Interactive Tools - More Programming in Adobe InDesign

Good question Mickey. I’ve run into the same issue when trying to build form-like layouts in InDesign. It’s great for setting up the visual structure but the real form field properties like date or number validation still need to be finalized in Acrobat. I wish Adobe would bridge that gap too, it would save a lot of back and forth when designing interactive documents.

Can someone explain why . . .

By @Mickey5C6B

Not really. It's a matter of currently available features, and while those you suggest could be added to InDesign, we fellow users have no real visibility of the decision-making at Adobe in that regard. Just applying some logic, however, such decisions are typically a matter of prioritized allocation of resources, equated to potential sales growth, and I wouldn't expect the InDesign-to-Interactive PDF platform—effectively already dead for all but a few quite specific purposes—to receive much in the way of those prioritized allocations.

I'll explain it with a bit of an analogy.

Have you ever seen a carpenter with only one single tool in his/her toolbox? Why can't the saw sand down the edge of the wood? Why can't the hammer cut a board in half?

InDesign feature requests should be entered here: https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601021-adobe-indesign-feature-requests