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wynnel84034396
wynnel84034396
Participant
January 11, 2023
Question

Selectable List Options

  • January 11, 2023
  • 1 reply
  • 1547 views

Windows PC/10

Adobe Acrobat Pro - Form Tool Current version - I just bought it a week ago.

 

I've created something like 35 List boxes - where the user is to select a number range from 0-5. I'm trying to make the filling out the form as painless as possible - so I'm wondering how I get the list box to select a number. To be honest, using default properties results in a confusing (to me) way to pick my number from the list.

 

In the past when using a list box - I've been able to type the 1st letter of the choice (A for apple, Z for Zulu), or type the number. I've used arrow keys, as well, to scroll up and down the list, and of course use the mouse to move the scroll bar.

 

I don't seem to be able to do any of those 3 functions - I would like at a minimum - to use the mouse (for finger) to scroll to the number and tap the number when it appears by scrolling (tap by mouse or finger) and then then hit the enter (or tab) key to move to the next box.

 

I think I finally figured out I have to use the mouse to scroll - and then use the mouse to "select" the number, it's not enough to bring it up on the screen. I must also select it.

 

The boxes are no bigger than 1 character - so this is not as easy as it sounds. This is why I'd like to give the users (I expect older - less smartphone/pc savvy veterans) multiple options to choose a rating number. The size of the boxes leads me to another problem - I will explain later.

 

Telling the user to zoom in doesn't really work as a total solution - but yet it does seem to help in selecting from the box because the box is so small. I added an Action to Zoom to the box. That makes it readable and viewable for old folks like me. 🙂

 

I'd really like to give them all three options - type in the number in question, e.g, The user wants to select the option 2 in field one.

1. while in the box type the number 2, which automatically selects 2, tab to the next box without further.

2. while in the box - use the arrow key to bring up the number 2, (click down arrow 3 times to go from 0-1-2) tab to the next box without further action.  

3. Use the mouse to select the box, scroll up or down, find 2, click on it, and tab to next box without further action. 

 

These are the current properties on my lists boxes.

General

  • Name - Measure Joy on Monday
    Tooltip - Choose a number to represent the amount of joy felt.
    Common Properties
    Form Field - Visible
    Orientation - 0
    Read Only - not checked
    Locked - not checked

Appearance N/A
Position - N/A

Options

  • Item
    Export Value
    0 1 2 3 4 5
    Commit Selected value immediately checked (I noticed when unchecked - it would stay at whatever number I selected)

Actions

Default

  • Mouse Up
    Action Execute a menu item
    Nothing added

Selection Change
Do nothing.

 

I'm eager to try java scripting if that is the solution. I just can't find any that does the functions I've explained (probably me using the wrong terms).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, the second problem - I password the form - I select 

These choices:

Password Security

Document Open Password - No

Permissions Passwords Yes

Printing - high resolution

Changing the Document - Not allowed

Commenting Allowed

Form Field Fill-in or Signing Allowed

Document Assembly - Not Allowed

Content Copying Not Allowed

Content Accessibility Enabled Allowed

Page Extractions Not allowed

Encription Level 256-bit AES

 

When I test the form, as I mentioned before - some of the boxes are pretty small - I move the mouse to select a Y/N circle. I have the letters Y under one Circle and N under the other circle. These are just text. I always seem to select these and in some cases have deleted them from the form. Not sure if I had it passworded at the time. But definitely I can select them when it's passworded and altered - but maybe the form bounces back to original when I save my answers? PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! 

I mean, how do I keep any of the text non-selectable.

 

Thanks for any directions you can send me - even if it's to go, ahem, down. 

 

 

This topic has been closed for replies.

1 reply

Eric Dumas
Community Expert
Eric DumasCommunity Expert
Community Expert
January 11, 2023

To select number, you could use radio buttons to create a Likert scale, so your users can see all the numbers at once and tap on the number they choose. File:Example Likert Scale.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

 

Fo some of your other issues, please include a screenshot.

wynnel84034396
wynnel84034396Author
Participant
January 19, 2023

I searched through many forums and dispaired of finding an answer. The form below - only part of it showing - the original instructions are to fill the form out daily - going across for each day. When you go over the form with your, ahem, instructor, he/she wants to see what the first day of the week is, and instructs the user to circle it (see red circle around Wed - as the example of what is wanted). I use the form and start it on Wednesdays because that is my day to talk to my instructor. So that tells the instructor - that we "talked" that day. And then when the instructor looks at the rest - it gives the instructor some insight to my answers in the other fields. (How long has it been since the student was in to see me? For example.)

 

My final solution makes me unhappy because the form is already too busy - and (deep down) I know it's possible to create a button or something over the top of the text box. The check boxes work. So I changed the instructions from circle to check. But I had to put them outside the form - for space, etc. 

 

With the right program, I could place my created transparent (png) circle behind the day of the week, and then put something "over" the day of the week to click causing the circle to come forward.

 

I did get sorta successful. Using, I believe either the button or the image field (sorry, it's been a couple of days) I found that I could set the circle show/hide. I also found I could, using the mouse hover (roll over?), I could have it display the little msg I made to prompt the user to click (green words below). So when I tested it. The circle and the msg was invisible. When I hovered my mouse over it, Great!!! the little message popped up, as long as my mouse hovered. When I clicked it - the circle became visible (yay!) and then disappeared again (boo), after I moved my mouse away. <--- this was the closest I got to getting it to work.

 

I want to think a script is needed. I can follow examples, and even modify them, once I use them, but I'm no script writer. Half the time, I don't know what the name of the function is that I want to perform. I did see others ask similiar questions but not quite the same. Of the few suggestions given - a script was offered - only the link to the script was broken. Sigh...

 

wynnel84034396
wynnel84034396Author
Participant
January 19, 2023

My second problem - I thought should be a no brainer. But when I search for a solution - the answers I get pertain to the Text Box Field - not test.

So, see below - Y and N boxes. This is a very, very busy form - but it needs to be on 1 page. Some questions are on a scale 0-7 some questions are Yes and No.

 

After creating these - when testing with password enabled - when I tried to select yes or no boxes - I keep selecting the text box and wildly inadvertently delete them. I checked the Y N text boxes - it seems I can only shrink them so far - and the box has margins that overlay on the Yes No Check (star) Boxes. I could not change the kerning to a neg number - and there is no option to align the text box to the back, and bring the check boxes to the front. I did however discover if I zoom way in - so the boxes are gigantic - why then I could click on the top of the box and get my check. 

 

This was consistent - I always selected the text field and sometimes - I don't know why I get other fields selected. What makes me crazy - is not that I select them. I understand why - placement - but that I can actually delete them, change them etc. I can't imagine a user of this form being tolerant to this ability - because it's frustating enough to just keep selecting the text instead of the box - lets not go to deleting them. I've included the security settings below. I also searched about - and the only solution I could find was to Lock the item. However, the lock feature does not come up on these text boxes. It does for the text box field. But, ha ha, I want the user to change the answer on those. I finally just removed the text because I couldn't stop selecting them. I had tried making the font teeny. And tried the kerning stuff - but not enough for the boxes to not overlap. Removing them makes me unhappy because it's been my experience the more luddite the user the more the user is afraid to touch anything on the screen without explicit instructions. I expect these forms to be filled out by older military veterans. Believe me - they beat reading the instructions in our heads in boot camp, before even so much as putting your name at the top of the form. 

 

Which leads me to my final problem. Go below - because I thought it would be better to separate them. 

 

 

My final problem was the nastiest one. I could not make the combo list boxes work. See blue fields above.

 

I could click on them, I could find the scroll buttons if I clicked in the right place (but I would like them to be visible already to tip off the user there are other possible choices). But clicking on the scroll button and scrolling to the correct number - did not work. Clicking on the number, after scrolling did not work. Worse, I could not click in the list and type the number 0 - 7 in order to select the number I want. This is something I've seen in many dropdown boxes - the ability to go to the correct answer by typing it in - at least the first character.

 

I thought originally it was because I was using MS Edge to open the forms and look at them. And then I wound up using another (not Adobe) PDF form filler. Finally, I my search for a solution is that only Acrobat Reader is the one that will correctly fill out the form - whether it's boxes to drop down, or signatures, etc. But even when I opened this form with acrobat reader - with the form fill security options enabled (I think) I could not select a number. I could see them, just couldn't pick one. And definitely could not type it. To be honest, now that I think about it - it was happening in Preview mode - in Acrobat pro. So I gave up on this - and switched out 70 drop boxes to 70 text boxes - where the user can just type in the number - and I have it default to 0 - to save the user from typing that number in. 

 

Why did the list box drop down not work? Too small? 

 

It makes me very sad - how much I'm paying for Adobe Acrobat - and that I'm doing this form as a free service to help out the instructor - and I can't do things I could do when I used a PDF Form builder called Nitro Pro, and it didn't matter what program I used to fill the forms out. I didn't get an upgrade for it - because $$$ - I thought using Acrobat for a month or less would do the trick. Then I could unsubscribe. Except it's been a month and a half and I don't feel like I got my money's worth.  I really hate all these subscription programs - games, software for productivity, creativity. At one time I owned copies of Adobe products, including Acrobat - but at some point Adobe just shut me and my version down. So now I have PS and AI on subscription - and contemplate monthly to cancel it. I don't do anything for profit or sale. Just projects I like try, my own "creative" outlet sort of thing. Heck months go by before I use it. But invariably I'll forget I have a monthly payment - that comes out at the end of the month - and sometimes - that is all it takes to put me in "overdraft" mode until the 1st of the month. It's my bad for forgetting - I live on a budget - but my forgetting is a separate issue and not just me being irresponsible. MS Office suddenly became MS 365 and apparently, I agreed to install it. I uninstalled it because I didn't want it - and it was subscription also. Now my copy of MS Office no longer works. Ugh...Right now this Acrobat is making me feel super dumb and that is not worth it at all. I really wanted MS Word to create the template for this form. I wound up building it all in Acrobat. What a pain. 

 

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