Interactive Pdf Forms

Creating a dynamic PDF document is a good way to create an interactive slideshow. You can create interactive documents with buttons, movies and sound clips, hyperlinks, bookmarks, and page transitions. You can also set up documents in InDesign that can be converted to forms in Acrobat.

Learn how to create a fillable PDF form with Adobe Acrobat DC. Sign up with free trial and start converting scanned paper forms or digital forms to fillable PDF documents. #3: PDF Studio (Mac, Windows & Linux) PDF Studio is a multi-platform PDF Form Creator that can be used on Windows, Mac and Linux computers. It comes with an easy-to-use application that allows you to create fillable forms with a lot of ease. In fact, PhantomPDF 6 gives you the ability to quickly and easily turn a non-interactive PDF form into an interactive form that virtually anyone can Download, fill out, print, or return to you by email. (Note: for more on interactive vs. Non-interactive PDF forms, please see Filling Out Non-Interactive PDF Forms.) Why Create Interactive PDF Forms?

You can export Adobe PDF documents thatinclude the following interactive features.

Bookmarks you create in the InDesign document appear in the Bookmarkstab on the left side of the Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader window. Eachbookmark jumps to a page, text, or graphic in the exported PDF file.See Bookmarks.

You can add movies and sound clips to a document, or youcan link to streaming video files on the Internet. These moviesand sound clips can be played back in the exported PDF file. See Moviesand sounds.

In an exported PDF document, clicking a hyperlink jumps to anotherlocation in the same document, to a different document, or to awebsite. See Hyperlinks.

A cross-reference refers readers from one part of your documentto another in the exported PDF file. Cross-references are especially usefulin user guides and reference manuals. When a document with cross-referencesis exported to PDF, the cross-references act as interactive hyperlinks.See Cross-references.

Page transitions apply a decorative effect, such as a dissolveor wipe, when you turn the page in the exported PDF while in FullScreen Mode. See Pagetransitions.

Select Use InDesign Document Name As The Output Filename, if you want the exported PDF to have the same name as the name of the document from the next export.

For Save As Type (Windows) or Format (Mac OS), choose Adobe PDF (Interactive), and then click Save.

Specify options in the Export To Interactive PDF dialog box, and then click OK.

The following options appear in the Export To Interactive PDF dialog.

Indicate whether all pages in the document, or a page rangeis included. If you select Range, specify a page range, such as 1-7,9 to print pages 1 through 7 and 9. See Specifyingpages to print.

Indicate whether you want to export the document as pages or spreads.

Select this option to create separate PDFs for each page or spread.

Initial view settings of the PDF when it’s opened.

How To Create Interactive Pdf Forms

Initial layout of the PDF when it’s opened.

Select Opens In Full Screen Mode to display the PDF in Adobe Acrobator Adobe Reader without menus or panels displayed. To advance the pagesautomatically, select Flip Pages Every and specify the number ofseconds between page turns.

Opens the newly created PDF file in the default PDF viewing application.

Specify one page transition to apply to all pages during export.If you use the Page Transitions panel to specify transitions, choosethe From Document option to use those settings.

Select Include All to allow movies, sounds, and buttons to be interactive in the exported PDF file. Select Appearance Only to include the normal state of buttons and the video posters as static elements.

Embeds a thumbnail preview for each page in the PDF, increasing the file size. Deselect this setting when users of Acrobat 5.0 and later view and print the PDF; these versions generate thumbnails dynamically each time you click the Pages panel of a PDF.

Saves each InDesign layer as anAcrobat layer within the PDF. The layers are fully navigable, whichallows users of Acrobat 6.0 and later to generate multipleversions of the file from a single PDF.

During export, automatically tags elements in the story basedon a subset of the Acrobat tags that InDesign supports.This includes recognition of paragraphs, basic text formatting,lists, and tables. (You can also insert and adjust tags in the documentbefore exporting to PDF. See Adding structureto PDFs.)

During export, uses the Tab Order specified using Object> Interactive > Set Tab Order. This option is only availablefor tagged PDFs.

Choose JPEG (Lossy) to remove image data and possibly reduce imagequality. However, file size is reduced with a minimal loss of information. ChooseJPEG 2000 (Lossless) to export the file without lossy compression. ChooseAutomatic to let InDesign determine the best quality for color and grayscaleimages.

Specifies the amount of detail in the exported image. Thehigher the quality, the larger the file size. This option is dimmedif you choose JPEG 2000 (Lossless) for Compression.

Specify the resolution of bitmap images in the exported PDF. Choosinga high resolution is especially important to allow viewers to zoomin on pixel-based content within your exported PDF. Choosing a highresolution can significantly increase the file size.

Choose what to display in the title bar of Acrobat when it opens your PDF. Available options are Document Title and File Name.

Choose the document language for the PDF. This determines the default language for the exported PDF. If the required language is not in the list, you can also type the standard language ISO code.

Select this option to require users to type the password you specify to open the document.

Specify the password that users must type to open the PDF file.

Use A Password To Restrict Printing, Editing, And Other Tasks

Restricts access to the PDF file’s security settings. If the file is opened in Adobe Acrobat, the user can view the file but must enter the specified Permissions password to change the file’s Security and Permissions settings. If the file is opened in Illustrator, Photoshop, or InDesign, the user must enter the Permissions password, since it is not possible to open the file in a view-only mode.

Specify a password that is required to change the permissions settings. This option is available only if the previous option is selected.

Specifies the level of printing that users are allowed for the PDF document.

Prevents users from printing the document.

Lets users print at no higher than 150‑dpi resolution. Printing may be slower because each page is printed as a bitmap image.

Lets users print at any resolution, directing high-quality vector output to PostScript and other printers that support advanced high-quality printing features.

Defines which editing actions are allowed in the PDF document.

Prevents users from making any changes to the document that are listed in the Changes Allowed menu, such as filling in form fields and adding comments.

Lets users insert, delete, and rotate pages, and create bookmarks and thumbnails.

Lets users fill in forms and add digital signatures. This option doesn’t allow them to add comments or create form fields.

Lets users add comments and digital signatures, and fill in forms. This option doesn’t allow users to move page objects or create form fields.

Lets users edit the document, create and fill in form fields, and add comments and digital signatures.

Lets users select and copy the contents of a PDF.

Enable Text Access For Screen Reader Devices For The Visually Impaired

Lets visually impaired users read the document with screen readers, but doesn’t allow users to copy or extract the document’s contents.

Allows users to copy and extract content from the PDF. Selecting this option allows storage/search systems and search engines to access metadata stored in the document.

Although InDesign does not provide tools for addingform fields, Adobe Acrobat does. You can create a form in InDesignthat includes placeholders for fields such as radio buttons, checkboxes, and text fields. Then you can export to PDF, and use Acrobatto convert the placeholders into form fields.

In InDesign,create the document you want to use for the form. Use tables and textboxes to create the placeholders for the fields.

You can alsoadd interactive buttons in InDesign.

Start the form wizard to convert the placeholders into formfields. Use the form tools to add and edit the form. For more information,see the Adobe Acrobat documentation.

In Acrobat X,choose Tools > Forms > Create to start the form wizard.
In Adobe Acrobat 9, choose Forms > Start Form Wizard.

The Acrobat team provides an article on Designing forms for auto field detection in Adobe Acrobat.

Michael Murphy provides a video tutorial about creating forms at Acrobat Friendly Form Design.

Bob Bringhurst provides an article about designing forms at Creating PDF Forms in InDesign.

Use the Preview panel preview interactivity and animationof the current selection, the current spread, or the entire document.You can resize, dock, or float the Preview panel, or move it toa second monitor.

To preview the interactivity and animation, do any of thefollowing actions:

Click the Set Preview SelectionMode button topreview the current selection.
Click the Set Preview Spread Mode button topreview the current spread.
Click the Set Preview Document Mode button topreview the current document.

Click the Play Preview button topreview the selection, spread, or document. If necessary, clickinteractive items such as buttons in the Preview panel to test them.

Ifyou’re previewing the document, you can click the Go To PreviousPage and Go To Next Page arrows at the bottom of the panel to moveto different pages.

Note:

If you edit your document, you can refresh thepreview by clicking the Play Preview button in the Preview panel.

Choose Test In Browser fromthe Preview panel menu.

Click the interactive items in your document to test them.

Design Interactive Pdf Forms

Choose Edit Preview Settings from the Previewpanel menu.

The Preview Settings dialog box shows the currentsettings of the Export SWF dialog box.

Edit the settings as needed. See SWFexport options.

Presentation Mode displays the active InDesign documentas a presentation. In Presentation Mode, the application menu, panels,guides, and frame edges are hidden. The background area has a darkcolor by default in case your document size is a different proportionfrom your current monitor dimensions.

Presentation Mode is a helpful companion feature to the AdobeConnect feature. You can start a web meeting by using the File >Share My Screen command. Once the screen sharing has started, youcan put your InDesign document into Presentation Mode.

Action	What it does
Mouse click, Right arrow, or Page Down	Next Spread
Shift-click, Right-click, Left Arrow, orPage Up	Previous Spread
Esc	Exit Presentation Mode
Home	First Spread
End	Last Spread
B	Change background color to black
W	Change background color to white
G	Change background color to gray

Note:

You cannot edit the document in PresentationMode. However with a dual screen monitor, you can have two windowsopen on the same document and put one of them into PresentationMode. This approach lets you edit the document in the window setto Normal view and immediately see the results in the window setto Presentation Mode.

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Have you ever had someone send you a PDF form that you had to print, fill out, and scan before returning it to the sender? Much of this hassle could have been avoided if the sender had created an interactive PDF form rather than a simple PDF document. Thankfully, there are lots of tools available for generating various types of fill-able PDF forms.

Note: This article is also available as an image gallery and a video hosted by TechRepublic columnist Tom Merritt.

1: Wondershare PDFelement

Wondershare PDFelement (Figure A) lets you create, convert, or combine PDF documents. The program has a clean look and could almost pass for a Microsoft Office product. Since this program is first and foremost a PDF editor, it should come as no surprise that it includes features such as Extract, Search and Replace, Rotate, and Watermark. However, the application also has a tab dedicated to forms, which lets you add interactive elements such as buttons, text boxes, and check boxes.

Figure A

Wondershare PDFelement sells for $69.95, but a free trial version is available for download.

2: DeskPDF Studio X

DeskPDF Studio X (Figure B) is a nice PDF editor that allows you to create a PDF from almost any file or image. Of course you can also create a blank PDF. One of the best things about this editor is that it doesn't limit you to creating PDFs. After you create a PDF (or if you have an existing PDF), you can convert it to various Microsoft Office, image, or Web formats. DeskPDF Studio X has an entire tab dedicated to the creation of online forms and allows you to insert standard items, such as text boxes, combo boxes, and list boxes. The Forms tab also features Javascript support, which allows for a degree of document automation.

Figure B

DeskPDF Studio X sells for $79.95, but a free trial version is available for download.

3: PDF Forms

PDF Forms (Figure C) is a nice application, but it definitely isn't for everyone. The thing that makes PDF Forms unique is that it is command-line based. If you imagine trying to generate a new form from the command line, you can begin to understand why this tool can be challenging to use. Even so, PDF Forms gives you fine-grained control over fonts, text position, and even document metadata. This isn't a tool for those who want to create forms quickly, but if you need to be able to script the form creation process it might be right for you.

Figure C

PDF Forms sells for $99.95, but a free trial version is available for download.

4: Amyuni PDF Suite Professional

Amyuni PDF Suite Professional (Figure D) is a relatively simple tool for building PDF documents. It has all the features that you would expect, like the ability to add text, images, objects, and interactive items, such as text fields, radio buttons, and check boxes. One of the really nice things about this application is that it doesn't require you to build a document from scratch. You can start out by importing an existing PDF file and use it as a starting point for the document you want to create.

Figure D

Amyuni PDF Suite Professional sells for $128.70, but a free trial version is available for download.

5: FormDocs

FormDocs (Figure E) is a PDF tool that has its own built-in form designer. The program doesn't seem to offer as many design elements as some of the other tools on this list, but it does have the basics covered and is easy to use. You can build interactive forms using basic drag-and-drop tools or import Microsoft Office documents and use them as the basis for building forms.

Figure E

FormDocs sells for $99.95, but a free trial is available for download.

What's you're favorite PDF form tool?

If you have discovered a particularly useful app for generating interactive PDF forms, share your recommendations with fellow TechRepublic members.

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