Note: Use Shift Enter to add each new line. Click triangle down icon and write one item per line. It is recommend to set anchor to "As Character", because it makes the positioning of the fields and change of position the most easy.įor List Box and Combo Box use property "List entries" to set the items in the list. If too small, it might look correct in one PDF viewer, but top or bottom are cut off in another. If the font is set to Arial 11 pts., the field should be at least 7 mm high. It is important that fields are tall enough for the font used. Note: If double clicking a field does not open the properties window, check that design mode is on in the Form Controls menu. To view and edit the properties of a field, simply double click on the field. The precise field size can be adjusted later.
#EDIT PDF FILLABLE FORM WITH ODS PLUS#
To add a new field click in Form Controls, cursor becomes plus shaped, place the plus in the document and drag out the field size. In place of the radio buttons, use a list box. Radio buttons do not work well with the combination of current (Apr 2012) versions of OpenOffice and PDF viewers. One special field type is radio buttons (in OpenOffice called option button). Some of the other field types, may or may not work correctly with all PDF viewers and OpenOffice. To keep it simple, it is recommend to only use these for the time being. These field types should be enough to make most forms.
user can either use list or type a new text.
#EDIT PDF FILLABLE FORM WITH ODS DOWNLOAD#
Note: If the file is opened directly from the download link, it may open in OpenOffice as read-only, so no edit possible. So to get started download the following form example, which is an OpenDocument text and open it in OpenOffice.ĭownload: Form Example as OpenDocument Text (ODT) It is design mode on / off, toggling between design and view mode, think of it like enable / disable the menu.Īn example says more than a thousand explanations. One important button is the icon with the pencil on top of the ruler. This will open a small menu with typical GUI elements, such as text edit boxes and List boxes. To use the "Form Controls" toolbar select menu View - Toolbars - "Form Controls". To insert and edit these fields use the special menu toolbar "Form Controls". For each user input special fields need to be inserted. To create a PDF form OpenOffice Writer (the word-processor) is used. These files are for reading only, they are not forms. All documents types: Text, spreadsheets, slide-shows can be output as PDF like that. This is done with menu File - "Export as PDF.". OpenOffice can create PDF files that are essentially the printer output put into a file. Whew - Finally done! To avoid these complex steps it is recommended to use a different PDF viewer than Adobe Reader.
A pop up window "Deliver Your Signed Document" will appear, here click "Not Now". A "Save As" dialogue window will appear, change folder or file name if needed and click Save. A pop up window "Done Signing" may appear, here click confirm.
A menu will appear to the right of the document. To simply save an updated form do the following steps: In the toolbar click on Sign. For Adobe Reader 10 and earlier versions there is a more convoluted system of add-on services that includes a signing and uploading to Adobe's servers. Note for Adobe Reader: Version 11 allows to save forms as described above. When updating of the fields are complete, save the form using menu File - Save. The example PDF can be opened and edited with a standard PDF viewer. To test an example of a PDF form download and open the following PDF file. The form makes it clear to the user what fields should be filled out and user editing does not risk breaking the layout of the form. This provides a simple practical method to publish forms that a user can fill out by the keyboard rather than on paper. Most standard PDF viewers can be used to edit the form. It is less known that PDF has an option which allow to create a form that can be edited and saved by the receiving user. PDF is normally used as a final publishing format for sending documents that are complete and the receiver only read.