Preview does not save PDF form data

Question

I downloaded the 2012 IRS 1040 form to my Mac to ~Downloads/f1040.pdf, running OS X 10.7.5. Upon opening the pdf file in Preview (Version 5.5.3 (719.31)), I see fillable form data

I proceed to fill in more data, and eventually File -> Save a Version

Next I close the file, only to re-open it later and find all my entered data is missing. The IRS claims these forms are fill-in enabled:

Beginning October 25, 2004, new fill-in forms were enabled with "document rights" which will allow you to save what you have filled in on your PC. Version 8.16 or later of Adobe Reader is required.

And inspecting the security of the PDF confirms this

Though, they also say Adobe Reader is required. My question is: what am I doing wrong? I expected saving a version to retain the filled in form information. A possible workaround would be File -> Export every time I want to save something, but this seems counterintuitive.

Answer 1

I've run into this with some forms, it's not always clear why (although in your case the DRM seems the likely culprit). The workaround for me has always been filling it out as normal, then using the print to PDF functionality (File → Print → PDF → Save as PDF). Certainly not the easiest, and it means you can't re-edit in some situations. But it's still better than dealing with Acrobat.

Alternatively, you could buy PDFPen, which is a pretty fool-proof way of dealing with any PDF form you can find.

Answer 2

I think 'Adobe Acrobat Reader' or 'Adobe Acrobat Pro' is the best solution. You can install Adobe Acrobat Reader via brew in macOS

brew install adobe-acrobat-reader

Then you can open and edit PDFs with input forms by Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you open a exist pdf with input forms by Adobe Acrobat Reader, you will see 'fixing forms filed' message.