Bug 482363 - Checkboxes on forms do not show as checked even though they are checked
Summary: Checkboxes on forms do not show as checked even though they are checked
Status: RESOLVED NOT A BUG
Alias: None
Product: okular
Classification: Applications
Component: general (show other bugs)
Version: 24.01.80
Platform: openSUSE Linux
: NOR grave
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Okular developers
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2024-03-04 09:48 UTC by Rafael Linux User
Modified: 2024-03-08 09:46 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

See Also:
Latest Commit:
Version Fixed In:
Sentry Crash Report:


Attachments
Screenshots (84.12 KB, application/pdf)
2024-03-05 15:19 UTC, Rafael Linux User
Details
Only the checkboxes (608.95 KB, application/pdf)
2024-03-06 11:13 UTC, Rafael Linux User
Details
Fonts (122.91 KB, image/png)
2024-03-07 09:36 UTC, Rafael Linux User
Details

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Description Rafael Linux User 2024-03-04 09:48:31 UTC
NOTE: This issue is same than https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=184489 CLOSED issue

SUMMARY
When the user opens a form that has checkboxes, they appear by default as unchecked even though they are checked. The user has to enter "form" mode for Okular to correctly show that these checkboxes are checked.

STEPS TO REPRODUCE
1. Open a PDF form with checkboxes and enable "form mode"
2. Enable some of the checkboxes
3. Save document and close Okular
4. Open again same document (default view mode, no "form mode")

OBSERVED RESULT
Checked boxes are not showed like checked if you don't enter in "form mode".

EXPECTED RESULT
To show checked boxes as checked without entering "form mode".

SOFTWARE/OS VERSIONS
Operating System: openSUSE Tumbleweed 20230613
KDE Plasma Version: 5.27.5
KDE Frameworks Version: 5.115.0
Qt Version: 5.15.12
Kernel Version: 6.3.7-1-default (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: X11

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
I discovered this error when verifying digitally signed PDF documents where Okular showed as unchecked checkboxes that the user claimed to have checked. Only when switching to "form mode" did the checkboxes show that the sender had indeed checked them before signing the document. This is why this is a serious bug.

Other PDF viewers do display ticked boxes correctly. It is not normal for all the contents of the boxes in a form to be displayed (such as text boxes) except for the checkboxes.
Comment 1 Albert Astals Cid 2024-03-04 23:24:53 UTC
please attach a file where you're having this problem.
Comment 2 Rafael Linux User 2024-03-05 15:19:15 UTC
(In reply to Albert Astals Cid from comment #1)
> please attach a file where you're having this problem.
I can't share the document as it has private content, but I have captured the screen shot in the attached document, compared to "Foxit Reader".


However, I have discovered that the problem lies in the "type" of checkbox. The ones containing an "X" are always displayed without problems by Okular. The ones containing the "✓" symbol are the ones that Okular does not display until you enter edit mode.
Comment 3 Rafael Linux User 2024-03-05 15:19:40 UTC
Created attachment 166428 [details]
Screenshots
Comment 4 Albert Astals Cid 2024-03-05 23:49:08 UTC
Without a file we can-t fix the bug, because all the files we have work.

Please reopen the bug when you find a file you can share that fails
Comment 5 Rafael Linux User 2024-03-06 00:44:20 UTC
I am sorry it is not enough. The bug exists and I took the time to document it, but I can't keep looking for ways to recreate it, as I don't know with which tools to create such files. 

Closing the thread does not seem adequate or appropriate, but I think it should be up to you - based on the information provided - to find out which word processor generates such peculiar checkboxes.

Best regards
Comment 6 Oliver Sander 2024-03-06 03:10:04 UTC
You can find the word processor that generated your particular document by looking at "File -> Properties".
Comment 7 Rafael Linux User 2024-03-06 09:13:02 UTC
Following your instructions, I have found that they have used "PDFCreator 2.4.1.13" to create the PDF, so I get the impression that they must be using an old version of "MSWord" or, less likely, are unaware of the "Convert to PDF" function of their word processor (they can only be using either MSOffice or OpenOffice/LibreOffice, which are "official" in the company).

I took some additional time to check browsers internal PDF reader. "EDGE" (for Linux), "Chrome" and "Chromium" all them shows right marked checkboxes with symbol "✓". "Firefox" too, but shows an "✕" symbol instead.

To make sure it's not my computer and not to waste anyone's time, I even checked on a computer also running openSUSE but outdated, if Okular behaves the same, and it does. On that PC "Okular" is version 21.08.3.

Any other thing I can do, please, aks me.

Thanks
Comment 8 Oliver Sander 2024-03-06 09:26:16 UTC
Do you have access to Adobe professional? Then you could try to strip the problematic of all the confidential parts.  Really, the/a file is needed to fix this.
Comment 9 Rafael Linux User 2024-03-06 11:11:17 UTC
 Before I opened this thread, I tried to delete private information with LibreOffice Draw, but the form is lost, so it didn't work. As it is more complex than using Adobe tools, I remembered that there is "Master PDF" which is multiplatform and, although it adds a watermark, it works perfectly for this case.

Now I will attach the file with just those checkboxes. I have already checked that the problem remains despite having altered the document with "Master PDF".

Best regards
Comment 10 Rafael Linux User 2024-03-06 11:13:34 UTC
Created attachment 166472 [details]
Only the checkboxes
Comment 11 Oliver Sander 2024-03-06 12:39:28 UTC
Is this maybe a font issue?  Because I do see the checkmark in the box even with disabled 'forms' mode.
Comment 12 Albert Astals Cid 2024-03-06 21:55:54 UTC
might be a fonts issue, works fine here too.

Can you attach a screenshot of files->properties->fonts?
Comment 13 Rafael Linux User 2024-03-07 09:36:08 UTC
Created attachment 166556 [details]
Fonts
Comment 14 Luigi Toscano 2024-03-07 10:12:34 UTC
The PDF doesn't embed all fonts, which may lead to problems. In fact in this case the gyre font is used for symbols, and that font has been a source of issues:

https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=332595
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=399107
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=423914
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=431012
https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=441623
Comment 15 Rafael Linux User 2024-03-07 13:34:28 UTC
However, why does it show the character in "form mode"? Furthermore, I understand that the correct thing to do in these cases would be to apply the same solution that the PDF readers that are built into web browsers use. Shouldn't this thread be reopened so that the problem can be solved?
Comment 16 Albert Astals Cid 2024-03-07 22:43:20 UTC
(In reply to Rafael Linux User from comment #13)
> Created attachment 166556 [details]
> Fonts

Next time send the attachment of the document we have not the one you have ;)
Comment 17 Albert Astals Cid 2024-03-07 22:44:27 UTC
(In reply to Luigi Toscano from comment #14)
> The PDF doesn't embed all fonts, which may lead to problems. In fact in this
> case the gyre font is used for symbols, and that font has been a source of
> issues:
> 
> https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=332595
> https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=399107
> https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=423914
> https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=431012
> https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=441623

I don't think it's the gyre font, but the ZapfDingbats font, since he says he can reproduce the problem with the modified file he gave us and there ZapfDingbats is the only one that is not embedded
Comment 18 Albert Astals Cid 2024-03-07 22:48:53 UTC
(In reply to Rafael Linux User from comment #15)
> However, why does it show the character in "form mode"? Furthermore, I
> understand that the correct thing to do in these cases would be to apply the
> same solution that the PDF readers that are built into web browsers use.
> Shouldn't this thread be reopened so that the problem can be solved?

This is not a bug, your system is wrongly configured, we are asking for the ZapfDingbats font and it's saying "arial" and arial is not a ZapfDingbats compatible font.

My suggestion is to install whatever package provides D050000L.otf (ord050000l.pfb) it seems that in opensuse it would be something called ghostscript-fonts and that should fix your issue.
Comment 19 Rafael Linux User 2024-03-07 23:28:33 UTC
I really don't know by what logic you understand that it is not a "bug". I have clearly defined the scenario: A computer, with a certain configuration. Among all PDF reader software tested (from embedded in web browsers of all kinds, to professional applications like FoxitReader or Master PDF) only Okular fails to show as enabled the checkboxes in cases like this. And yet, it does show it correctly in form mode. 

I don't know under what criteria Okular can't be considered to have a resolution problem in these cases. 

I give up. The solution after everything I have said is not to consider it an error to be solved by you and, thanks to that attitude, unfortunately I can only stop using Okular since we are talking about transcendental information that is not correctly processed by Okular.

Best wishes
Comment 20 Luigi Toscano 2024-03-08 09:46:24 UTC
(In reply to Rafael Linux User from comment #19)
> I really don't know by what logic you understand that it is not a "bug". 

Please note that the scope here is "a bug in a something developed on kde.org". 
It is true that other programs don't show it, but are they using the same libraries to get the fonts? It may be just an error in a different part of the stack, and that's what was being discussed.