Creating-Forms

Creating Forms
There are two basic ways of creating forms in Acrobat - from scratch or using the wizard.

1. Open Adobe Acrobat Pro 2. Go to Forms 3. Click Start Form Wizard 4. Choose the appropriate option from the wizard, Acrobat/LiveCycle will open the document and scan for possible form fields
 * Using the Forms Wizard -** when you already have a form created, either in PDF, Word, Excel or other format:

1. Open Adobe Acrobat Pro 2. Go to Forms 3. Click Start Form Wizard 4. Choose "No Existing Form," this will take you into the Adobe LiveCycle Designer (free program with Acrobat Pro) New Form Assistant 5. Choose "Use Blank Form" option 6. Change your page size and number of pages if necessary 7. Click Finish 8. Now you have a blank form in which to insert fields, buttons, etc.
 * Creating from Scratch -** when you have no form to convert and you want to build a form from scratch, do the following:
 * Or you can create a new pdf, use the form wizard, then choose the current document

Important Note: If you want to distribute the form and give users the right to complete the form using Adobe Reader (free), you need to enable it on the form itself. This only applies to those users with Reader 8 or better. To enable Reader rights (p.189 of user guide): 1. Open a PDF form 2. Choose Advanced 3. Choose Extend Features in Adobe Reader
 * You must do this on EVERY form that you wish to enable Reader rights, it's not a global policy


 * __Scanning Documents into Forms

[]__**

[|Scan Paper to PDF]

[|Creating Forms in Acrobat 9]

Form Elements

 * for text and numeric data that the user will enter, use text fields or combo boxes
 * for a single choice from a limited number of options, use a radio button, list box, or a combo box
 * for limited options from which the user can choose none, one, or many, use check boxes or use a list box and set the form field properties to allow multiple selections
 * for actions (open file, submitting form, printing), use buttons
 * for added security, add a digital signature field

Form Properties
You can change the properties for fields to make your form fields more effective. You can edit a single field or multiple fields. To change the properties on a single field, simply double-click it or right click it and choose properties. To edit the properties of multiple fields, select the fields that you want to edit, right-click in one of the selected fields and choose properties.

Name - specifies the unique name for a field Tooltip - displays text that appears when the pointer hovers over the form field (also will be read by screen readers for those with disabilities) Form Field - tells whether the form field can be seen or hidden, either on screen or in print Orientation - rotates the field Read Only - user cannot change form field content Required - makes the field required
 * General Tab Properties**

Border Color - changes the border color on a field frame, to leave the field without a frame, select no color Line Thickness - frame width thickness Fill Color - background color Line Style - different line styles for field Font Size - sets the size of the text that the user enters. If you set to Auto, the font size changes as the user types more information Text Color - color of text user types Font - lists fonts available on your computer
 * Appearance Tab Properties**

The Options tab properties change dependent on what type of field you are entering - i.e. - barcodes, check boxes, combo box and list box, radio buttons, or text fields.
 * Options Tab for Form Field Properties**

Select Trigger - specifies the user action that initiates an action - i.e. Mouse Up, Mouse Down, Mouse Enter, Mouse Exit, On Focus, On Blur Select Action - specifies the event that occurs when the user triggers the action Add - Opens a window for the selected action Actions - Displays the list of triggers and actions that you've defined Up and Down Buttons - change the order in which the selected action appears listed under the trigger (available only when you have defined multiple actions for the same trigger) Edit - opens a dialog box with specific options for the selected option Delete
 * Actions Tab for Form Field Properties**

Value is Not Calculated - allows the user to type input Value is The - makes further options available - i.e. pop-up menu, or pick Simplified Field Notation - uses JavaScript with field names, allows you to write, edit and add scripts Custom Calculation Script - displays any custom scripts you have added for calculations
 * Calculate Tab for Form Field Properties**

None - no additional formatting is needed Number - automatically imposes the selected formatting options on numeric data entries - i.e. decimal places, separator style, currency symbol, negative number style Percentage - automatically imposes the selected formatting options on percentages Date - specifies date format Time - specifies time format Special - allows special formatting - i.e. zip code, phone, social security number, or arbitrary mask
 * Format Tab for Form Field Properties**

Field Value is Not Validated - turns off validation Field Value is In Range - sets a numeric range for forms fields using values you enter Run Custom Validation - uses custom validation script provided by creator
 * Validation Tab for Form Field Properties**

[|Tips for Form Completion]