<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation: Tabs Guide > Form Tab > Add Dropdown Menus to Documents |
Dropdown menus enable the selection of one option from a fixed list of options:
Figure 1. Example Dropdown Menu
The functionality of PDF-XChange Editor enables a wide range of dynamic customization for dropdown menus. Click the dropdowns below for further information:
1. Click the Form tab, then click the Dropdown icon (highlighted in the image below). A blue rectangle will be displayed at the location of the pointer. This rectangle represents the dropdown menu:
Figure 2. Active Dropdown Menu Tool
2. Move the rectangle to the desired location and then click to add the dropdown menu to the document. Added dropdown menus appear as detailed below:
Figure 3. Added Dropdown Menus
•Click and drag the yellow control points to resize dropdown menus. •Use the options in the Format Tab to determine the style and appearance of selected dropdown menus:
Figure 4. Format Tab, Dropdown Menus
•Click Select Fields to select and edit form fields. •Click the options in the Form Fields group to enable alternative form field formats. •Click Keep Mode to create multiple dropdown menus consecutively. If this option is disabled then PDF-XChange Editor will revert to the designated default tool after the creation of a single dropdown menu. •Click Tab Numbers to show/hide the tab order numbers of form fields. •The Calculation Order setting is not available for dropdown menus. •Click Grid to enable/disable the grid, which is used to assist in the accurate placement of form fields, as detailed in (figure 4). •Click Create Multiple Copies to create multiple copies of selected form fields, as detailed here. •Click Fields to show/hide the Fields pane, which is used to view/edit form fields. •Click Fill Color to determine the fill color of the dropdown menu. •Click Stroke Color to determine the border color of dropdown menus. •Click Width to determine the width of dropdown menu borders. •Click Border to determine the style of dropdown menu borders. •Use the Font and Font Size dropdown menus to determine the font and font size used for dropdown menu items. •Use the Text Color dropdown menu to determine the color of the font used in dropdown menu items. •Click Properties to open the Dropdown Properties pane, which enables the customization of additional elements of dropdown menus and is detailed below.
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Follow the steps below to add/edit dropdown menu items:
1. Click Select Fields in the Form tab and select the dropdown menu, then click the Format tab and click Properties:
Figure 9. Selected Dropdown Menu
The Dropdown Properties pane will open.
2. Move to the Combo Box Items property and click <Empty>:
Figure 10. Dropdown Properties Pane, Combo Box Items
The Dropdown Menu Items pane will open. This pane is used to add/edit dropdown menu items:
Figure 11. Dropdown Menu Items Pane
3. Click Add New to add new entries to the dropdown menu:
Figure 12. Dropdown Menu Items Pane
•Click Delete Item to delete the selected item from the dropdown menu. •Click the Up and Down buttons to move selected items up or down in the list. The order of items in the pane represents the order to items in the dropdown menu. •Enter values in the Export Value column to determine the value given for exported dropdown menu items. Note that values must be first selected in the Dropdown Menu Items pane and then clicked in order to edit the name. •Click to select Display Value names, and then click them again in order to edit the name. •Select the check box of the item to be used as the default selection in the dropdown menu. This item will be selected when the dropdown menu is in its default state. •Click and drag the yellow control points to resize the dropdown menu as desired.
4. Click outside the Dropdown Menu Items pane to complete the process, then enable the Hand Tool to select dropdown menu items:
Figure 13. Completed Dropdown Menu |
The following example details a simple value validation of values entered into the dropdown 'Dropdown1':
Figure 14. Value Validation Example, Dropdown Menu
This example will detail how to validate that values entered into 'Dropdown1' fall in the range 0-100:
1. Click the Form Tab, then click Select Fields and select the dropdown menu.
2. Click the Format tab, then click Properties. The Dropdown Properties pane will open:
Figure 15. Value Validation Example, Dropdown Properties Pane
3. Scroll down the Dropdown Properties pane to the Format Value tab, then click the Category property and select Number:
Figure 16. Value Validation Example, Category Property Options
4. Scroll down the Dropdown Properties pane to the Value Validation tab, then click the Validation option and select Value in Range:
Figure 17. Value Validation Example, Validation Property Options
Note that the From and To options will appear beneath the Validation property when Value in Range is selected.
5. Enter '0' in the From option and '100' in the To option:
Figure 18. Value Validation Example, From/To Option
All values subsequently entered into 'Dropdown1' must fall into the range 0-100. Values outside of the specified range will not be permitted, and if they are entered then an error message will appear. |
The default settings of dropdown menus use a list item as the display name. The process below details how to create a different display name for dropdown menus:
A default dropdown menu is detailed below and the display name is 'Item 1':
Figure 19. Default Dropdown Menu
1. Click the Form Tab, then click Select Fields and select the dropdown menu.
2. Click the Format tab, then click Properties. The Dropdown Properties pane will open:
Figure 20. Dropdown Menu Tool, Dropdown Properties Pane
3. Scroll down the Dropdown Properties pane to the Allow Edit property and change the setting to Yes:
Figure 21. Dropdown Menu Tool, Allow Edit Property
4. Click the Home tab and select the Hand Tool, then click the dropdown menu and enter the desired display name. This example will use 'Select...':
Figure 22. New Dropdown Menu Display Name
5. Click the Form tab and click Select Fields, then select the dropdown menu and click Properties in the Format tab. The Dropdown Properties pane will open:
Figure 23. Dropdown Menu Tool, Dropdown Properties Pane
6. Scroll down the Dropdown Properties pane to the Allow Edit property and change the setting to No:
Figure 24. Dropdown Properties Pane,, Allow Edit Property
The dropdown menu will display as detailed below:
Figure 25. Dropdown Menu, New Display Name |