Section 51. Create a New Form


51. Create a New Form

Before You Begin

47 About PDF Forms

48 About Adobe Designer

50 About Designing Forms


See Also

52 Create a Form from a Template

53 Create a Form from Another Document


With Adobe Designer, you have the ability to create a more advanced, more interactive form than ever before. In Acrobat, the only way to create a form is to convert a document into a PDF file and then add the form fields. With Adobe Designer, you can create a form from the ground up, ending up with anything from a simple questionnaire to a full-blown, interactive, multimedia form.

1.
Open Adobe Designer

From the Advanced menu, select Forms, Create New Form . A Create New Form dialog box appears, informing you that Adobe Designer will open to create the new form and that Acrobat will run in the background. If you do not want to see this message again, select the Don't Show Again check box. Click OK to continue.

2.
Create a Blank Form

Adobe Designer makes form creation easy. The New Form Assistant window appears and walks you through the steps for creating a new blank form.

For Step 1. Getting Started , select New Blank Form . Choose the page size and layout of your form under Step 2. Setup . You can also choose how many pages your form will be from the Number of Pages drop-down menu. Step 3. Return Method allows you to choose how you want the form data returned to you. You have four choices:

  • Fill Then Submit The form is filled out, either through a web browser or Adobe Reader, and the data is then electronically returned, such as through email or a form server.

  • Fill Then Submit/Print The form is filled out and can either be returned electronically, such as through email or a form server, or printed and returned manually.

  • Fill Then Print The form is filled out electronically and printed, but it is not deliverable by email or the Web.

  • Print The end user must print the form first and then manually fill it in by hand. It can then be returned by fax, hand delivery, or postal mail.

Depending on the Return Method you selected, Step 4. Return Information displays different options. If you've chosen either the Fill Then Submit or Fill Then Submit/Print option, you need to enter a return email address. If you have chosen the Fill Then Print option, a Print button automatically is added to the form. If you have chosen the Print option, no further action or information is required. After you have made your selections, click the Finished button.

3.
Add Text Fields

Now that you have created a blank form, you need to populate it with various containers for information. The most common type of container is a text field, in which the user enters text ( alphanumeric ) responses. To add a text field to your form, select the Text Field object on the Standard tab of the Library palette. As you move the cursor over the form, notice that it changes into a pencil and text box icon with location coordinates displayed underneath. Click the desired location.

The Object tab contains three subtabs:

  • Field Shows the type of field currently selected. You can changed the type of field by clicking the drop-down menu and selecting a different field object. You can change the appearance of the text field in the Field tab; you can also allow for multiple lines and plain text and limit character length. The Display Pattern sets how text entered into the field is displayed, such as a date/time entry, plain text, or a password.

  • Value Set the Value type of the text field here. If the Value type is set to User EnteredOptional , users are not required to enter information into the field. If Users EnteredRecommended is selected, users do not have to enter information into the field, but a message appears (you need to enter a custom message in the Empty Message box). If User EnteredRequired is chosen for Value type, users must enter information into the text field. A custom message, entered in the Empty Message box, appears if left blank. The Validation Pattern requires that the values entered into the text field match the set pattern. If not, an error message appears. A custom error message can be written in the Validation Pattern Message box to replace the standard error message.

  • Binding Click this tab and set the name of the text field in the Name box. Set the Default Binding , which is the type of data-binding method used, to None, Normal, Global , or New Data Connection. Data Pattern sets the type of data that can be entered in the text field, such as a date/time, plain text, a phone number, a password, or even an email address. The Data Format can be set to Plain Text , which includes only the value of the UTF-8-encoded text entered, or XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language), which includes the XHTML information for the entered text. Import/Export Binding allows a Web Service Definition Language (WSDL) connection.

4.
Add Radio Buttons

Radio buttons can be grouped together to form an exclusive group , meaning that only one radio button can be selected at a time within that group. This is appropriate for most multiple-choice questions, where the user has to pick one out of a set of responses.

KEY TERM

Exclusive groups Groups of radio buttons among which only one button can be active at a time. A common example is a multiple-choice questionnaire. Each question has an exclusive group of responses, among which the user can choose only one.

To add a radio button to a form, select the Radio Button tool in the Standard tab in the Library palette. Move the cursor to the desired location for the radio button and click. Repeat this step for each radio button needed. When adding radio buttons to the form, they are automatically grouped together in an exclusive group. If you add a different field, such as a check box or text field and then add another radio button, that new radio button is not included in the previous exclusive group. Instead, a second group is started.

TIP

Another way of moving a radio button to a different exclusive group is from the Hierarchy palette. The Hierarchy palette shows the complete structure of a form, including all the exclusive groups of radio buttons. If the Hierarchy palette is not visible, you can display it by going to the Windows menu and selecting Hierarchy . Click and drag the selected radio button to the new exclusive group. Designer automatically changes the name of the radio button to match the others within the group.

To add a radio button to a previously defined exclusive group, click, drag, and drop the new radio button within the border of the exclusive group. Adjust the alignment if necessary.

To combine two exclusive groups, select the radio buttons in each group by clicking and dragging a box around the two groups. Under the Layouts menu, select Merge Radio Button Groups to combine them.

To move a radio button from one exclusive group to a different group, select the radio button and drag it within the borders of the other group.

It is important to ensure that the value for each radio button within the group is unique. To change the value of a radio button, select that radio button and click the Binding tab in the Object palette. Double-click the Value associated with that radio button, enter the new value, and either click a different value or press Enter to accept the changes.

TIP

You can also add check boxes to your form. Check boxes are used to indicate a Yes or No value. When the check box is selected, or turned on, the default value is Yes. Otherwise, when not selected, the value for the check box is No. To add a check box to a form, select the Check Box tool in the Standard tab in the Library palette. Click the cursor on the desired location to add the check box. Rename the check box in the Binding tab's Name box.

5.
Add Drop-Down Menus and Lists

Drop-down menus and lists provide the user with a selection of responses from which to choose. Drop-down menus show only one selection until the user opens the list. Lists, on the other hand, display more of the choices available to the user.

To create a drop-down menu, select the Drop-Down List tool on the Standard tab. When the cursor has changed to a drop-down box icon to indicate you have selected the Drop-Down List tool, click the desired location to add the drop-down list. To add items to the list, under the Field tab in the Library palette, locate the List Items section. Click the plus (+) button and enter the items in the text box provided. Add as many items to your list as necessary. You can change the order of an item by selecting the item and then clicking the up arrow or down arrow . Assign values to the items under the Binding tab by selecting the Specific Item Values option. Double-click the value and type in a new value for that item.

TIP

If you prefer not to use the New Form Assistant window, you have the option to turn it off. In the lower-left corner of the New Form Assistant window is the Don't Use Assistant link. When you click this link, the Assistant Options window appears. You can select from the following commands: Skip the Assistant This One Time, Skip the Assistant When Creating New Document , and Never Show the New Assistant Form Again . After you have made your selection, click the OK button and the New Form Assistant window closes .

Lists are pretty much the same as drop-down menus, except they display all the items available for the user to choose from. Enter items under the List Items box in the Field tab. To assign values to the items, click the Binding tab and select the Specific Item Values option. Double-click the value and enter the new value.

6.
View the Results

Now that you have created your form, it's time to see how it will look to others and to test it to ensure it is functioning properly.

TIP

Barcodes are now available in Adobe Designer. You can add barcodes to your form to capture data entered by the user. This data can then be retrieved from a printed return form with a common barcode scanner. Barcode data capture is supported only in Acrobat 7 and Reader 7.

To view the form, click the PDF Preview tab. Designer displays the form as it will look when you save it as a PDF form. Click the various radio buttons and check boxes, select items from the drop-down lists, and enter data into the various text fields. Make any necessary changes and save the form when you are done.



Adobe Acrobat 7 in a Snap
Adobe Acrobat 7 in a Snap
ISBN: 0672327015
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 139
Authors: Shari Nakano

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