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Phillip30523268s48c
Participating Frequently
June 15, 2023
Question

Expanding Form Fields (TextBox)

  • June 15, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 2101 views

I have been looking for a workaround for this for years now. I don't have lifecycle designer and seeing as to how I am mainly designing inhouse forms that are primarily used by myself and a select few, i am not even sure how AEM would translate. I have tried to code it in every way I can think and I can not get the form to expand with the text. Just your standard multi-line scroll box that cannot print. This is frustrating. Should I look to a competitor to create the forms I need?

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    3 replies

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    Phillip30523268s48cAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    June 15, 2023

    After the 2 responses I have received, I feel I should add an edit. Lifecycle designer used to have this feature. It simply isn't available to me anymore and I wouldn't know where to find it. It would be nice to use a software that is still actively supported. Does adobe offer anything that can build forms that fit this need or can help bridge the gap? Is there an Add-on that can help? Is there a competitor that would be preferable for creating and using forms? Where do I go?

      T
      Test Screen Name
      Legend
      June 15, 2023

      "Is there an Add-on that can help?" 

      No. Really. The forms cannot work that way.

      "Is there a competitor that would be preferable for creating and using forms? "

      Talking about competitors isn't really what this forum is for, but you need to look for form filling solutions that DON'T involve PDF, since it's a limitation of PDF, NOT a limitation of what Adobe's app does.  

        P
        Phillip30523268s48cAuthor
        Participating Frequently
        June 15, 2023

        One of the big selling points of Adobe used to be form creation. You created forms in ADOBE ACROBAT. why are we still on PDFs....

          T
          Test Screen Name
          Legend
          June 15, 2023

          You will have to look outside the world of PDF forms, since regular PDF forms don't have expanding form fields, no matter how hard we try. Using different tools won't solve that... It just wasn't designed that way,. AEM makes a different kind of PDF form, which only works with Adobe software on Mac and Windows (not mobile); basically obsolete.

            P
            Phillip30523268s48cAuthor
            Participating Frequently
            June 15, 2023

            I think looking outside of pdf forms is not an issue as long as it can become a pdf and is accessible to be filled out by others. Adobe is just convenient because it is available and easy to share/view. People are familiar with it. Do you have a recommendation?

              T
              Test Screen Name
              Legend
              June 15, 2023

              "as long as it can become a pdf and is accessible to be filled out by others." It can't become a PDF and THEN be fillable. You have to do the filling and then make it a PDF when it is finished. You just cannot make a PDF with dynamically sized fields, not by any trick. 

                try67
                Community Expert
                try67Community Expert
                Community Expert
                June 15, 2023

                If this is a must-have feature for you, then yes, you should look for a different technology, as this is not really possible in PDF forms. And even if it was possible to do it (using a complex, custom-made script) the expanded field will just end up overlapping with other elements on the page, as it won't be able to "re-flow" the rest of the document to accommodate for its new size.

                  P
                  Phillip30523268s48cAuthor
                  Participating Frequently
                  June 15, 2023

                  Why do you say it isn't possible? Are you saying it isn't possible as is or it isn't possible to create the feature in an update?

                    try67
                    Community Expert
                    try67Community Expert
                    Community Expert
                    June 15, 2023

                    It's impossible because it goes against the core definition of a PDF file as a static document. If you want to get into the technical reasons for that you can start by studying the 1000+ pages technical document that describes how PDF files are created.

                    An LCD form is not really a PDF file, even though it has the same file extension. It's a completely different thing, created by Adobe, and not covered by the PDF ISO definitions. It's based on an XML form, and therefore can be dynamically re-flowed and manipulated. It is also not supported by anyone except for Adobe, pretty much, while PDF is a standard universal format.

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