2014
Lynda
Michael Murphy
2:43
English

The design of a clear, printable form is only the start of getting the data that you need. Making an electronic version of that form—one that's easy to post on the web or transmit via email—is the key to gathering data quickly. Intended for intermediate designers, this course looks at everything from building a future-proof PDF to adding interactive fields like signatures and combo boxes with InDesign, to finalizing and distributing your form with Acrobat Pro. Author and award-winning designer Michael Murphy will make sure your forms work equally well on paper as they do as PDFs, while troubleshooting tricky PDF issues like permissions.

Introduction
Welcome
Using the exercise files
InDesign vs. Acrobat: Which to use, and why?
1. Laying Out Your Form in Adobe InDesign
Hybrid forms: Designing for both print and PDF
Form-design best practices
Establishing fast, efficient styles that are ideal for forms
Using object styles for fields
Check box and radio button styles
2. Preparing a Form Layout for Basic PDF Interactivity
Installing a forms workspace
Creating text fields
Form-field copying caveats
Adding multiple text fields
Understanding tab order
Creating check boxes
Creating radio buttons
Adding a signature field
Customizing check boxes and radio buttons
Adding appearances for visual feedback
Using InDesign's Sample Buttons and Forms library
3. Adding PDF-Only Form Interactivity
Adding a combo box
Adding a list box
Adding Submit and Print buttons
Using button actions to present contextual form options
4. Exporting and Finalizing Your Form in Acrobat
Managing tab order
Enabling a form for distribution
Form-distribution methods
Additional Acrobat-only options
Conclusion
Next steps

Download File Size:330.46 MB

---