# PDF Contracts

You can create a printable PDF document from any of your existing contracts, such as your adoption or foster contracts, or your equipment loaner contract.  

**PDF Contracts** is a feature that takes information from your submitted forms and adds it to a PDF document. This information can include animal information like name, age, breed, and information about adopters like name, address, contact information, as well as other information of your choice.


:::tip
To use the pdf contract feature, your organization needs to have either the **Website Service** or the **Online Forms Service** and must first create an **Online Form.**

:::



:::info
Please note that because RescueGroups.org must set up this feature for you, adding or updating PDF contracts can take a couple of weeks depending on any changes that are required and our current workload.

We can provide the information necessary for you to update your PDF files yourself for the contract if you have the full version of *Adobe Acrobat*. The updated files would be sent to our support staff and uploaded to your organization account.

:::


# PDF Contract Setup

RescueGroups.org sets up this feature for you. We take an existing PDF or a Word document and create the required PDF form. We may ask for a small fee depending on the complexity of your contract or the frequency of changes. 


:::info
Due to the time involved in updating contracts for our team, we cannot provide contract updates on more than an annual basis with exceptions for major organization changes at your rescue.

:::

Here are some guidelines for creating a Word or PDF document that RescueGroups.org can use as a PDF contract:

* To populate the PDF contract with the animal's information, you must create a question on your Online Form with the **"Answer Type",** **Available Animals.** 
* Use a single blank field for dates and phone numbers.
* To include a field for gender or age, create it as a fill-in-the-blank field: Sex ____ or Age ____.  We can't use sex or age fields that are written like this:  Male: __XX__  Female: __.  
* See the available fields section below so that you can create your contract using those fields.  


:::success
We can include journal entries in a large blank space.  We can group them by category, but we cannot separate specific journal entries (like vaccinations) into their own fields.

:::

If you'd like to get started setting up a PDF contract, email your Word or PDF document to our customer support (support@rescuegroups.org) and we'll take a look. We'll let you know if there is anything in your contract that needs to change before we can use it as a PDF Contract.


:::warning
**IMPORTANT**

Any changes to the contract once it is created must go through RescueGroups.org support for the PDF Contract to be updated. Depending on the complexity and frequency of your changes, this may incur a minimal fee. In addition, we typically limit contract changes to once annually per account. 

:::

# Available fields for contracts

Below are the fields available to add to your contract, separated into categories. The field name should be straight forward. The description/source column lists the source where the information in a completed form will be pulled. For instance, see adopter_address. You use the Street, City, State, and Zip code fields. The completed form for a specific contract will combine these to create an address string such as 123 Apple St Littletown GA 31002 (no punctuation will be added in this string).  

## Contact-related fields

 The following fields are available for adding to your PDF contract.

| **Field name** | **Description / source** |
|------------|----------------------|
| **adopter_firstname** | The adopter's first name from the adopter's contact record |
| **adopter_lastname** | The adopter's last name from the adopter's contact record |
| **adopter_name** | First and Last from the adopter's contact record |
| **adopter_address** | Street, city, state and zipcode concatenated together with spaces<br>ex: 123 Apple St Littletown GA 31002 |
| **adopter_street** | The street address only<br>ex: 123 Apple St |
| **adopter_city** | City                 |
| **adoption_fee** | The adoption fee for animal. |
| **adopter_city_state_postalcode** | Returns a value like:  Toronto, ON M7A |
| **adopter_state** | State                |
| **adopter_postalcode** | Postal code (Zip code commonly used in other countries) |
| **adopter_county** | Adopter's county     |
| **adopter_email** | Adopter's email address |
| **adopter_email_alt** | Adopter's alternate email address |
| **adopter_phone_home** | Home phone number    |
| **adopter_phone_work** | Work phone number    |
| **adopter_phone_cell** | Cell phone number    |
| **contract_date** | The date the PDF contract is generated |
| **submitted_date** | The date the Online Form was submitted |

## Animal-related fields 

| **Field name** | **Description / source** |
|------------|----------------------|
| **animal_age** | Age string<br>ex: If birthdate is provided: 2 years 1 month<br>If not, general age: Young |
| **animal_altered** | Spayed/neutered<br>Example: Yes |
| **animal_altered_female** | Contains an X for altered female |
| **animal_altered_male** | Contains an X for altered male |
| **animal_altered_sex** | Contains a combination of Unspayed, Spayed, Intact, Neutered, and Female or Male.<br>Examples: Unspayed Female, Intact Male |
| **animal_birthdate** | Birthdate<br>Ex: 5/15/2015 |
| **animal_breed** | Primary breed        |
| **animal_breed_secondary** | Pulled from the *secondary breed* field. |
| **animal_breeds** | Combination of primary, secondary, and mixed<br>Ex: Labrador Retriever/German Shepherd/Mixed  |
| **animal_coatlength_long** | Returns a value of X for the animal coat length field when the radio button Long is selected.<br> ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/bc8e46d4-1432-4e15-8d33-c6b31ef6a8c9/coat%20length.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261024%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261024T150000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=b64caa484207030a0e8572542d915978d80c47c4ab116af3846e46bf38004ff5&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =449x67") |
| **animal_coatlength_medium** | Returns a value of X for the animal coat length field when the radio button Medium is selected.<br> ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/457d3d67-22cf-46a1-b5f6-c6cb6007c80f/coat%20length.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261024%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261024T150000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=28d99c7b6fe1560b1fbf96441ffb85ffd86a18c71705343a5faf751fb262874c&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =449x67") |
| **animal_coatlength_short**  | Returns a value of X for the animal coat length field when the radio button Short is selected.<br> ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/0e6ecd5b-1077-47f8-8dfe-af91e7da01ca/coat%20length.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261024%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261024T150000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=ac360c54ebc4190a34ef5573761ba2695dfbae83da62526ab4de4d9463da684a&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =449x67") |
| **animal_color** | Color (the detailed color from the text field) |
| **animal_color_general** | Color (the drop-down color) |
| **animal_current_size** | Current size and unit of measure<br>Ex: 22 Pounds |
| **animal_housebroken** | Housebroken<br>Ex: Yes  |
| **animal_name** | Name                 |
| **animal_microchip_number** | Microchip number     |
| **animal_microchip_vendor** | Microchip vendor / manufacturer |
| **animal_mixed** | Returns a value of *Y* or *N*. This value comes from the *animal mixed* field when adding/editing an animal. |
| **animal_origin** | Origin field         |
| **animal_rescueid** | Rescue ID            |
| **animal_internalid** | Internal ID          |
| **animal_sex** | Sex<br>Ex: Female    |
| **animal_sexfemale**<br>**animal_sexmale**  | Contains an X for the appropriate gender |
| **animal_size** | General size potential |
| **animal_species** | ex: Dog, Cat, Rabbit |
| **animal_speciescat**<br>**animal_speciesdog**<br>**animal_speciesother**  | Contains an X for the appropriate species |
| **animal_sn** | Unspayed, Spayed, Intact, Neutered |
| **animal_declawed** | Cat declawed question |
| **animal_special_needs** | Special Needs<br>Ex: Yes |
| **animal_special_needs_descr** | Special Needs description |
| **animal_journal_entries** | The values for animal vetting from the animal journal entries.<br> ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/171ab915-ff43-4a99-8f02-e5177bc43e71/pdf-contract-journal.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261024%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261024T150000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=92831355150bf00614092f989db677eaddee5e7a9040dea517c2a97c4b113908&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =501x61")<br>When using this field on a PDF contract, be sure that the form field "Options" has the "Multi-line" checkbox selected and that a large enough field space is provided to populate with the data. |


## Foster-related fields


:::tip
**Privacy Setting Warning**

Please be aware, if you include foster fields, foster data will always be listed for the Contract fields if it's available in the database, regardless of the privacy setting on the Foster Contact.

:::

| **Field name** | **Description / source** |
|------------|----------------------|
| **foster_firstname** | The foster's first name from the foster's contact record |
| **foster_lastname** | The foster's last name from the foster's contact record |
| **foster_name** | First and Last from the foster's contact record |
| **foster_street** | The street address only<br>ex: 1121 Annapolis Rd  |
| **foster_city** | City                 |
| **foster_state** | State                |
| **foster_zipcode** | Zip code ex. 01950<br> |
| **foster_postalcode** | Postal code  (usually used in other countries) |
| **foster_city_state_postalcode** | Returns a value with city, state and postal/zip code<br>Ex.  Bowie, MD 20718 or Toronto, ON M7A |
| **foster_county** | Foster's county      |
| **foster_address** | Foster's address     |
| **foster_email** | Foster's email address |
| **foster_email_alt** | Foster's alternate email address |
| **foster_phone_home** | Home phone number    |
| **foster_phone_work** | Work phone number    |
| **foster_phone_workext** | Work phone extension |
| **foster_phone_cell** | Cell phone number    |

# Create a PDF Contract for a user

Once the PDF Contract is set up for your form by RescueGroups.org support, you can create a PDF contract using the following instructions below.


:::tip
Be sure that the name of the animal on the submitted online form is correct before creating a contract.

If an application is submitted with no animal name or with the wrong animal name, you will need to edit the submitted online form to set the animal name before creating the contract.

:::



1. Click **Submitted Forms** to display the list of submitted forms in your account (**Features > Submitted Forms**).  
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/edee7c35-543d-483a-83cb-f71189fad0f4/image2017-12-29_16-14-48.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261024%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261024T150000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=3c914348d979a59603ed4b1f17846bd35f36c051fcd235030376904b79dc2f9d&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =349x342")
2. In the list, next to the form you want converted to PDF format, then click the PDF icon.  This icon looks like a document with the corner turned down.  
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/9a60938d-a855-456e-b985-3a6be509c3f4/pdf-contract.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261024%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261024T150000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=5695d4f0145d7f290223a40fee067866c3a697330367a4572bd2c6e23b33ce8c&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =248x54")  
3. You will see a list of fields that will be added to the contract, like below:  
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/693c87ec-f517-479a-9031-6bb51dddfa85/Screenshot%202024-01-30%20at%2011.39.39%E2%80%AFAM.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261024%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261024T150000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=f1e7b0bab9691b24d0a820fe21a18a5e6800720174e17391211dd9a202dc26cd&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =253x300")  
     
   Some of the values are automatically pulled from your RescueGroups.org data, but some may not be, depending on which fields you defined when we setup your contract. You can edit all values before creating the contract. For example, you could edit the Breed name or include more details about the contact.  
   ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/af4a7e38-3653-4cb5-9884-603c7a180e41/Screenshot%202024-01-30%20at%2011.40.02%E2%80%AFAM.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261024%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261024T150000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=cd7e682dffd031041246b39ccac9c3bd91f29e5e6bb3ab846d17cdd4214201c6&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =250x40")  
4. Ensure the data is what you want to include on the PDF contract.   
5. Click **Create Contract**. Your web browser should open or automatically download the PDF document, which contains the autofilled field values from the specific submitted form.   
6. When your team opens this PDF, you may be able to fill in or edit other text fields using your PDF application, if those fields were configured when your PDF Contract was first setup. Please note, If an electronic signature field was configured, you will need to use Adobe Acrobat products to complete those fields.  
7. If you would like to share a final contract at this point, you can print it now. If you want to email or save a digital copy where the form fields are not easily edited, we would suggest you use your PDF application to save a new version using an option such as "Print to PDF" option.   
8. If you have saved a digital copy, we would suggest adding it to the appropriate Animal and/or Contact record in RescueGroups.org for your team's future reference. 

# Save the PDF Contract data fields

You can save a ".FDF" data file to your computer to save the fields that were entered when the PDF was created.  The ".FDF" file contains the data that is used to fill out the form but does not contain the form (PDF) itself.  If you save the ".FDF" file to your computer and then open it at a later time, the PDF file will be downloaded from the Internet and the data from the ".FDF" file will be used to fill in the information on the form. 

Keep in mind that if you save the ".FDF" file it may be unusable at a later time if the PDF file has changed.

# Troubleshooting

If you have difficulty with your PDF contract, check this troubleshooting list for help or contact support.

#### ***You continue to see an older version of your PDF even after update***

Your web browser may be caching (keeping an old copy) of the previous version of the PDF file. To force your web browser to download the latest, most current version, press ***Control-F5 ***to refresh the document. Check your web browser for the exact steps to hard-refresh, or [Get Support](/doc/9f9511cb-a2bb-49dc-9ef8-44647cc775d8).

#### ***Error message "This PDF is attempting to launch..."***

If you see this message you may need to disable **Protected Mode**.  Use these instructions:


1. Open *Adobe Reader*.
2. Click **Edit > Preferences**.
3. Click **Security (Enhanced)**.
4. Deselect the checkbox for the option **Enable Protected Mode at startup**.
5. Click **Yes**.
6. Click **OK**.
7. Close *Adobe Reader*.

## Chrome browser issue

Viewing the PDF Contract may not work inside of *Chrome* until you disable the built-in PDF viewer.  There is an issue with the built-in *Chrome* PDF Viewer. You can disable the built-in PDF Viewer in this way:


1. In the *Chrome* address bar, go to **about:plugins**.
2. Click **Disable** next to **Chrome PDF Viewer**.
3. Go back to the **Submitted Forms** page and generate the PDF Contract.


:::info
We recommend that you reboot after disabling the built-in *Chrome PDF Viewe***r**. There is a report that after disabling the built-in *Chrome PDF Viewe***r** a reboot may be necessary to avoid experiencing a warning in an inescapable loop.

:::

## Firefox browser issues (versions 19 and above)

Viewing the PDF Contract may not work inside of *Firefox* versions 19 and above because of an issue with the built-in PDF Viewer. Follow these instructions to direct *Firefox* to open *Adobe* PDF files outside of *Firefox*:


1. Open *Firefox*.
2. Click the **Menu** icon (sandwich).
3. Click **Options**.
4. In the **Action** column for **Adobe Acrobat Forms Document (application/vnd.fdf)** select **Use Adobe Reader**.
5. Click **OK**.

# Print your Contracts

You can add a pdf contract for any of your forms, including all of your applications or for your contract. Then you can print out a contract at any time. This feature is great for printing a contract before an adoption placement -- the information comes automatically from your RescueGroups.org account so you don't have to re-write it on the contract. You can use it to print any contract-type form, including volunteer contracts, home visit forms, etc.


:::success
**Where do I find it?**

Find the **PDF Contracts** icon next to the name of the online form you wish to use as a printable document. Find the document you want to print and tap the PDF icon. Print.

 ![](https://outline-production-attachments.s3-accelerate.amazonaws.com/uploads/48da3d2a-9a3a-434b-824b-a6018154f31c/0787bb94-3850-4696-8898-56c86768d729/pdf-contract.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Content-Sha256=UNSIGNED-PAYLOAD&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4EOUDTOVUICLPZ4P%2F20261024%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20261024T150000Z&X-Amz-Expires=86400&X-Amz-Signature=7d20db653cddd4273b3ed67729168900f7bf48f298da391a7dae416b37bf8048&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&x-amz-checksum-mode=ENABLED&x-id=GetObject " =248x54")


:::