Operation Manual

182
USING ACROBAT X STANDARD
Forms
Last updated 10/11/2011
Add an Import Data button
Use the Import Form Data action to enable users to fill out common form fields, such as name and email address, with
data imported from another form. Users can also use the Import Data button to populate common form fields with
their personal profile information. Only form fields that match are updated. The fields that do not match are ignored.
Before you create an Import Form Data action, set up a form with common information form fields from which to
export the data.
Note: The Import Form Data action searches for the data file from which to import data in different locations in Windows
than on Mac
OS. In Windows, the Import Form Data action searches the Acrobat or Adobe Reader folder, the current
folder, the System folder, the Windows folder, My Documents\Adobe\Acrobat, and the folders that are in the PATH
statement. On Mac
OS, the Import Form Data action searches the Acrobat or Adobe Reader folder and the System
Preferences folder.
1 Select Tools > Forms > Edit, then select Button from the Add New Field list, and create a button.
2 Double-click the button to open the Button Properties dialog box.
3 Click the Actions tab, and select Mouse Up from the Select Trigger menu.
4 Select Import Form Data from the Select Action menu, and then click Add.
5 Locate and select an FDF file, and click Open.
6 Click another tab in the Button Properties dialog box to continue defining properties for the button, or click Close.
More Help topics
“Manage form data files” on page 184
“Add a button to an Acrobat PDF form” on page 176
CGI export values
An export value is the information sent to a CGI application to identify a user-selected form field. You need to define
an export value only if both of the following are true:
• The data is collected electronically in a database over a company intranet or the web.
• The data is different from the item designated by the form field, or the form field is a radio button.
When defining export values, keep the following guidelines in mind:
• Use the default export value (Yes) to indicate that a check box or radio button has been selected.
• Enter an export value for dropdown lists boxes or list boxes only if you want the value to be different from the item
listed—for example, to match the name of the form field in a database. The item selected in the dropdown list box
or list box is used as the export value unless a different export value is explicitly entered in the Properties dialog box.
• Related radio buttons must have exactly the same form field name but different export values. This ensures that the
radio buttons toggle and that the correct values will be collected in the database.
Collecting and managing form data
When you distribute a form, Acrobat automatically creates a PDF Portfolio for collecting the data submitted by users.
By default, this file is saved in the same folder as the original form and is named filename_responses. You can use this
file to compile returned forms.