Part 2: Setting up the Application for Tagging
Instructions
Step 3: Adding Form Fields
Now that we are in Acrobat with our file, we need to create our form fields for each of the line. Acrobat can create these fields for you and place them on the lines. To add the form fields,
Go to the All Tools pane on the left side of the screen and click on the Prepare a Form Tool.
The Choose an Option to Create a Form page will open. Be sure that you are on the Select a File option. Select your untagged PDF, and leave the option for This Document Requires Signatures unchecked. We will add a signature line ourselves later on.
The option for Form Field Auto Detection should be left as on.
Click the blue Create Form button.
Now your tool has added form fields to your entire PDF document. Field Names and Tooltips are also added, but you should check those to be sure they are accurate.
This tool will automatically add form fields to your document and your PDF will be open in Form Editing Mode. One thing to keep in mind is that the tool will only create text box form fields. If you only use form fields for typing in text, that is okay, but if you need to create check boxes, or dates, or other complex form fields, you will need to make those manually. Field Names and Tooltips are also added automatically, but you may want to edit them.
Step 4: Replacing Form Fields
Now that your form fields have been created, you need to check them all. All of our form fields are text fields. This means that you can type in letters and numbers in the boxes. The issue is that a text field is not necessary for every field. On the left side of the screen, the Prepare a Form Tool is open, there are 10 different form field options including,
Text Box
Check Box
Radio Buttons
List of Choices
Dropdown List
Action Button
Image Field
Date Field
Signature Field
Barcode Field
When you are looking at your form fields, ask yourself: Does it make sense to have this type of form field for this question? In our example, Full Name has a text field, this makes sense. However, Position Applied For also has a text field. While you could use a text field for this, it is better to use a dropdown menu field. This is because having a dropdown menu can allow you give people options of different positions to choose from instead of users typing in a job that is not available.
You can delete your form field by right clicking on the field and clicking the Delete button in the expansion menu.
To replace your field, click on the Dropdown List button. Then click by your line to create your box.
Finally, click and drag your field to make the box go from one end of the line to the other.
Repeat this process for the rest of the fields you want replaced. In our example, the following forms were changed.
Form Field Name | New Type of Form Field |
---|---|
Position Applied For | Drop-down List |
Are you a US Citizen? | Drop-down List |
If no, are you authorized to work in the US? | Drop-down List |
Have you ever been convicted of a felony? | Drop-down List |
Did you graduate? (High School) | Drop-down List |
Diploma (High School) | Drop-down List |
Did you graduate? (College) | Drop-down List |
Degree (College) | Drop-down List |
May we contact your prior supervisor at Company 1? | Drop-down List |
May we contact your prior supervisor at Company 2? | Drop-down List |
Signature | Signature |
Clear Form | Button |
Note from the author: In our example, there are also many form fields that could be replaced with a date field. I would not recommend using this type of field because it is easier to type in a date in a text field. You will ability to specify the format of the dates in the text field, which we will cover later. If you use a date field, you will have to use a screen reader to access a calendar then go through the calendar one day at a time to find the correct day. This is much more time consuming and not recommended.
Step 5: Editing Form Fields
Now that our example has all of the correct form fields, we need to edit the form fields to have the attributes we want in them. You can change the form attributes by double clicking on each field. After double clicking, the Field Properties box appears. In our example, we want to make changes to the Name of the Field and the Tool Tip, which are found in the General Tab. The Format, in the Format Tab, and the Options, found in the Options tab. Most fields have different needs so you may not need to edit all of those attributes. However, you must make sure that all fields have different names, and a tooltip.
Below is a table showing all of the form fields and information on their Names, Tooltips, Type of Field, and Format used. Keep in mind that all fields in our example have the fonts set to Times New Roman size 14.