Knowledgebase

As of build 10.0.0.370, there is a "stamp creation helper" tool, which can be accessed through the stamps palette:

1. Click the Stamp Tool, then click Stamps Palette:

2. Click Add New, then click Add Custom Stamp:

3. Use the text tool to place the desired static text:

4. Select the Date Field tool, and the place it in the stamp as desired. Note that you can also right-click on the tool icon before placing a field in order to select the date format you wish to use. If your desired date format is not available, please see the next section of this article for more advanced customization.

5. Click Add Stamp to add the stamp to your stamps collection for subsequent use.

Please note that it is necessary to have PDF-XChange Editor Plus or PDF-XChange PRO in order to carry out the operation detailed below, as forms-editing functionality is required.

JavaScript can be used to add dynamic elements to stamps in PDF-XChange Editor Plus, but there are a few steps to consider prior to adding JavaScript, or form fields. This article assumes some basic knowledge of Javascript. 

The first step is to create visual component of the stamp, which can be an image or a PDF document. General instructions on creating stamps is available here.

Note: the steps below require that you have a static stamp ready for use. You cannot create a dynamic stamp without first following the steps in the article linked above.

1. The first step is to add a rectangle annotation to a document and then use the Typewriter tool to add some text:

2. Go to the stamps palette, then select Add New Stamp from Active Document:

3. Name and save the stamp.

4. Open two Windows Explorer windows side by side. In one, navigate to %Appdata%\Tracker Software\PDFXEditor\3.0\Stamps. In the other, navigate to any folder in your system to use as a intermediary location.

5. Locate, but do not open, the specially formatted stamp collection file containing your new stamp in %Appdata%\Tracker Software\PDFXEditor\3.0\Stamps (we recommend enabling the preview window so that you can locate the correct document):

6. Move the stamp collection file to the desktop.

7. Open the stamp collection file in PDF-XChange Editor.

8. Add a text form field to the stamp:

9. Add the desired Javascript to your form field to make it dynamic.

For example, the JavaScript below will automatically place the date and time at which the stamp was placed when included in the Value Calculation/Run a JavaScript property of that form field:

var d = new Date;
event.value = util.printd("yyyy/mm/dd/ HH:MM:ss", d);

Open the properties pane (Ctrl+`), then go to Value Calculation > Custom Action. Click the ellipsis [...] next to Run a JavaScript in order to open the Edit Action: "Run a JavaScript" dialog box, then enter the desired JavaScript:

**Note: When a dynamic stamp is placed, it is added as a flat comment. The values of any form field are auto-evaluated when the stamp is placed. In the JavaScript example above, the date cannot be changed once the stamp is placed. Further information on working with PDFs and JavaScript is available here.

10. Save the file to its existing location, using its existing name.

11. Close PDF-XChange Editor.

12. Move the stamp collection file back to %appdata%\Tracker Software\PDFXEditor\3.0\Stamps. 

When you open PDF-XChange Editor subsequently, your dynamic stamp will be available for use.

Note that PDF-XChange provides free stamp collections for your use. You can view/download them here.