How to remove the background PDF image?

Dear Jotform Support Team, I am currently working with a form named "blue_employment_contract" and would like assistance with a specific customization. I want to remove the background PDF image from the form while retaining only the answers filled in the correct locations on the document. This customization is important for our workflow, and if it can be achieved, we are very interested in signing up for your service. Could you please guide me on how to accomplish this or provide assistance in making these changes? Thank you for your support. Best regards,

Allan Smith

P.S. your bot was helpful in drafting this support request

Hi Allan,

Thanks for reaching out to Jotform Support. I checked, and I am unable to locate a background image in your PDF. If you can take a screenshot of what’s happening, that'll help us to understand better what’s going on. Let me show you how to post a screenshot to our Help Center:

1. On the Help Center page, scroll down to the Your Answer section and click on the Image icon.

2. Drag and drop your image into the Upload box, or click on it and select your file.

3. Then, click on the Add button in the bottom-right corner of the window.

4. To resize it, click on your screenshot and then click on one of the boxes in the corners, and drag it inward.

5. Once you're finished, click on the Post Answer button at the bottom right of the Your Answer section.

That's it. Once we hear back from you, we'll be able to help you with this.

Hi Mary, thanks for the help. The entire PDF is the background image I want to get rid of. I only want to see and print the blanks on the form. The forms themselves are provided for us by the government here in HK. We have to fill in the blanks, and I want to use Jotform for that purpose. So I want to get rid of all the boilerplate text on the PDF and leave only the blanks in the appropriate location on the PDF. Then I can load the preprinted forms into my Konica printer, and print the customer's information onto the preprinted form. Does that make sense?

Hi Allanarrow, 

I checked your Smart PDF form, and I can see that you've disabled the connection to the original PDF in your form settings. Can you please confirm if this has resolved the issue?

With this setting disabled, when you download your form as a PDF, it should only display the answers filled in the form—without showing the original uploaded PDF background.

Let us know if you need any other help.

I don't understand the phrase or function of "disabled the connection to the original PDF". I have downloaded the PDF but the "Download as PDF" option is grayed out. I don't need the data ONLY. I need the data to be in the correct place on the page, e.g.

ER Lastname ER Given names
EE Last name EE given names
date

EE Place of Origin

ETC. I need to be able to load my forms in the printer and have the data printed in the corresponding mapped blanks.

Thank you for your prompt and continued help.

Allan

Hi Allan,

It sounds like you'd like to use your original PDF document, and would like to have the form answers mapped in it. If so, we have to enable the Original PDF connection to your Online Form option. Let me show you how:

1. In Form Builder, click on the Settings tab on the blue navigation bar at the top, and Enable the Original PDF connection to your Online Form option.
2. Next, click on the Build tab, and start mapping your form fields to your document on the right.
   

Regarding your primary concern on background, can you share a screenshot showing this so we can understand and identify better what you mean when you say you'd like to remove it?

After we hear back from you, we’ll have a better idea of what’s going on and how to help.

I had previously mapped them onto the form, but did not have connection feature turned on. Now I've turned that on. What next? Can I download the PDF as a "mapped version"?

download as PDF is still grayed out. Do I have to use another software solution for printing? My AI suggested I can set up a document in Google Slides solution and map data from a sheet or csv file to the appropriate places on the page. Sigh!! so much trouble.

Hi Allan,

With the Original PDF connection enabled, you can download your form submissions as PDFs using your Original PDF template. Let me show you how:

1. In Form Builder, click on the Quick Navigation button on the top left corner of the page and select PDF Editor.
2. Next, under the Original PDF tab, click Download on the top right corner of the page and that's it.
   

If there's anything specific you'd like to change with it, let us know and we'll guide you on how to do it.

Reach out again if you need any help.

I followed your instructions but the download includes ALL of the boilerplate text NOT just the answers I entered. If I put the preprinted government form into my Konica printer, everything will double print, and the results will be unusable. I only want the form data NOT the form itself printed out.

Hi Allan,

Do you mean that you'd like to print your form answers in a blank page, but on the same area where you've mapped them? If so, I suggest creating a blank PDF document, and uploading it to your form, replacing your original PDF. Let me show you how:

1. In Smart PDF Builder, click on the Upload tab on the blue navigation bar at the top, and click on the Update PDF button.
2. Next, click on Re-Upload PDF, and select your empty PDF file, with the same number of pages as your original document.

That's it. As you can see, when the PDF is updated with an blank document and with the same number of pages, the field mappings will remain and can then be downloaded as a PDF and then printed. We also have a guide on How to Update the Original PDF Form Connected to Your Smart PDF Form that you can check out.

Give it a try and let us know if you need any help.

Shit. I accidently updated with the wrong document. I think I want to start over from scratch. The contracts we use are A3 double-sided and to make things worse, they are BLUE.

This is just one side of the contract. I have another scan for the other side. YES, I want to do exactly what you suggested last time, but I seem to have messed it up by updating with the wrong thing. Can that be undone or do I need to start over? AND I can't find the original file that I scanned and uploaded to Jotform way back when. You seem to have the only copy. Can it be downloaded and re-uploaded? Sorry to be so much trouble.

Allan in Hong Kong

Hi Allan,

I just cloned the most recent version of your form, and this is how it looks like now:

Can you confirm if you still need assistance on this? If yes, can you tell us specifically which part of the form you want to change now?

As for the PDF that you want to restore, did you upload it to another form? If yes, can you share the URL of that form?

Let us know if there's anything else we can help you with.

That is what it looks like now. I was supposed to upload another version of the form on the left, but I uploaded the wrong form - the one on the right. I hope you reviewed the whole conversation.

Below is exactly what I wish to do BUT I when I went to follow the instructions your team gave, I uploaded the wrong doc, the one on on the left in your graphic. I don't know how to undo uploading the wrong doc AND

I do not have the correct doc to upload.

Here are the good instructions you gave me which I messed up.

=====================

Hi Allan,

Do you mean that you'd like to print your form answers in a blank page, but on the same area where you've mapped them? If so, I suggest creating a blank PDF document, and uploading it to your form, replacing your original PDF. Let me show you how:

1. In Smart PDF Builder, click on the Upload tab on the blue navigation bar at the top, and click on the Update PDF button.
2. Next, click on Re-Upload PDF, and select your empty PDF file, with the same number of pages as your original document.

That's it. As you can see, when the PDF is updated with an blank document and with the same number of pages, the field mappings will remain and can then be downloaded as a PDF and then printed. We also have a guide on How to Update the Original PDF Form Connected to Your Smart PDF Form that you can check out.

Give it a try and let us know if you need any help.

Hi Allan,

Unfortunately, it's not possible to bring back the previous original PDF document uploaded to your form as its already been replaced. But if you still have a copy of that document, you can re-upload it using the same instructions, and remap your form fields in it.

Once the form fields have been remapped, then you can upload a blank PDF with the same number of pages so it the mapped form fields will retain their position on the same pages once downloaded and printed. Thanks for your understanding.

Reach out again if you need any help.