FormRouter offers a free form tool set that can add form field and supports adding items to combo/list boxes using Acrobat by cutting and pasting into the field on the popup window for the values.
FormRouter Free tool for Acrobat
You should be able to create and format the list in any simple text editor.
Wow, only if I posted on here two days! You're the best!!!
I have a 50 page form that contains a multitude of fields. One of the dropdown fields is repeated throughout the form. The values in the dropdown options item list need to be identical across all the dropdown form fields. These fields aren't copies. I need to have them individually selectable with affecting other fields.
The problem is, I often have to update the values in these fields...and there are dozens of them.
Is there a way to store the list centrally in the document, and have all of the dropdown lists access it from that central location?
I have a large document, I need some pages printed in letter size and some printed in 11x17. The 11x17 pages are only printing the centre portion of the pages, irregardless of how I try and set it up. Extremely frustrating.
It's possible to do all of it, but you need to carefully think about how it's going to work. Do you expect that you'll need to update the list regularly? If not then there's no reason to embed it in the file in a single location because that complicates things. In that case you're better off using a script to populate all the fields one time, and if need be, run the script again with the new values later on.
You can do this fairly easily with a script. For example:
var aList = ["Alaska", "Washington", "Oregon", "Idaho", "Montana"];
getField("dropdown1").setItems(aList);
getField("dropdown2").setItems(aList);
// Add any other dropdowns here
You could store this code in a document-level JavaScript function and update it and then call it whenever you need to update the dropdowns. If you need to include export values for the items, you'll have to change the aList array to an array of arrays, something like:
var aList = [["Alaska", "AK"], ["Washington", "WA"], ["Oregon", "OR"], ["Idaho", "ID"], ["Montana", "MT"]];
try67...I think I'm going to go with the second idea. A document level JavaScript.
@George_Johnson That should work fabulously. How would I 'call' it after updating the document JavaScript with new dropdown values?
The script provided by George is a good start, although you can improve it by also placing the field names in an array and then iterating over it, instead of writing a full line of code for each field.
However, you need to keep in mind that when you set the the items of a drop-down it resets it back to the default value (the first value in the array), so if a user makes a selection, saves the file and then re-opens it the value they selected before will be gone, unless you use your script to re-apply it...
A simple way is to use the JavaScript console (Ctrl+J). If you were to name the function update_dropdowns, you could call it like this:
update_dropdowns();
Enter and select that that line of code in the console and press Ctrl+Enter, or Enter on the numeric keypad. So the function in the document-level script would look like this:
function update_dropdowns() {
var aList = ["Alaska", "Washington", "Oregon", "Idaho", "Montana"];
getField("dropdown1").setItems(aList);
getField("dropdown2").setItems(aList);
// Add any other dropdowns here
}
I need to create an automatic date and time field that generates when the form is being submitted. I'm using adobe acrobat pro.
Any ideas?
George...I made a trial PDF with 2 empty dropdown fields named dropdown1 and dropdown2. I then copied/pasted the above JavaScript into my document JavaScript, naming it UpdateDropdowns. I then saved the PDF, opened the JavaScript console, pasted update_dropdowns(); and hit return...no magic. What did I do wrong?
OK...I apparently am poor at following directions. I reread the part about ctrl-enter...magic!
Does anyone here know how to make expandable field in a PDF form?
I want the field, originally appear to be a 1-liner, to expands when you put in more text and everything that is underneath the expandable field shifts or moves down.
pls help.
Thanks!
You can't do that with a form created in Acrobat. Dynamic XFA forms created in LiveCycle Designer can behave that way.
thanks George.
can i download that? does that come with your adobe subscription?
i just realized that its only for windows.
So, does that mean that i can't do expandable fields using a MAC?
No, LiveCycle Designer is not included in Creative Cloud and is available only for Windows. It was included with the Windows version of Acrobat Pro before Acrobat 11 but is now a separate program and about $300.
I'm trying to save a book cover that I made in Word to PDF. When I open the PDF, only a portion of the back cover is there, and the front cover is completely missing.
Hi Ronald,
Is Acrobat DC installed?
This might be due to corrupted fonts.
Please try the steps mentioned here: https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/reduce-number-active-fonts-windows.html?hc_loca tion=ufi
Regards,
Rave