1. Creating Interactive Forms with
InDesign and Acrobat

2. Process Overview: InDesign to Acrobat

3. A) Do Layout and Design in InDesign: Text, Fields, Images, Buttons
Important Note:
First set your InDesign
Workspace to “Interactive
PDF” (under the Window
menu) to make the
appropriate sample
libraries available.
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•
•
•
Text
Placing Images
Creating text field areas
Checkboxes, radio buttons, and symbols that will work as form
elements.
• Mouse-over buttons for Submit and Reset

4. B) Add interactive field and form areas on the document
• Different types of form fields are selected through the Buttons and Forms
menu: Window>Interactive>ButtonsAndForms. Select “Text Field” from
the list.

5. InDesign: Adding Text, and Text Input Fields
Use the Text tool to
write regular text
into your InDesign
file
Use the Rectangle
Frame tool to put
down form field
areas where users
will input
information
Open the Interactive
Buttons and Forms
panel and assign the
field with labels and
actions

6. • Location of InDesign’s rollover
button samples: Window>Sample
Buttons and Forms
Note: Window>Workspace>Interactive PDF
must be selected first as your working space

7. Exporting to Acrobat from InDesign
1) File>Export
2) Save the file as Adobe PDF Interactive format
3) Open the exported PDF file from Acrobat

8. C) After exporting the Document to Acrobat, run Acrobat’s field
auto-detection process.
• Forms Auto Recognition Feature:
Tools>Create>UseCurrentPDF

9. D) In Acrobat Pro, Connect Fields to their assigned data pathways
1) Double click on the field you
are assigning, to open up the
Text Field Properties
dialogue box.
2) Select the “General” tab, fill
in field data according to
your routing directions.
3) Use the “Format” tab to
associate specific input types
with the field assignment.

10. E) Make the final output functional for Adobe Reader
• Important: Make sure to export as Reader Extended PDF,
that users can fill-in and save.
1) Turn Form Editing Off
2) File> SaveAsOther> ReaderExtendedPDF> EnableMoreTools (Incl…)
3) Export and Test