I know that Adobe allows for populating common fields i.e. name, address, phone number, etc. on multiple forms by referencing a file (FDF, XML, etc.)on a user's hard drive. One of the caveats is that the fields must be identical, including case on all of the forms. If the user wants to go in and import this data into the form, it must be done manually.
My question is threefold:
1. Can't this be scripted to run automatically on opening the form? If so, does anyone know of any scripting reference material for a novice user?
2. How does one get to the script editor on an Acro-form?
3. Lastly, can this same functionality work for user-enabled forms when the user is using reader as opposed to Professional?
thanks a lot,
Nat
1. There are many different ways to do this. But do you really want this code in the form? It would be better done from an automation script. The user simply pushes a button on their Acrobat Toolbar and the fields on the form are populated. If there are differences in field names you could create a popup dialog that allows the user to select what field matches what data. It's totally flexible and only limited by your programming skills.
2. Read this and all articles at JavaScript corner about entering scripts in Acrobat.
[url=http://www.acrobatusers.com/tech_corners/javascript_corner/tips/2006/access_exisitng_scripts/]http://www.acrobatusers.com/tech_corners/javascript_corner/tips/2006/access_exisitng_scripts/[/url]
Also read all the Acrobat JavaScript References.
3. For form filling you generally don't need to Reader Enable forms. The only case where this would be necessary is if you imported the data through an FDF or other data format file. In this case the necessary Rights can be applied with Acrobat 8.0 Pro
Thom Parker
The source for PDF Scripting Info
www.pdfscripting.com
Very Important - How to Debug Your Script