Frequently asked questions

Q: I get an error: “There was an error trying to send your message. Please try again later.”

A: Please check your server’s email configuration. Please check to make sure your SPAM mitigation technique is not causing the problem (reCaptcha/Akismet/etc).

Q: Does this plugin allow my website users to work with PDF files?

A: No. This plugin adds features to the Contact Form 7 interface in the WordPress Admin Panel only.

Q: Does this plugin require special software installation on the web server?

A: No. The plugin uses core WordPress features only. No special software or PHP extensions are needed. Working with PDF files is done through Pdf.Ninja API. It is recommended to have a working SSL/TLS certificate verification with cURL.

Q: How are the CF7 form fields mapped to the PDF form fields?

A: There are two ways to map fields with this plugin. The field mapper tool allows you to map fields individually and, when needed, generate new CF7 fields on the fly. The tag generator tool maps to the fields in the PDF form using the random looking code in the CF7 field name that it generates. Here is the format: pdf-field-{attachment-id}-{human-readable-field-name}-{random-looking-code}. The ‘{attachment-id}’ can be ‘all’ to allow it to map to all PDFs attached to the CF7 form (in case you ever want to swap out the PDF file without needing to fix the generated tags). If you remove the random looking code, the field will no longer be mapped to the field in the PDF.

Q: My fields are not getting filled, what is wrong?

A: If you reuploaded the PDF file and your mapping was using the old file ID then your mapping will no longer work and you will need to recreate it.

If you are using the field mapper tool, make sure the mapping exists in the list of mappings and the field names match. If you are using the tag generator tool, make sure the attachment ID matches (or is ‘all’) and the base64-encoded part of the tag name is unchanged.

If you renamed the PDF field, you will need to remove the old mapping and recreate the mapping with the new name.

Q: My checkboxes and/or radio buttons are not getting filled, what is wrong?

A: Make sure your PDF checkbox/radio field’s exported value matches the value of the CF7 form’s checkbox tag. Usually, it is “On” or “Yes”. If you need to display a different value in the CF7 form, use pipes.

Some PDF viewers don’t render checkboxes correctly in some PDF files due to incompatible PDF formatting. You may be able to solve this issue by recreating the PDF in a different PDF editor.

Q: How do I remove the watermark in the filled PDF files?

A: Please see the Pdf.Ninja API website and the Enterprise Extension plugin.

Q: How do I set up PDF form filling on my local web server?

A: Please see the Enterprise Extension plugin.