Skip to main content
Participant
November 1, 2019
Question

Can auto-fill extend to filling checkboxes in Adobe forms?

  • November 1, 2019
  • 1 reply
  • 1425 views

Hi there! I have Illustrator artboards set up to look like forms with multiple checkboxes. When they are exported to PDFs and created into forms, the checkboxes are automatically recognized as form fields. Team members click through the checkboxes and it all works.

 

However, back in Illustrator, some team members fill in the checkboxes with a grey fill to note that this checkbox is “pre-selected” for their records. I am wondering if that fill can be recognized as an automatically selected checkbox when it comes through Acrobat.

 

Please let me know!

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

Thom Parker
Community Expert
Community Expert
November 1, 2019

I am pretty sure that defaults are not set on the automatic form field recognition, as you've already discovered through experimentation. However, you can manually set the defaults after the fields have been added. 

Thom Parker - Software Developer at PDFScriptingUse the Acrobat JavaScript Reference early and often
sam_elbazAuthor
Participant
November 1, 2019

Hi Thom, Thanks for your response! Can you further explain what it would look like to have a default set post-field creation that dictates all grey-filled checkboxes to be automatically "checked" as form field selections? Thank you!

Thom Parker
Community Expert
Community Expert
November 1, 2019

To set the default for any field, select "Prepare Form" from the right side tools panel in Acrobat Pro. Then use the cursor to select the field(s). Right Click and select "Properties" from the popup menu. Select the "Options" tab. You'll see the entry for the default value. For a check box, it will be a checkbox. You can select several fields at a time, so you don't have to do them one by one. 

Thom Parker - Software Developer at PDFScriptingUse the Acrobat JavaScript Reference early and often