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A
Anonymous
March 10, 2017
Answered

I need to create a custom dialog box containing check boxes.

  • March 10, 2017
  • 3 replies
  • 9345 views

I am building a form for a small medical office. The provider wants a dialog box where he can check one or more of a few very common items. The form is being built on top of an existing document that has space limitations and cannot be modified. I have found tutorials for dialog boxes that ask for some user input, but nothing with multiple check boxes that allow me to pass the data back to my main form. I know this will involve some scripting, and I'm not afraid of that, but I am still learning javascript. I also have a budget of....nothing additional except my time, so joining a website isn't an option. I'm not asking for anyone to do this for me, just nudge me in the right direction that I can figure it out.

Thank you,

CalisMoonelf

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer George_Johnson

    George_Johnson  wrote

    Also, note that that sample has a few problems with the sample code. There are 6 check boxes (3 with the same item_id), but the code only deals with 4 of them, so don't let that get in the way of understanding it.

    That actually is the biggest part of what confused me. It looked to me that somehow the script passed all data collectively out and I couldn't for the life of me understand why. This comment probably has helped me more than any. Thank you!


    The following modifications to the script should help:

    //Acrobat JavaScript Dialog
    //Created by DialogDesigner from WindJack Solutions
    var FormRouting =
    {
        result:"cancel",
        DoDialog: function(){return app.execDialog(this);},
        bChk1:false,
        bChk2:false,
        bChk3:false,
        bChk4:false,
        bChk5:false,
        bChk6:false,
        initialize: function(dialog)
        {
            var dlgInit = 
            {
                    "Chk1": this.bChk1,
                    "Chk2": this.bChk2,
                    "Chk3": this.bChk3,
                    "Chk4": this.bChk4,
                    "Chk5": this.bChk5,
                    "Chk6": this.bChk6
            };
            dialog.load(dlgInit);
        },
        commit: function(dialog)
        {
            var oRslt = dialog.store();
            this.bChk1 = oRslt["Chk1"];
            this.bChk2 = oRslt["Chk2"];
            this.bChk3 = oRslt["Chk3"];
            this.bChk4 = oRslt["Chk4"];
            this.bChk5 = oRslt["Chk5"];
            this.bChk6 = oRslt["Chk6"];
        },
        description:
        {
            name: "Form Routing",
            elements:
            [
                {
                    type: "view",
                    elements:
                    [
                        {
                            type: "view",
                            char_height: 10,
                            elements:
                            [
                                {
                                    type: "static_text",
                                    item_id: "stat",
                                    name: "Route Form To:",
                                    char_width: 15,
                                    alignment: "align_fill",
                                    font: "dialog",
                                },
                                {
                                    type: "view",
                                    char_width: 8,
                                    char_height: 8,
                                    align_children: "align_top",
                                    elements:
                                    [
                                        {
                                            type: "view",
                                            char_width: 8,
                                            char_height: 8,
                                            elements:
                                            [
                                                {
                                                    type: "check_box",
                                                    item_id: "Chk1",
                                                    name: "Marketing",
                                                },
                                                {
                                                    type: "check_box",
                                                    item_id: "Chk2",
                                                    name: "Sales",
                                                },
                                                {
                                                    type: "check_box",
                                                    item_id: "Chk3",
                                                    name: "Accounting",
                                                },
                                            ]
                                        },
                                        {
                                            type: "view",
                                            char_width: 8,
                                            char_height: 8,
                                            elements:
                                            [
                                                {
                                                    type: "check_box",
                                                    item_id: "Chk4",
                                                    name: "Engineering",
                                                },
                                                {
                                                    type: "check_box",
                                                    item_id: "Chk5",
                                                    name: "Division HQ",
                                                },
                                                {
                                                    type: "check_box",
                                                    item_id: "Chk6",
                                                    name: "Corporate",
                                                },
                                            ]
                                        },
                                    ]
                                },
                            ]
                        },
                        {
                            type: "ok_cancel",
                        },
                    ]
                },
            ]
        }
    };
    // Example Code
    FormRouting.bChk1 = false;
    FormRouting.bChk2 = false;
    FormRouting.bChk3 = false;
    FormRouting.bChk4 = false;
    FormRouting.bChk5 = false;
    FormRouting.bChk6 = false;
    if("ok" == FormRouting.DoDialog())
    {
        console.println("Chk1:" + FormRouting.bChk1);
        console.println("Chk2:" + FormRouting.bChk2);
        console.println("Chk3:" + FormRouting.bChk3);
        console.println("Chk4:" + FormRouting.bChk4);
        console.println("Chk5:" + FormRouting.bChk5);
        console.println("Chk6:" + FormRouting.bChk6);
    }

    3 replies

    A
    Anonymous
    March 17, 2021

    GM, I hope all is well.  I wanted to reach out to first say thank you! for posting this example code.  I was able to mimic its format to do what I wanted.  (Sorry, I'm a newbie to javascript, much more comfortable with Python.)  However, I am running into issues with tracking and capturing whether or not the checkbox is checked.  My code works and tracks the first 9 check box responses, but after that each 'Text' box is labeled 'Undefined' even though I've defined them within the dialog box. (my screen shot only shows one 'Undefined' box as I've deleted the others since they are not working correctly)  I've attached my code, the pop up menu screen shot, along with the results captured screen shot for reference.  Any assistance with why my checkboxes aren't being captured is greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

    try67
    try67
    Braniac
    March 17, 2021

    The id proeprty of each object in the dialog must be exactly 4 characters, no more and no less.

    So it works up to "Chk9", but not with "Chk10" or higher.

    A
    Anonymous
    March 17, 2021

    Thank you!  Much appreciated. 

    G
    George_Johnson
    Inspiring
    March 10, 2017

    Here's a link to a sample document that might help: http://www.windjack.com/resources/Examples/DialogUses.pdf

    The last button (Control Document Processing) demonstrates a custom dialog with a number of check boxes.

    A
    Anonymous
    March 10, 2017

    I have played with that particular file for hours, and have been unable to figure out how to pass the results back to my initial document. I learned how to add boxes, change the names etc, but passing them out has eluded me.

    A
    Anonymous
    March 10, 2017

    Also, note that that sample has a few problems with the sample code. There are 6 check boxes (3 with the same item_id), but the code only deals with 4 of them, so don't let that get in the way of understanding it.


    George_Johnson  wrote

    Also, note that that sample has a few problems with the sample code. There are 6 check boxes (3 with the same item_id), but the code only deals with 4 of them, so don't let that get in the way of understanding it.

    That actually is the biggest part of what confused me. It looked to me that somehow the script passed all data collectively out and I couldn't for the life of me understand why. This comment probably has helped me more than any. Thank you!

    Joel Geraci
    Joel Geraci
    Inspiring
    March 10, 2017

    Creating JavaScript Dialogs in Acrobat is non-trivial even for experienced programmers. If you're still learning JavaScript, don't jump right into the dialog code, start with something more simple so that you understand how to get and set values for fields. Also, read up on JSON, that's how the dialogs are defined. Finally, there are examples in the Acrobat JavaScript Documentation that show how to construct an dialog, look at those.

    That said, it's absolutely worth joining pdfscripting.com if you're going to be attempting this as a novice. Skip Starbucks for a few days and you'll have the budget for the membership.

    A
    Anonymous
    March 10, 2017

    Joel_Geraci  wrote

    Skip Starbucks for a few days and you'll have the budget for the membership.

    Starbucks must be a lot more expensive than I remember it from years ago. Membership is more than the weekly grocery budget for my family. LOL

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