[XFA JavaScript] When would I use tabDefault and tabStops properties

These properties are both members of the "para" object. The "para" object is used by any object in the XFA that needs fancy paragraph like text formatting.

By default, both text labels and text fields have a "para" element. If you bring up the "paragraph" window in Designer, you'll see all the "para" properties that can be set from the user interface. Tabs aren't there. So the only way to set paragraph tab stops is to either edit the XML in Designer, or set it through code at runtime to set the "tabDefault" and "tabStops" property.

You would of course use these if you wanted to set how big the "tab" was in the text, not that people really use tabs anymore.

Thanks for the explanation Thom.

Some times I get text from the editors that give directions to users for filling out a form and these direction texts some times include number or bullet lists and it would be nice to have everything line up properly like lists do in word processing apps. Since there is no list type formatting available in LiveCycle Designer I thought when I came across these two properties that maybe they would help me out. But it sounds like these two properties happen at run time and not at design time so it sounds like the way to go would be to edit the XML. If that is so dose any of the documentation help me out in finding how to do that? You know what I am looking for in the XML Tab.

I'm not sure if there is any documentation beyond what you've already found. However, there's quite a bit of info on this Adobe Web Page.

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/acrobat/wwlivecycle.php

As far as bullet lists go. I'm sure you can implement one. You can use special symbols in the text on a LC form. Have you tried copying and pasting in the text directly into LC from the source document? or Converting from a Word document into LC to see what the conversion does will a bullet list?