Setting tab order in InDesign form

[rgrund]

Dear InDesign users,

I am working on an interactive PDF form in the current InDesign version CC 2020 with hundreds of checkboxes on one page. These are created within several tables.

InDesign currently does not provide a comfortable automatism for determining the tab order, I have done this in painstaking work via Object > Interactive > Set tab order...

Now the client wishes a small adjustment to the design and the tables with the checkboxes have to be moved within the layout. Unfortunately, InDesign destroys the determined tab order:
- When moving the tables numerically via the control palette
- When moving manually by mouse or by the arrows on the keyboard 
- Even when just grouping the text frames with the tables

Because the checkboxes are placed within tables, the tab order cannot be created using the Articles Panel.

Does anyone know a solution to the problem?
Are there any scripts or plugins that allow you to change the tab order more comfortable?

Is there an easy way to extract the checkboxes from the tables and paste on the same position within the page layout (and use the Articles Panel)?

Best regards
Robert

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Have you tried doing the tab order in Acrobat Pro?

[rgrund]

No. It’s a large document and there are many correction rounds. Changing the tab order in Acrobat Pro after each export would be too time-consuming.

[BobLevine]

You don't have to do it all over and over again. You can use the replace pages command in Acrobat which will leave the interactive layer of form fields intact and will replace only the artwork.

[Ashutosh_Mishra]

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out. I agree with IDEAS-Training's response. Please try following instructions on Adobe community discussion(https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign/indesign-accessibility-and-tab-order/td-p/10440224?page=1) and see if it helps.

Regards,

Ashutosh

[rgrund]

Thanks for the link (which I have already found 😉).

The solution described there does not help with my problem. I need to build a “clean” InDesign document with the correct tab order.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com · Accepted solution]

Truthfully, controlling the TAB order in InDesign is more than just clicking the option in the PDF Export dialogue box.

It is based on several items in the INDD layout file, such as how the Indy stories are threaded, the stacking order in the Layers panel, the Articles panel, and much more.  Definitely more than can be discussed in an online tech support forum.

If you haven't yet had a full class in making accessible PDFs from InDesign, then I strongly encourage you to do so. You're on the right track: do the job right, the first time, so that the PDF is in good shape when its exported and doesn't require tinkering and remediation in Acrobat.

The 2 instructors I recommend are Chad Chelius' online training in LinkedIn Learning (https://www.lynda.com/Acrobat-tutorials/Creating-Accessible-PDFs/669540-2.html), and my own classes, which are live online sessions (I have one coming up in a few weeks, www.PubCom.com/classes).

There's no quick and easy way to do this, and accessibility training for InDesign is complex and deep...just like the program itself and our designs! So don't look for an easy fix on this problem.

[Jingledale]

Having just read Bevi C's answer, am I the only one who was reminded of the scene, in the Wizard of Oz, when the wizard was trying to scare our favorite characters into submission while Toto was pulling the curtain back and exposing him?

I love Bevi's wagging finger warning for us not to look for an easy answer.

HEre's an easy answer, everybody. Took 2 seconds to find it. https://www.adobepress.com/articles/article.asp?p=2063950&seqNum=5

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

Having just read Bevi C's answer, am I the only one who was reminded of the scene, in the Wizard of Oz, when the wizard was trying to scare our favorite characters into submission while Toto was pulling the curtain back and exposing him?
I love Bevi's wagging finger warning for us not to look for an easy answer.
HEre's an easy answer, everybody. Took 2 seconds to find it. https://www.adobepress.com/articles/article.asp?p=2063950&seqNum=5

By @Jingledale

Awe!

Thanks so much @Jingledale for such awesome praise for my post long long ago. We unpaid, volunteer ACPs here on the Forum appreciate your bon mots SO much. You made my day as I took a break from real paid work to see if I could help a fellow designer in the forums. You gave me such a cherished reward that I'll hold near and dear to my heart.

Question:

(Quoting the Sept 2021 post by @rgrund) ...

Have you read the initial post?

The solution you describe is the "official" way, which is already described in the InDesign instructions. The problem is that the tab order gets broken when fields are moved.

In case you didn't catch the significant words in @rgrund 's post, I'll repeat them here once more, but bigger and bolder to help clarify the issue the poster was having:

Have you read the initial post?

and...

the tab order gets broken when fields are moved.

Note, that @rgrund posted the original question, too, and stated they already used what you call the "2-second easy answer" that I, supposedly using my magical wizard powers over the readers of this forum, was neglecting to tell anyone about.

The problem occurs when the form gets edited or fields get moved or changed or whatever; the form field order gets thrown out of wack and designers have to go back and reorder the fields once again.

As stated before, there isn't an easy solution for this bug in InDesign. Through a lot of testing, my firm has developed some methods of constructing InDesign layouts that help prevent this type of disaster, but they are NOT easy, are time-consuming, and often improve but not completely correct the problem.

Conclusion:

Continuing the Oz theme, I'm giving you the fake Ruby Slippers award for the day. I'm hoping that when you click your heels together three times, you'll go ... someplace?

[Jingledale]

You're he only other person that I know of who understands what a bon mot is.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

See some solutions in this other thread:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign/indesign-accessibility-and-tab-order/td-p/10440224?page=1

[Willi Adelberger · Accepted solution]

The fastest way was to me to go in the order from field to field as I want them active, cut it into clipboard and place in position. This order is used to activate in Acrobat.

[VenVisualAU]

Thanks. This is an underartated answer. While this method takes a little time to get it right, it works, and is easily adjusted in the layer order if a new field is placed in

[VenVisualAU]

I use this method now thanks to @Willi Adelberger . It's a bit of a manual process, but works, and is fairly painfree when using keboard shortcuts. Saves messing around in Acrobat as well.

[Babellebumskin]

Hi there, you may have worked this out long ago, but there is an easy way to set the tab order within Indesign these days. You can find it under the Object Menu > Interactive > Set Tab Order ...This will bring up a dialogue box where you can re-order your tab ordering.

Note, you need to select each page that you want to set the tab order first in the Pages window. And if it's a large document with many form fields you'll want to set up a logical form field naming system to help organise the tab ordering.

Export your document as an interactive pdf and you should find the tab ordering working correctly.

[rgrund]

Have you read the initial post?

The solution you describe is the "official" way, which is already described in the InDesign instructions. The problem is that the tab order gets broken when fields are moved.

[Pickory]

Hello,

I have a script ( very early dev stage ) that re-orders the tab order by looking at the name of the form field. The name of the form field should end with the order of the field, like this, button 1 ,3. the 3 indicates that the button is the third tab item.

PM me for more details.

P. 

Edited...

Here is the script. 

Always backup your work.

========

//DESCRIPTION: Form Field order.

//kerntiff.co.uk

#targetengine "FormFieldOrder";

main ();

function main ()

{

if ( app.documents.length <= 0 )

return;

    var formFields = [];

    formFields = formFields.concat ( app.activeDocument.layoutWindows[0].activePage.formFields.everyItem().getElements() );

formFields.sort ( function ( a, b )

{

var aN = Number ( a.name.split ( ",")[1] );

var bN = Number ( b.name.split ( ",")[1] );

if ( aN < bN )

return ( -1 );

if ( aN > bN )

return ( 1 );

return ( 0 );

});

app.activeDocument.layoutWindows[0].activePage.tabOrder = formFields;

}

[Pickory]

Sligtly changed the script. It now looks at the start of the form filed name for the sort number.

"n,button 1"

"n,Text Field 4"

The 'n' is the order number.

It would be nice to sort the tab order by z order which eliminate the need to number the fields.

Still no error checking.

Back up your work before using this code.

//DESCRIPTION: Form Field order.

//kerntiff.co.uk

#targetengine "FormFieldOrder";

main ();

function main ()

{

if ( app.documents.length <= 0 )

return;

    var formFields = [];

formFields = app.activeDocument.layoutWindows[0].activePage.tabOrder;

formFields.sort ( function ( a, b )

{

var aN = Number ( a.name.split ( ",")[0] );

var bN = Number ( b.name.split ( ",")[0] );

if ( aN < bN )

return ( -1 );

if ( aN > bN )

return ( 1 );

return ( 0 );

});

app.activeDocument.layoutWindows[0].activePage.tabOrder = formFields;

}

[Jingledale]

You are WONDERFUL! Thankyou!

[StarryColorado]

He may not still need it but I definitely did, thanks so much, that was easy!

[Bruce224229592gmg]

For ideal tabbing within an InDesign document to export a clean order interactive pdf, it may come in handy to number the button attributes for the tabbing order you want when you have a LOT of fields on each page, that way, when you go into Object/Interactive/Set Tab Order and the window comes up, you can easily move up and down each or groups into the correct order. Without numbers, it can get confusing. This works in InDesign 2024.