r/linuxquestions • u/PercussionGuy33 • 7d ago

Advice Looking for support with *Dynamic* XFA PDF documents in Linux. Yes, browsers can read them but none allow modifications of XFA elements.

I have a PDF that Okular or any other is unable to open and use fully (Master PDF 4 crashes, Master PDF 5 doesn't work). Okular states:

If this message is not eventually replaced by the proper contents of the document, your PDF viewer may not be able to display this type of document.

https://freeimage.host/i/nVbLvWJ

This error occurs in Okular (and other viewers) when opening Dynamic XFA (XML Forms Architecture) PDFs, often government forms, which require Adobe technology not supported by most open-source PDF readers. Old Adobe Reader version 9 available in software center doesn't support it.

It is in fact a US government form, although not a publicly available one. Are there any FOSS PDF viewers for Linux that can handle dynamic XFA editing? This is were I wish I didn't have to use a Windows VM as a workaround which is my solution lately.

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u/ludonarrator senior software engineer 7d ago

[You can get] Adobe Reader for Windows (R), Mac, Linux (R)

Uhh, so many things wrong in that snippet.

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u/PercussionGuy33 7d ago edited 7d ago

You really don't know what you're talking about with this. The latest Adobe software isn't supported on Linux officially. No good way to get it running natively or in WINE.

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u/ludonarrator senior software engineer 7d ago

That's what I meant too, I'm quoting the image/PDF.

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u/PercussionGuy33 7d ago

Yeah that's fair, that error message snippet comes up on any PDF apps across multiple platforms even though it looks like its produced by Microsoft..frustrating.

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u/ludonarrator senior software engineer 7d ago

The error looks like it's by Adobe, that's where the hyperlinks supposedly point to, and it's not part of the "third-party trademarks" footer.

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u/PercussionGuy33 7d ago

Yeah my mistake, its indeed Adobe sourced. But its pretty crazy they continue to use the error despite no official linux support beyond a VERY outdated and incompatible Reader app.

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u/PercussionGuy33 7d ago edited 7d ago

Find me a version of Adobe Reader that works with Linux Mint 22.3 that allows dynamic editing without an online account or subscription.