAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationToolResetFormActionExecutor(annotationTool))
    ' add executor for PdfAnnotationHideAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationToolAnnotationHideActionExecutor(annotationTool))
    ' add executor for PdfUriAction to the application action executor,
    ' executor is located in WpfPdfDemosCommonCode
    'applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new PdfUriActionExecutor());// PdfDemosCommonCode
    ' add executor for PdfLaunchAction to the application action executor,
    ' executor is located in WpfPdfDemosCommonCode
    'applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new PdfLaunchActionExecutor());// PdfDemosCommonCode
    ' add executor for PdfSubmitFormAction to the application action executor,
    ' executor is located in WpfPdfDemosCommonCode
    'applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new PdfSubmitActionExecutor(viewer));// PdfDemosCommonCode
    ' add the default executor (for PdfResetFormAction and PdfAnnotationHideAction)
    ' to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfActionExecutor())

    ' set the application action executor as action executor of PDF annotation tool
    annotationTool.ActionExecutor = applicationActionExecutor

    Return annotationTool
End Function

The PdfAnnotationTool class has the PdfAnnotationTool.ActionExecutor property, which is used for executing the PDF actions when the interactive field events are triggered. By default the PdfAnnotationTool.ActionExecutor property represents a composite action executor, which can execute different types of actions. For example, the PdfJavaScriptActionExecutor class executes PDF JavaScript action, i.e. executes JavaScript code using JavaScript interpreter.

Here is C#/VB.NET code that demonstrates how to display interactive fields of PDF file in WinForms image viewer with enabled JavaScript:

/// <summary>
/// Creates the PDF annotation tool with JavaScript support.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="viewer">The image viewer.</param>
public static Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool CreatePdfAnnotationToolWithJavaScriptSupport(Vintasoft.Imaging.UI.ImageViewer viewer)
{
    // create PDF JavaScript application
    Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.JavaScript.WinFormsPdfJsApp jsApp = 
        new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.JavaScript.WinFormsPdfJsApp();
    // add PDF documents, which are associated with images in viewer,
    // to the document set of PDF JavaScript application
    jsApp.RegisterImageViewer(viewer);
    // create PdfJavaScriptActionExecutor for PDF JavaScript application
    jsApp.ActionExecutor = new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.JavaScript.PdfJavaScriptActionExecutor(
        jsApp, new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.JavaScriptApi.PdfJsConsole());

    // create Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool
    Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool annotationTool = 
        new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool(jsApp, true);
    annotationTool.InteractionMode = Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationInteractionMode.Markup;

    // create an application action executor
    Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfActionCompositeExecutor applicationActionExecutor = 
        new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfActionCompositeExecutor();
    // add executor for PdfJavaScriptAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(jsApp.ActionExecutor);
    // add executor for PdfGotoAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.PdfGotoActionExecutor(viewer));
    // add executor for PdfNamedAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.PdfNamedActionExecutor(viewer));
    // add executor for PdfResetFormAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(
        new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationToolResetFormActionExecutor(annotationTool));
    // add executor for PdfAnnotationHideAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(
        new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationToolAnnotationHideActionExecutor(annotationTool));
    // add executor for PdfUriAction to the application action executor,
    // executor is located in WpfPdfDemosCommonCode
    //applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new PdfUriActionExecutor());
    // add executor for PdfLaunchAction to the application action executor,
    // executor is located in WpfPdfDemosCommonCode
    //applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new PdfLaunchActionExecutor());
    // add executor for PdfSubmitFormAction to the application action executor,
    // executor is located in WpfPdfDemosCommonCode
    //applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new PdfSubmitActionExecutor(viewer));
    // add the default executor (for PdfResetFormAction and PdfAnnotationHideAction)
    // to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfActionExecutor());

    // set the application action executor as action executor of PDF annotation tool
    annotationTool.ActionExecutor = applicationActionExecutor;

    // create a document-level actions executor
    Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfDocumentLevelActionsExecutor documentLevelActionsExecutor =
       new Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfDocumentLevelActionsExecutor(jsApp);
    // set the application action executor as action executor of the document-level actions executor
    documentLevelActionsExecutor.ActionExecutor = applicationActionExecutor;

    return annotationTool;
}

VB.NET

''' <summary>
''' Creates the PDF annotation tool with JavaScript support.
''' </summary>
''' <param name="viewer">The image viewer.</param>
Public Shared Function CreatePdfAnnotationToolWithJavaScriptSupport(viewer As Vintasoft.Imaging.UI.ImageViewer) As Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool
    ' create PDF JavaScript application
    Dim jsApp As New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.JavaScript.WinFormsPdfJsApp()
    ' add PDF documents, which are associated with images in viewer,
    ' to the document set of PDF JavaScript application
    jsApp.RegisterImageViewer(viewer)
    ' create PdfJavaScriptActionExecutor for PDF JavaScript application
    jsApp.ActionExecutor = New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.JavaScript.PdfJavaScriptActionExecutor(jsApp, New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.JavaScriptApi.PdfJsConsole())

    ' create Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool
    Dim annotationTool As New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationTool(jsApp, True)
    annotationTool.InteractionMode = Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationInteractionMode.Markup

    ' create an application action executor
    Dim applicationActionExecutor As New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfActionCompositeExecutor()
    ' add executor for PdfJavaScriptAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(jsApp.ActionExecutor)
    ' add executor for PdfGotoAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.PdfGotoActionExecutor(viewer))
    ' add executor for PdfNamedAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.PdfNamedActionExecutor(viewer))
    ' add executor for PdfResetFormAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationToolResetFormActionExecutor(annotationTool))
    ' add executor for PdfAnnotationHideAction to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.UI.Annotations.PdfAnnotationToolAnnotationHideActionExecutor(annotationTool))
    ' add executor for PdfUriAction to the application action executor,
    ' executor is located in WpfPdfDemosCommonCode
    'applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new PdfUriActionExecutor());
    ' add executor for PdfLaunchAction to the application action executor,
    ' executor is located in WpfPdfDemosCommonCode
    'applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new PdfLaunchActionExecutor());
    ' add executor for PdfSubmitFormAction to the application action executor,
    ' executor is located in WpfPdfDemosCommonCode
    'applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(new PdfSubmitActionExecutor(viewer));
    ' add the default executor (for PdfResetFormAction and PdfAnnotationHideAction)
    ' to the application action executor
    applicationActionExecutor.Items.Add(New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfActionExecutor())

    ' set the application action executor as action executor of PDF annotation tool
    annotationTool.ActionExecutor = applicationActionExecutor

    ' create a document-level actions executor
    Dim documentLevelActionsExecutor As New Vintasoft.Imaging.Pdf.PdfDocumentLevelActionsExecutor(jsApp)
    ' set the application action executor as action executor of the document-level actions executor
    documentLevelActionsExecutor.ActionExecutor = applicationActionExecutor

    Return annotationTool
End Function

The information on how to edit the interactive fields of PDF document in WinForms image viewer is available here: "Editing interactive fields of PDF document in WinForms".

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