How to Set Interactive Button (text) Constraints

[Cosmosflower]

Question: How do I "constrain" a fillable text box in InDesign to allow only 12 spaced-out numbers to fit inside. I dont want to have to make 12 individual buttons for each number to go in. Is there an easier solution?

Answer: In InDesign, no, you cannot adjust kerning or divide the box into columns to fit the box.

However, you can export your form into an Interactive PDF and set constraints in Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Export your document from InDesign as an Interactive PDF. Open it in Adobe Acrobat Pro. Use the "Create a Form" function to modify the fillable fields generated from InDesign.

In edit more, right-click the box you would like to modify. From here, go to Properties > Options > Left Alignment, Comb of (number of characters you want to fit into box) characters. Now, the box will evenly distribute the number of characters you want into the interactive box - without needing to make individual fields. 🙂

[TᴀW]

Hi @Cosmosflower,

I'm glad you were able to answer your own question!

It is true, as you say, that it is not possible to create a comb field in InDesign natively, and it has to be done in Acrobat.

However, if you're doing a lot of this, and would nevertheless like a solution in InDesign, take a look at my (not free) FormMaker add-on: https://www.id-extras.com/products/formmaker/

It lets you do, in InDesign, pretty much anything to a form field that you can do in Acrobat, including creating comb fields and much more.

There's also a free version for short, one-page forms.