Creating and Editing Forms in Revu

Bluebeam Revu eXtreme® enables the editing and creation of interactive, form-based PDFs. JavaScript actions may be included for field validation and other functionality to make smart documents. This document will cover the various functions and features introduced in Bluebeam Revu eXtreme® related to the creation and use of AcroForms and static XFA forms. Bluebeam Revu eXtreme® also supports several ways to extract the data from forms and port that data to other applications for further processing.

Revu supports AcroForm and static XFA Forms. Dynamic XFA FormsA static form’s appearance and layout is fixed; only the field content, which is entered by the user, changes. Dynamic forms can change in appearance and layout in response to data entered in the field content. are not supported at this time.

ClosedForm Command Bar Group

The Form group on the Command bar contains commands and menus pertaining to creating and editing forms in Revu. It is accessed by clicking Form on the Menu bar.

Closed Auto Create

Auto Create: Automatically scans the content layer of the active PDF for elements that conform to supported form field types and converts them to form fields. See Creating Forms Automatically for more information.

Closed Editor

Editor (CTRL+SHIFT+F): Engages the Edit Forms mode, allowing the user to edit existing PDF forms.

Closed Insert Menu

The Insert menu contains all the form fields that can be added to a PDF when creating or editing forms. See Form Fields for more information about each of the available form fields.

Closed Data Menu

The Data menu contains commands for importing, exporting, or merging form data. See Working with Data for more information about these commands.

Closed Highlight

Highlight (CTRL+F7): Highlights form fields present on the active PDF. Highlight is automatically engaged when Edit Forms mode is active.

Closed Reset

Reset: Clears information from all form fields.

Closed JavaScript

JavaScript (CTRL+SHIFT+J): Invokes the Global JavaScript dialog box in which JavaScripts stored at the document level can be viewed as well as added, deleted, and edited. See JavaScript Support for more information about using JavaScript on forms in Revu.

ClosedForms Tab

The Forms tab provides a list of form fields on the active PDF as well as controls to place form fields on the PDF. The order of the fields in the Forms tab corresponds to the order through which they can be tabbed by a user. There are a few ways to manipulate this order:

ClosedSorting Form Fields Automatically

Form fields can be automatically sorted by their position on the PDF (row or column). While either of these options is in effect, the order of form fields cannot be changed manually. To sort form fields by row or column:

  1. Go to View > Tabs > Forms or press ALT+Q to open the Forms tab.
  2. From the Properties menu, select one of the following options:
    • Order Tabs by Row: Automatically sorts form fields by row.
    • Order Tabs by Column: Automatically sorts form fields by column.
ClosedSorting Form Fields Manually
  1. Go to View > Tabs > Forms or press ALT+Q to open the Forms tab.
  2. From the Properties menu, select Order Tabs Unspecified.

  3. Click and drag a form field to the desired position in the list.

Tip: To create a custom order that is nearly, but not quite, the same as one of the automatic sort options, apply one of them as described in Sorting Form Fields Automatically and then perform the procedure described in Sorting Form Fields Manually. This will arrange the form fields by row or column (as desired) and then unlock them for customization.