Enhancing Adobe Acrobat Forms with JavaScript: Take Your Forms to the Next Level. 2 Ed

Table of Contents....4

About the Author....14

About the Technical Reviewer....15

Acknowledgments....16

Introduction....17

Part I: Basic Form Improvements....26

Chapter 1: A Fundamental Forms Primer....27

Forms Review....27

Fields Refresher....39

Properties Refresher....48

Text Box Field Properties and Date Field Properties Dialog Boxes....49

Dropdown Properties Dialog Box....50

List Box Properties Dialog Box....52

Check Box Properties Dialog Box....53

Radio Button Properties Dialog Box....54

Button Properties and Image Properties Dialog Box....55

Digital Signature Properties Dialog Box....56

Barcode Properties Dialog Box....57

Tabs Refresher....58

Editing Your Form with the More Menu and Right Pane....68

Setting the Field Tab Order Using the Menu Options....70

Clearing a Form While Working....79

Summary....82

Chapter 2: Introduction to Actions....83

Getting Started....83

Rating Forms Value Averaging and Sum: Working with Text Fields....85

The Validate Tab....88

The Calculate Tab for the Grand Total Using Sum....93

Sum and Averaging Using Check Boxes or Radio Buttons with Text Fields....96

Using Radio Buttons on Page 3 of the Project....98

Using Check Boxes on Page 3 of the Project....104

Turning Check Boxes into Radio Buttons....106

Basic Action Button Triggers for Reset Buttons and Printing Buttons....110

Reset Button....110

Print Form Button....114

Summary....118

Chapter 3: Creating a QR Code Custom Stamp....119

Customizing Your QR Code Stamp....121

QR Code Creation....122

Using the Stamp Tool....128

Final Thoughts: QR Code for Professional Printing....132

Summary....134

Chapter 4: Buttons, Navigation, Form, and Nonform Actions....135

Creating a Button Icon....136

Example of a Button as a Label Only....140

Example of a Button Combination of Icon Only....143

Nonform Properties Actions....145

Pages....145

Bookmarks....148

Web and Custom Hyperlinks....152

Rich Media Nonform Navigation Buttons....159

Layers Basic Actions....161

Other Nonform Actions That Can Affect Sticky Note or Markup Tools Indirectly....164

Triggers for Actions....164

Choose an Action That Requires No Code....166

Newsletter Navigation with Buttons....174

Form Navigation with a Button as a Helpful Hint....178

Adding a Comb of Characters....181

Before Comb and After Comb....182

More Action Triggers to Show and Hide....185

Hide and Clear Fields Button....188

Set Layer Visibility....191

Using Bookmarks....192

Using Buttons....195

Summary....197

Part II: Simplified Field Notation and Basic JavaScript....198

Chapter 5: Introduction to Simplified Field Notation and JavaScript....199

Getting Started....200

Text Field, Date, and Drop-Down List Properties....201

Actions Tab....201

Format Tab....202

Validate Tab....204

Calculate Tab....204

Check Box, Radio Button, Image Field, and Button Properties....205

List Box Properties....206

Digital Signature Properties....208

Barcode Properties....209

Global Document JavaScript....210

Web Links and References....217

Regular Forms vs. E-Signature Forms....217

JavaScript and Acrobat on the Document Level....219

Summary....219

Chapter 6: Basic and Complex Calculations....220

Getting Started....221

Sum Value....223

Simplified Field Notation....225

JavaScript Custom Calculation Script....228

Final Thoughts on Working with the Calculate Tab....232

JavaScript Script Validation for Displaying Zero....235

The Final Line of Code....237

Drop-Down Alternatives....239

Set Field Calculation Order....240

Resetting Your Field of Focus....242

Summary....246

Chapter 7: Format Calculations....247

Number Formatting....250

Formatting with a Percentage....253

A Workaround for the Percentage....255

Reset Fields with JavaScript....261

Date Formatting....262

Date Formatting with JavaScript....264

Time Formatting....271

Time Formatting with JavaScript, a Custom Example....276

Comb of Characters for Dates....280

Special Formatting....281

Final Thoughts....282

Drop-Down Alternatives....283

More Information on Adding Decimal Places and Leading Zeros....283

Summary....284

Chapter 8: Various JavaScript Alerts, Notes, and Time Stamps....286

Alert Types....288

Create a Document JavaScript....289

Viewer Version and Validation Alert....293

Document Actions....296

Document Will Close....297

Document Will Print....298

Alerts Working with Buttons....299

Adding a Comment Note, Signature, and Time Stamp....302

Signature Field and Time Stamp....308

Summary....313

Chapter 9: Create Help for Clients with Rollover Text and Alerts....314

The Rollover Method....315

Mouse Enter....320

Mouse Exit....321

Longer Array Example (Optional)....321

Extra Noncustom JavaScript Check Box Example....322

How to Show and Hide Fields with JavaScript....323

The Default Text Method....326

The Alert Method....330

Customer’s Full Name....331

Date....335

Customer Order Code....339

Customer’s Company Name....341

How to Duplicate Text for Multiple Fields and Make Fields Read-Only....343

Set Fields to Read-Only with JavaScript....347

Final Thoughts....348

Summary....349

Chapter 10: Various Types of Formatting with JavaScript....350

Adding Global Formatting to Text Fields....351

Color Properties....357

Array and Variable Examples of Formatting Properties....358

Multiline Buttons....362

Multiline Text....365

Complex Formatting Using Check Boxes and a Text Field....370

Rich Text Formatting for Text Fields and Comments....378

Comment Example....382

Final Thoughts on Formatting with Text....384

Silent Printing....386

Options for Submit Button Using Email....389

Summary....394

Part III: Working with More Complex Forms....395

Chapter 11: Validation with Text Boxes, Alerts, and Radio Buttons....396

Money Transfer Example....397

Alternate Way to Work with Radio Buttons Without Alerts....406

Changing the Shipping Price Using Radio Buttons....410

Additional Radio Button Example with JavaScript and Text Fields and How to Change Data for Time....420

Setting Up the Text Fields....424

Check Box Variation with Date Text Fields....426

Notes on Changing Formatting Options for Radio Button, Check Box, and Button Style....427

Formatting for Buttons and How the Following Properties Can Be Affected....429

Formatting for Radio Buttons and Check Boxes....430

Text Field Validation with Regular Expressions....432

Telephone Validation....434

Name Validation....438

Account Number Validation....441

Email and URL Validation....442

Another Phone and Date Example with Two Variables....443

Final Thoughts on Formatting Fields....446

Summary....449

Chapter 12: Working with Dropdown Lists....450

Current Skills Request Form....451

Parts Order Form....460

Drop-Down Lists with Select Dates and Discounts....482

Final Thoughts....487

Load a Lengthy Single Drop-Down or List Menu....487

Tips on Changing Custom Formatting for Drop-Down Lists with JavaScript....490

Summary....491

Chapter 13: Working with List Boxes....492

List Box Priority List with Control Buttons....493

The Add Button....498

The Delete Button....499

The Clear or Reset Button....500

The Up Button....500

The Down Button....501

Check Box, Drop-Down, and List Box: Example 1....505

Check Box, List Box, and Multi-Drop-Down: Example 2....512

Button Slide Show Variation....522

Extra Example Priority List Improved....523

Final Thoughts....532

Hidden Fields....532

Using List Boxes for a Number Rating....534

Notes on Changing Custom Formatting for List Boxes....534

Summary....535

Chapter 14: Advanced Navigation: The Pop-Up Menu....536

The Pop-Up Menu Example....537

Add a Pop-Up Menu Using a Bookmark....544

Final Thoughts....549

Summary....550

Part IV: Beyond the Basics....551

Chapter 15: Action Wizard and JavaScript....552

Working with the Action Wizard....553

Reuse JavaScript from Chapter 8....564

Is It a Custom Action or a Custom Command?....565

Create and Manage Custom Commands....566

Summary....567

Chapter 16: Multistate Check Boxes....568

The Problem of Multistate Check Boxes....568

Bonus Star Rating Idea....578

Select All or Deselect All Check Boxes at Once....580

Summary....584

Chapter 17: Importing an Image into a Button....585

Creating the Button....586

Summary....591

Chapter 18: Multiple Formatting....592

The Problem of Multiple Formatting....592

Option 1: Do It Yourself....596

Price Script....598

No Price Script....599

Adding a Degree Symbol and Formatting Range....606

Option 2: Contact a Professional....611

Summary....613

Chapter 19: Digital Signatures and Barcodes....614

Digital Signatures and Security....615

Working with Digital Signatures and Other Adobe Security Tools....624

Signature Field Formatting....632

Create a Security Puzzle....633

Barcodes....638

Summary....641

Chapter 20: What Are E-Signature Forms and Web Forms?....642

A Brief Look at Request E-Signatures and Resources....644

What Are Web Forms?....662

Summary....698

Part V: Putting It into Practice....699

Chapter 21: Homework Assignments....700

Homework Assignment 1: Show and Hide....700

Homework Assignment 2: Working with JavaScript to Create Formulas....719

Area of a Circle A = π r 2....721

Field: CircumferenceRow1 Circumference of a Circle C = 2 π r....722

Field: VolumeRow1 Volume of a Sphere V = 4/3 π r3....722

Field: FahrenheitRow1 Celsius to Fahrenheit to Formula. (°C x 9/5) + 32 = °F.....722

Field: CelsiusRow1_2 Fahrenheit to Celsius Formula. (°F - 32) x 5/9 = °C....723

Homework Assignment 3: Custom Validation and Regular Expressions....726

Homework Assignment 4: Personal Drop-Down List Menu and Definitions Text Box....737

Summary....746

Index....747

Take your PDF forms to the next level! In this book, you’ll learn various ways to further improve your PDF forms using simple JavaScript coding. You’ll also discover how a few lines of code can speed up your workflow when working with multiple PDFs in Action Wizard.

Enhancing Adobe Acrobat Forms with JavaScript covers up-to-date, real working examples that you can easily download and practice with and edit to suit your own projects. This book also shows workarounds and solutions to various form issues you might encounter. Feel empowered by it and improve your PDF documents!

JavaScript has been a part of Adobe Acrobat for many versions. However, few people use its features and focus mainly on using basic form properties, never delving deeper into Acrobat’s full capabilities. While information on the web can be helpful, if you don’t know enough about how to use JavaScript in Acrobat you will be left with poor results. JavaScript can be difficult to learn,but it does not need to be scary. This book explains in simple steps for beginner to intermediate level so that you can take full advantage of Acrobat’s capabilities for your own projects.

What You Will Learn

• Learn simplified field notation and basic JavaScript for Acrobat
• Work with buttons that can be used for navigation
• Improve form navigation and printing of forms
• Add various types of alerts and custom validations to improve client-entered-data
• Learn the basics of how to prepare a form for e-signing

Who Is This Book For

This book is for anyone who needs to create forms for clients or websites. Students, lawyers, accountants, and human resources will be able to take their work to the next level by streamlining their workflow and utilizing advanced JavaScript features in Adobe Acrobat.