Introduction to PDF Form Creation

To begin, open the PDF you want to make into a form (or, if you're starting from scratch, open a blank PDF) and go to Form > Editor (or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+F). This will open the Forms tab and put you in Edit Forms Mode. Once in this mode, you can add any of the following form elements to your PDF:

• Text Box - Used to store text, dates, numeric values, email addresses, etc. The data in a Text Box is represented as a string or number. Additional JavaScript processing may be done to convert the text values to Date or Boolean values.
• Radio Button - Used to select one of several mutually exclusive options. By default, Radio Buttons are in a state in which nothing from the group is selected; however, once one of the options is selected, the Radio Buttons go into a state in which at least one of the options is always selected.
• Check Box - Used to select or unselect one option. Multiple Check Boxes can be placed near each other to indicate a set of options which are not mutually exclusive to each other.
• List Box - Used to select one or more items from a list. Once the items are selected, additional processing on the items can be done using JavaScript.
• Dropdown - Used to select from one of many items. This option can also allow the user filling out the form to specify a new option not in the list.
• Button - Used to initiate a calculation, sequence of events, validation of fields, generation of data and so on.
• Digital Signature – Used to securely sign the document electronically. See the Digital Signatures tutorial for more information.

When in Edit Forms Mode, right-click an existing form field and select Properties to open its Form Field Properties tab. This is where all the properties may be set for a field. Form Field Properties are divided into several panels, including:

General

The General panel displays generic properties that all form fields have.

Name: Identifies the field. Names do not have to be unique, and they are commonly used to access the field object in JavaScript. To link multiple fields, give them the same name. Data entered into one field will be automatically entered in all linked fields.

Tooltip: Text that will display when the mouse hovers over the field.

Field: Specifies the print and document visibility. For example, Visible means the form field will be both visible in the PDF and visible when printed.

Orientation: Sets the angle at which the contents of the field will be rendered. There are four options: 0 degrees, 90 degrees, 180 degrees or 270 degrees.

There is also the option to make the field Read-Only, which disables further user input, Required, which forces the user to enter in data before submitting, and Lock, which disables the user from changing any of the field properties.

Appearance

The Appearance panel contains the style information for a field. All fields, except the Digital Signature field, have an Appearance panel. Here you can adjust Color (border color), Fill Color (background color), Line Width (border width), Style (border style), Font, Text Color, Font Size and Font Style.

Layout

The Layout panel contains the position and size properties of a field, allowing for precise control over layouts.

Options

All fields, except for the Digital Signature field, have an Options panel. Each type of field has its own set of options. Options include setting the Alignment, Default Value, Multi-Line, Scroll Long Text and so on.