Extract text from form data files (XFDF)
To convert XFDF forms to another format, you need Adobe Acrobat or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "PDF Form Data File" file type, you need software like Adobe Acrobat or a similar tool.
An .XFDF (XML Forms Data Format) file is a data container used to save and transfer form field values or annotations from a PDF document. Instead of saving the entire layout, graphic assets, and fonts of a PDF, the software exports just the user-entered data into this lightweight XML file.
Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Acrobat Reader are the primary programs that use this format to import and export form data efficiently across the web.
The biggest disadvantage of an .XFDF file is its complete lack of visual formatting. It is strictly a data overlay. If you receive an .XFDF file without the original PDF, double-clicking it usually results in an error because the viewing software cannot find the associated document to display the fields. Users frequently need to convert this format to bypass these limitations and process the form responses in a database, or extract the raw text.
The most pragmatic conversion targets are XML (to retain the structured tag data for developers), CSV (to import into a spreadsheet like Excel), or plain TXT. If you have the source document, you can merge the data back using Adobe software to create a standard PDF.
Because the data structure is inherently tied to the blank fields of a specific, external PDF, standard text editors and basic converters struggle to make visual sense of the raw values. Often, only the original software can properly read or export the data. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your XFDF file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted FDF, XFDX, XDF, CSV, XML, PDF, TXT, DOCX, DB, ZIP, PD, 17 and FACES files.
If you want to convert XFDF file to PDF, XML, CSV, JSON, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG, CONF, DAT or DB, you can use Adobe Acrobat or similar software from the "PDF Form Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to XFDF, try Adobe Acrobat or another comparable tool in the "PDF Form Data Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our XFDF converter.