Acrobat Resources

TIP #100

Activiating Menu Items

Did you know that you can control a program’s function through a link? It sounds complicated, and you may wonder why you would do something like that. Here’s a good example, and a terrific way to make a good impression on your readers: Provide a link that automatically prints your document. This tip shows you how to use a button; you can do the same thing using some text or an image and a link.

1. Draw the button on the page using the Button tool on the Advanced Editing toolbar’s Forms subtoolbar. The Button Properties dialog opens.

2. Configure the button’s appearance in the Appearance tab, and add a text label in the Options tab.

3. Click the Actions tab. From the Select Action pull-down list, choose Execute a menu item (Figure 100a). Click Add to open the Menu Item Selection dialog.

Figure 100a: Choose Execute a menu item to add actions that use program commands.

4. Choose File > Print. The dialog displays the command (Figure 100b). Click OK to close the dialog and return to the Actions tab of the Link Properties dialog. 

Figure 100b: Select a command from the menu items.

5. The action now appears in the Actions window. Click Close to dismiss the Button Properties dialog and complete the button.

6. Click the Hand tool on the Basic toolbar and click the button to test it.

7. The Print dialog opens, which is the action you wanted. Close the dialog or click Print to print a copy of the document.

This tip was excerpted from:
Adobe Acrobat 7 Tips and Tricks: The 150 Best by Donna Baker.
Copyright © 2005 Donna Baker.
Used with permission of Pearson Education, Inc. and Adobe Press.

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