How to autofill fields based on the selection made in a dropdown list?

Question

Hi All!!

I have a PDF where I’d like several fields to autofill with data based on the option selected from a dropdown list, for those options and data to be editable by the end user (which I know would require better than the free Reader for the end user), and for the dropdown list to *not* print when the completed form is printed.

For example, with Excel, I created a table with several rows and columns, and each row is dedicated to a specific employee and each column in each row contains data about that employee (employee coded name, name, classification, S/T hourly wage rate, O/T hourly wage rate, etc.).

The “employee coded name” data in the table populates the dropdown list and the balance of the data (name, classification, S/T hourly wage rate, O/T hourly wage rate, etc.) is what will autofill into the other fields when an “employee coded name” is selected from the dropdown list.

The dropdown list and autofill fields are not editable directly by the end user but the data in the tables is editable so that the user can update the data as changes happen in their situation (employee leaves, new hire, changes, etc.).

I know (or think I do) that in Adobe, instead of tables with data that populate a list, I need to create a “hard-coded” (if you will) dropdown list of the “employee coded name” options.

Once I’ve done that, is there a way to:

A) make the additional fillable fields autofill the name, classification, S/T hourly wage rate, O/T hourly wage rate, etc. when an “employee coded name” is selected from the dropdown list and

B) print the completed PDF without the dropdown list printing

I know that Adobe is capable of a lot but I've also come up against a bit of "Adobe can't" (I think because I'm using Standard rather than a higher version) so before I invest too much more time in this I'm wondering if this is even possible and if so,

A) is it something I need to hire someone to teach me to do while using Acrobat Standard or

B) is it something that I can do on my own or

C) is it something that I can't even do with Standard and need a higher version of Adobe for

D) would a free Reader user be able to fill in the form (I know they couldn't edit the dropdown lists, etc. but would they be able to fill it in)

I hope that all makes sense. 😊

Thank you so much!!

Diane

Nesa Nurani · Answer

To fill in fields depending on dropdown choice, you would use something like this as 'Validate' script of dropdown:

var name = this.getField("name");
var cClass = this.getField("classification");
var st = this.getField("S/T");
var hwr = this.getField("hourly wage rate");
var ot = this.getField("O/T");

if(event.value == "John Doe"){
name.value = "John Doe";
cClass.value = "Classification of John Doe";
st.value = "ST for John Doe";
hwr.value = "HWR of John Doe";
ot.value = "OT of John Doe";}

else if(event.value == "Jane Doe"){
name.value = "Jane Doe";
cClass.value = "Classification of Jane Doe";
st.value = "ST for Jane Doe";
hwr.value = "HWR of Jane Doe";
ot.value = "OT of Jane Doe";}

//More 'else if' goes here.

else{
name.value = "";
cClass.value = "";
st.value = "";
hwr.value = "";
ot.value = "";}

To not print dropdown field, in dropdown field properties under 'General' tab, where it says 'Form field': select 'Visible but doesn't print'.

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