this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2023
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Free and Open Source Software

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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?

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[โ€“] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Took a bit of looking around, but it looks like this may work:

https://www.foxit.com/pdf-reader/

[โ€“] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

Adobe does sell licences for other companies to use the XFA format but even the software you linked has a free reader that pushes you to the paid full version. Also not FOSS.