Using Print Buttons

Certain PDF files, such as PDF forms, include a Print button. This helps a user who has filled out a form and wants to print the filled out form with the data. (For more information on PDF forms enabled with usage rights, see Chapter 19, "Working with PDF Forms".) When you open a PDF form, a Print Form button appears in the Document Message Bar.

To print a PDF form using the Print Form button:

1.	Open a PDF form in Adobe Reader.
2.	Fill out the form. Be certain the Hand tool is selected and click in text boxes to type your responses. If you see pull-down menus, radio buttons, or check boxes, click to enable the desired items.
3.	Click the Print Form button (Figure 6.10) to open the Print dialog. Figure 6.10. Click the Print Form button in the Document Message Bar.
4.	At this point you can print the form with the filled-in data. As an alternative, click Cancel in the Print dialog to return to the form. You might want to return to a form to edit the data before printing the final copy.
5.	If you fill in a form and attempt to close a file, a warning dialog opens. The Form Data Not Saved warning dialog offers you three options (Figure 6.11). You can click Continue Filling In Form to return to the Document pane and fill in the form; you can click Print Form to open the Print dialog; or you can choose Discard Data and Close Form, which closes the document and causes all data you typed on the form to be lost. Figure 6.11. A warning dialog opens after you fill in form data and close a file without printing the form.

Why doesn't my Document Message Bar appear?

The appearance of the Document Message Bar is controlled by a preferences setting. By default, the Document Message Bar appears when you open files such as PDF forms or documents enabled with usage rights. If the Document Message Bar does not appear, open the Preferences dialog by pressing Ctrl/Command+K.

Click Forms in the left pane of the Preferences dialog. Under the General category, remove the checkmark for Always hide forms document message bar (Figure 6.12). The next time you open a PDF form, the Document Message Bar will appear over the Document pane and the Print button will appear inside the bar.

Figure 6.12. Remove the checkmark for Always hide forms document message bar to make the bar visible in the Adobe Reader window.

If you prefer to keep the Document Message Bar hidden by default, you can open it manually when you want to examine any document message information. To show the Document Message Bar, move the pointer over the horizontal bar that separates the toolbar from the Document pane and then drag the bar down when the pointer icon changes to a double-arrow icon. Conversely, you can hide the Document Message Bar by moving the pointer over the horizontal bar that separates the Document Message Bar from the Document pane and dragging the bar up to the Toolbar Well when the pointer icon changes to the double-arrow icon.

To quickly access the Message Bar or to quickly hide it, move the cursor to the bar separating the Toolbar Well and the Document pane and double-click the mouse button. You can show and hide the Document Message Bar using mouse clicks.