Day+2+-+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]

**Distributing Forms**
Once you have created your forms, you have several options for distributing your form:
 * Host your form on Acrobat.com and send a secure link to your form that only your recipients can access
 * Send the form as an email attachment using Acrobat or your email application. You can manually collect responses in your email inbox.
 * Send the form using a network folder or a Windows server running Microsoft SharePoint Services. You can automatically collect responses on the internal server.

[|Distributing Forms Using Acrobat.com]

To Distribute Forms: 1. Choose Forms. 2. Choose Distribute Form. 3. Follow the on-screen instructions as needed and save the form. 4. If you are planning to use your own server location. specify your network folder or a Windows server running SharePoint. 5. In the Distribute Form Wizard, select an option for distributing the form. 6. Click Next and follow the on-screen instructions for distributing the form. Note * - If you don't know the email addresses of your recipients, enter your own email address. The system sends you a link to the form, which you can email to recipients as desired.

[|Choosing a Distribution Option]

Acrobat will automatically create a submit button in the message bar of a distributed form which allows users to submit the form electronically to you. However, if you don't plan to use that button, you can create your own and with specific options for your district. To create your own Submit Button: 1. Using the button tool, create a button and set the properties you wish for it. 2. In the Options tab, choose an option in the Layout menu for the button label, icon image, or both. You can either type a label for the button or choose an icon for the button (i.e. print, save, etc.) 3. In the actions tab, choose Submit a Form on the Select Action menu, then click Add. 4. In the Enter a URL for this Link Box, either type the server location for data collection, or if you want to collect form data as attachments to email, type mailto: followed by the email address 5. Select options for Export Format, Field Selection, and Date Options. 6. Click OK.
 * Adding a Submit Button**

FDF - returns input without the underlying PDF file HTML - returns the form in html language XFDF - returns the user input as an XML file PDF - returns the entire PDF with user input Field Selection - specifies what fields are returned Date Options - standardizes the format for dates that the user enters
 * Submit Form Selections Options**

http://tv.adobe.com/#vi+f1495v1626 http://www.acrobatusers.com/tutorials/submitting-forms-pdf-packages []


 * PDF Forms on the Web**

PDF forms can be useful for submitting and collecting information over the web. This is done by providing several button actions that perform functions similar to some HTML scripting macros. You must have a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) application on the web server to collect and route the data to a database. Any existing CGI application that collects data from forms (in HTML, FDF, or XML format) can be used. Before you make your forms web-ready, make sure that your form-field names match those set in the CGI application.

[|**Adding Submit Functionality**] [|Adding an Import Data Button]**
 * [|Adding a Reset Form Button]

Collecting Form Data
When you distribute a form Acrobat will create a PDF portfolio for collecting the data submitted by the users. Unless otherwise specified, this file is saved in the same folder as the original form and is named filename_responses. You can use this file to compile returned forms.

1. In Acrobat, choose Forms, then Compile Returned Forms. 2. In the Compile Data dialog box, do one of the following to select a PDF response file - either browse and locate the response file or type the path to the response file. 3. Click Add File and navigate to the returned form. 4. Repeat the previous step as many times as necessary to add more returned forms.
 * Collect User Data**

1. In Acrobat, open the response file. 2. In the Left Navigation panel, click Add. 3. In the Add Returned Forms dialog box, click Add File. 4. Locate and select the returned forms, click Open. 5. Repeat the previous step to add any returned forms in other folders.
 * Add User Data to An Existing Response File**
 * All files are added as components of the PDF portfolio.

1. In Acrobat, open the response file and select the data to export. 2. In the left navigation panel, click Export. 3. Specify a name, location, and file format (CSV or XML) and Save.
 * Export User Data from A Response File**
 * Use this process to save all the entries in a PDF Portfolio response file to a spreadsheet or XML file.

You can move responses on a PDF form to and from other file formats. See Page 217 of the User Guide for instructions.
 * Manage Form Data Files**


 * Using Forms Tracker to Collect Responses

[|Adobe Forms Tracker]**