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Set/recall variables, reflow rest of form to fit # of characters?

mahubbard
Registered: Feb 23 2007
Posts: 2

I need to have a several page "form" where variables would be set on the front page as answers to questions, typed in fields of variable length. (The answers may range from 20 to 200 or more characters long for each variable being set.) Then, on subsequent pages of the form, I want the document to use those variables to fill fields and re-flow the rest of the document so there aren't big gaps in the text. I want it to basically look "custom-typed" with the info provided in the fields on the first page. We also want to protect the main text from being changed, which is why we were thinking of Acrobat. Is this something Acrobat 8 can do, and if so, how? (I could do it in WordStar version 1 about 20 years ago so I imagine it can still be done, somehow!)
 
Thanks!

My Product Information:
Acrobat Pro 8, Windows
thomp
Expert
Registered: Feb 15 2006
Posts: 4411
Yes, both AcroForm and LiveCycle forms will work, depending on how flexible you want it to be. For example A Dynamic LiveCycle form can reflow fields and content on the page as one of the form fields grows or shrinks. This flexibility comes with a performance and complexity cost.

AcroForms are more static. But they are faster and simpler to work with.

In both cases you'll need to write a script that modifies your standard text with entries on the previous pages. This is not a problem for either forms technology.

Thom Parker
WindJack Solutions
[url=http://www.windjack.com]www.windjack.com[/url]

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

Thom Parker
The source for PDF Scripting Info
www.pdfscripting.com
Very Important - How to Debug Your Script