Javascript not executing when the adobe form is first opened

Can you post a sample somewhere? Where did you place the code, exactly?

Exactly where are the formatting scripts located?

Only Acrobat Professional lets you create a document level script. In the Standard version you can simulate the document level using the "Page Open" action, but you need to be sure that the page on which the script is located will always be the page the document is opened on.

the formatting scripts are on both pages 1 and 2. they are very basic. one example is where I have to strip the time stamp off of the patient DOB:

inside of a field named CASE014[0] I have the following code in the custom calc property:
var dob1 = event.value;
if(event.value != null)
{
event.value = dob1.split (" ").shift();
}

oh and to George, this form was developed using professional

A calculate script is triggered when a field value changes. Is that the entire script?

yes, thats the entire script. these values are being fed from a sql db. have either of you heard of this type of behaviour before? Im stupmed!

I think that script should be changed to a Validate script, and change it to:


if (event.value) {
event.value = event.value.split(" ").shift();
}


It's hard to tell what's going on with the others without looking at the form or you post more code that you're using.

is there a way to put the entire form here?

Not here, but you can at Acrobat.com if you create an account.

You can open a free account at www.Acrobat.com and share a file that is uploaded there

OK I have an account now and I've uploaded the form. document name is Gwinnett Charity.pdf. not sure who to share it out with though :-(

ok, I published the file. here is the link
https://acrobat.com/#d=PUzB7vqhsrAQN8NGbq6Qrg

You have a Page Open action on page 2 that causes the form to calculate when it it opened. That's why the scripts are executing then. I'm getting a lot of run-time errors.

How exactly are you populating the fields with data and saving the filled-in form?

Hi George, sorry I missed your response yesterday. 'some' of the form data comes from sql tables, the rest is filled out manually by the end user. at this time, we are not saving the forms, the user just prints it out and has the patient sign them. I'm working on the save function but its challenging since I'm so new to implementing this.

How can I see this 'Page open' action? is it in the document properties section?
Thanks,
Earle

Open the Pages navigation pane, select the second page, right-click, and select Properties, then the Actions tab.

There are some significant problems with the scripting that are a bit too involved to discuss here. If you'd like help off-line, feel free to contact me.

Thanks for your help George. I found out how to set a new page open action probably moments before you posted this! yeah, my scripts suck huh? I know, I've been looking in different resources for ways to optimize my code. my biggest challenges to date are around formatting, calculations, and layering fields (hiding and showing data fields based on the value inside of a different field). I'm not a developer , I'm an implementation guy so unfortunately when I get it to work, I'm off to the next fire :-)

I am totally stoked that you'd be willing to help me get this form working more efficiently, how do I contact you off-line?
Thanks so much,
Earle
earle [dot] smith [at] gmail [dot] com