Fill variable forms on going... and format it

If you are filling fields on the server side using a 3rd party tool, then the JavaScript formatting is never run because there is no engine to run it. When the document is opened in Acrobat all the fields are already stable to there is no reason for Acrobat to run the formatting.

So you have a couple of options. Since this is a report there is no reason the document the client recieves needs to have interactive fields on it. At least not for the fields the server is pre-filling. So why not remove the format scripts, make the fields readOnly, and fill the fields with formatted values.

The other solution is a bit awkward. Write document level script to touch all the fields on the form using the "field.focus()" function. To keep this script from running every time the PDF is opened use a hidden field to hold a state variable. The problem with this solution is that the fields will need to have "readOnly" set to false and the user will have to save the file afterward. So it's much more problematic that just setting up formatted values in the first place.

Thom Parker
The source for PDF Scripting Info
[url=http://www.pdfScripting.com]pdfscripting.com[/url]

The Acrobat JavaScript Reference, Use it Early and Often
[url=http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/javascript.php]http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/javascript.php[/url]

Then most important JavaScript Development tool in Acrobat
[url=http://www.pdfscripting.com/public/34.cfm#JSIntro][b]The Console Window (Video tutorial)[/b][/url]
[url=http://www.acrobatusers.com/tutorials/2006/javascript_console][b]The Console Window(article)[/b][/url]

Thanks for your answer thomp!
If I choose the second way, even its more problematic, I can't leave fields with ReadOnly set to false. Can I format then and after set ReadOnly to true?
Where can I write a document level scripts? Menu "Advanced > JavaScript > Set Document Actions"? Which Action?
Thanks again

Yes, you can set the fields to ReadOnly during the refresh process. In fact you can use this as a filter for deciding which fields to refresh. You should have a field that is always last, for example a button. So that the last text field will get the On Blur Event.

Before getting too deep into this I'd suggest doing a test with a small document script.
Here's an article on Doc Scripts:
http://www.acrobatusers.com/tutorials/2007/07/js_document_scripts

Do something like this:

I haven't tested anything, I just wrote it out as I thought about it so this code may not work as is.

Thom Parker
The source for PDF Scripting Info
[url=http://www.pdfScripting.com]pdfscripting.com[/url]

The Acrobat JavaScript Reference, Use it Early and Often
[url=http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/javascript.php]http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/javascript.php[/url]

Then most important JavaScript Development tool in Acrobat
[url=http://www.pdfscripting.com/public/34.cfm#JSIntro][b]The Console Window (Video tutorial)[/b][/url]
[url=http://www.acrobatusers.com/tutorials/2006/javascript_console][b]The Console Window(article)[/b][/url]

thomp, thank you very much!
I just put this code below at document level and leave formatting functions at field level and it works fine: