Tab Order Problems With Adobe 8

Did you ever notice that sometimes when you tab through a PDF form, it makes logical sense, and sometimes it skips around all over the place? If no order is set, Adobe sets it automatically, using the order in which the form fields were created. You can control the tab order within Adobe Acrobat 8. Take a few extra minutes when setting up your PDF to make your document easier to follow.

Tab Order Choices

To get to "Page Properties," either go to "View > Navigation Panels > Pages" or click on the "Pages" icon---it's the one that looks like two overlapped pieces of paper---in the navigation panel on the left. Within "Page Properties," there are four choices for the tab order: "Use Row Order," "Use Column Order," "Use Document Structure" or "Unspecified." Select the one most relevant to your document's layout.

Set Automatically

You can reset the tab order automatically if the tab order in "Page Properties" is set to "Unspecified." If this is the case, simply select "Forms > Edit Fields > Set Tab Order" in the menu. Click "Yes" in the dialog box to complete the automatic reset.

Set Manually

You can use this option only if "Page Properties" is set to "Unspecified." Once this has been selected, click "Forms > Edit Fields > Set Tab Order." Select "No" in the dialog box. Small numbers appear in the upper left of each form field. These represent the tab order. Click the field you would like to be first. Continue to click all the other fields until the desired order is set. Once you're done, simply click anywhere in the document outside of the form fields to hide the numbers.

Check the Order

Save the changes to your document. Double-check that the tab order was set properly by opening the document and tabbing through all the fields. If anything is still out of order, refer to the previous sections to edit your work until the desired order is set.

LiveCycle Designer

You can create Adobe forms in Acrobat or LiveCycle Designer, and you must edit them in the program you used to create the form. Please note that LiveCycle Designer is available only on the PC platform. To locate LiveCycle Designer, open Acrobat and go to "Forms" in the menu bar. Select "Edit Form in LiveCycle Designer." The application opens up in a separate window. Select "View > Tab Order" from the menu bar. The form fields are each labeled with a number. Select the one you want to be first, and continue to click through the fields until the order is set. Even if the field is numbered correctly, click on it to make sure it's set. Otherwise, if you skip it, it numbers the next field you click incorrectly, and you'll have to start over. Be sure to save your changes and preview your PDF before distributing or posting.

References

• Adobe Acrobat Help and Support
• Appligent Document Solutions

Resources

• Adobe
• Lynda.com