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Help
: Creating Forms with PDFpenPro
More info on the difference between PDFpen and PDFpenPro
How to upgrade to PDFpenPro from PDFpen.
Create an interactive fill-in PDF form with the ability to submit the data via web or email. One
form per PDF document is supported.
Adding a Text Field, Checkbox, Radio Button, Choice Field, List Field, or
Submit Button
Hold down the Text Field button
in the toolbar to reveal all six form element tools.
Choose the form element you want to add.
Click in the PDF to add the element. Drag the corner handles of the selected element to
create the size and shape you want. For assistance in positioning your elements, go to
Inspector > Alignment. (See Inspector
)
Choose Inspector > Form Element Properties to set the properties of each form element.
Form Elements
Text Field The area of the form allowing unique data entry. When adding a text field, you
can click and drag to get the field size you want.
Checkbox Used for a one or more options, any or all of which can be selected. When
adding checkboxes , PDFpenPro automatically adds a text label next to the element that
can be selected separately and resized or reformatted.
Radio Button Used for a group of options where only one can be selected. When adding
radio buttons, PDFpenPro automatically adds a text label next to the element that can be
selected separately and resized or reformatted.
Choice Field Used to create a drop down menu of selectable options. Add and remove
options via Form Elements Properties (below).
List Field Used to create a group of selectable options. Add and remove options
via the Form Element Properties (see below).
Submit Button Used to add a button to your form to submit form data via email or web.
For more on submitting forms, see PDF Applications and Submitting Forms
. For more on collecting
submitted form data, see Backend Processing of PDF Forms
.
Testing Your Form and Editing Appearance
You will need to switch to the Select Text Tool
in order to try out your form. Switch back
to the Edit Tool (Arrow)
in order to edit the appearance of elements you've placed in your
form.
Form Element Properties
PDFpenPro lets you edit several properties of the form elements in the Form Element Properties
panel. The contents of the window varies depending on which form element is selected.
To view, choose Window > Form Element Properties, or click on the Form tab
in the panel
if it is already open.
Name
Every form element has a name to differentiate it from the others.
Generally you use a different name for each field. A group of radio buttons, however,
should each have the same name but a different Checked Value. This allows them to work
together (i.e. only one button in a group can be selected) and each yield a different result.
Default value (Text Field)
This sets the default value for a text field. You must choose Edit > Reset Form after
entering the default value and before saving the form for the default to be displayed when
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