Creating a PDF Form

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Acrobat can be used to create forms that can capture information from viewers. The information captured can be saved for input into a database or can be written to an HTML file that can be viewed on the Web or returned via email, using the Form Definition File (FDF) format.

To do the following a user must have the full version of Adobe Acrobat 5 or 6 installed on their machine not just the Adobe Reader.

The free Adobe Reader program (formerly Acrobat Reader) allows people to open, read and print your PDF (Portable Document Format) files but
NOT EDIT them.

Using Guides
  1. Create a form in Word similar to the one below.

  1. Create a PDF from the word document.

To achieve a professional result it is essential that the form elements are aligned and spaced correctly. This can be assisted by using guides.

  1. If the file has not automatically opened in Adobe Acrobat, find the pdf file and open it (not in the Reader).
  2. Select View4 Rulers from the menu bar.

The horizontal and vertical rulers will appear in the Acrobat window.

The rulers initially default to Inches as the standard unit of measurement. Right–click on one of the rulers and select Centimetres from the shortcut menu, if required.

  1. Click inside the left ruler and drag a guide onto the document. Release the mouse key when the guide is 6.5 centimetres from the left of the page.
  2. Drag guides from the horizontal ruler and align them with the text baseline for the following lines:

Name, Member Number, Name (delivery), Street Address, Suburb/Town, State.

Adding Form Elements
  1. From the Tools menu select Advanced Editing4 Forms4 Show Forms Toolbar from the menu bar.

The Forms toolbar is displayed.
    1. Click the Text Field tool on the Forms toolbar and move the cursor onto the document.

    The cursor changes to a plus sign.
    1. Draw a text box alongside the Name entry in the Membership Information section of the page.

    The following screen is displayed when the mouse button is released:
    1. Set the Border Color to Black and the Line Thickness to Thin.
    2. Click the General Tab.
    3. Set the name of the text box to txtMember and the Tool Tip to Enter member’s name.
    4. Tick the option.

    It is a good practice to name fields as they are added to the document. The format used above includes a three character prefix to indicate the type of form element, followed by a description of its contents.
    1. Repeat the process to add the following text boxes to the page, using the guides to assist in positioning the fields.
    Field Field Name Tooltip Required
    Member Number txtNumber Enter your membership number. Yes
    Name txtDeliverTo To whom will the items be delivered? Yes
    Street Address txtAddress Enter the Street Address Yes
    Suburb/Town txtTown Enter the name of the suburb or town Yes
    Postcode txtPostcode Enter the postcode Yes
    1. Save the document.

    Adding a Combo Box

    Combo boxes are useful when there are a limited number of options that can be entered in a field, and it is important that specific values are selected.

    A combo box will be used to display the values for the State field.

    1. Click the Combo box tool on the Forms toolbar.
    2. Draw a box beside the State entry.

    The Combo Box Properties dialog box is displayed when the mouse is released:
    1. Set the Name for the form element and enter a Tooltip into the General tab.

    1. Set the Appearance options to match the text boxes created previously.
    2. Click the Options tab.

    The Options view is used to create the list of items that will appear in the combo box.

    1. Enter the name of a state or territory in the Item field.
    2. Enter an abbreviation for the state or territory in the Export Value field. This is the data that will be stored in the file, or transferred to a database.
    3. Click the Add button.
    4. Repeat the process for the other states and territories.

    The order of the list box can be changed by using the Up and Down buttons or by checking the Sort Items box.

    1. Highlight the entry for Tasmania so that it is the default entry when the form is opened.
    2. Click Close.

    Adding a Submit Button

    When the Submit button is pressed, the information that has been entered into the form is saved and optionally forwarded via email to a nominated person.

    There are several options as to how the information should be handled.

    1. Select the Button tool from the Forms toolbar and draw a box in the position where the Submit button will appear.
    2. When the Field Properties dialog box appears set the following parameters:
    Parameter Value
    Name btnSubmit
    Tooltip Click to submit the form information
    Border Colour Black
    Line Thickness Thin
    Font Size 10
    Label Submit
    1. Click the Actions tab in the Button Properties window.
    2. Set the Select Trigger option to Mouse Up.
    3. Set the Select Action option to Submit a Form.
    4. Click the Add button.

    The URL Field is used to record the email address, web address or file location that will be used to forward or store the completed information.

    Export Format options are:

    • FDF: The data and field names are stored in a Forms Definition File for transmission or retrieval. The file can be stored separately and can be viewed in a copy of the original PDF file.
    • HTML: The data is saved as a Web page. It can be viewed in a web browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape.
    • XFDF: The data is saved as an XML file and can be accessed directly in a Web browser, or through an appropriate schema.
    • PDF: The complete document is saved. This results in larger files, but can be readily viewed in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
    1. Enter an email address into the URL field.
    2. Set the Export Format to PDF.
    3. Click OK
    4. Save the document.
    5. Click the Hand tool , then test the completed form.
    6. Experiment with alternative Export Formats and notice the results.
     

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