<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation: Tabs Guide > View > Toolbars > Form Toolbar > Add Dropdown Menus to Documents |
Dropdown menus enable users to select 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, as detailed below. Click the dropdowns for further information:
1. Click Edit Form, then click the Dropdown icon in the Form Toolbar (these locations are 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 Tool
2. Move the rectangle to the desired location and then click to add the dropdown menu to the document. (Use the editing aids detailed here to assist in the precise placement of dropdown menus). 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 Properties Toolbar to determine the style and appearance of dropdown menus: •Fill Color determines the color used to fill dropdown menus. •Stroke Color determines the border color of dropdown menus. •Border Style determines the style of dropdown menu borders. •Border Width determines the width of dropdown menu borders. •Text Color determines the color of the text in dropdown menus. •Font determines the font used in dropdown menus. •Properties launches the Dropdown Properties pane, which enables the customization of additional elements of dropdown menus.
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Follow the steps below to add/edit dropdown menu items:
1. Click Edit Form, then right-click the dropdown menu and click Properties:
Figure 8. Selected Dropdown Menu
The Dropdown Properties pane will open.
2. Move to the Combo Box Items property and click <Empty>:
Figure 9. Dropdown Properties Pane, Combo Box Items
The Dropdown Menu pane will open. This pane is used to add/edit dropdown menu items:
Figure 10. Dropdown Menu Pane
3. Click Add New to add new entries to the dropdown menu:
Figure 11. 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.
4. Click outside the Dropdown Menu Items pane to complete the process:
Figure 12. Completed Dropdown Menu |
The following example details a simple value validation of values entered into the dropdown 'Dropdown1':
Figure 13. 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 Edit Form, then select 'Dropdown1' and click Properties in the Properties Toolbar. The Dropdown Properties pane will open:
Figure 14. Value Validation Example, Dropdown Properties Pane
2. Scroll down the Dropdown Properties pane to the Format Value tab, then click the Category property and select Number:
Figure 15. Value Validation Example, Category Option
3. Scroll down the Dropdown Properties pane to the Value Validation tab, then click the Validation option and select Value in Range:
Figure 16. Value Validation Example, Validation Option
Note that the From and To options will appear beneath the Validation property when Value in Range is selected.
3. Enter '0' in the From option and '100' in the To option:
Figure 17. 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:
The default settings were used to create the dropdown menu below, and the display name is 'Item 1':
Figure 18. Default Dropdown Menu
1. Click Edit Form, then right-click the dropdown menu and click Properties. The Dropdown Properties pane will open:
Figure 19. Dropdown Menu Tool, Dropdown Properties Pane
2. Scroll down the Dropdown Properties pane to the Allow Edit property and change the setting to Yes:
Figure 20. Dropdown Menu Tool, Allow Edit Property
3. Click the Standard Toolbar, select the Hand Tool then click the dropdown menu and enter the desired display name. This example will use 'Select...':
Figure 21. New Dropdown Menu Display Name
4. Click Edit Form, then right-click the dropdown menu and click Properties. The Dropdown Properties pane will open:
Figure 22. Dropdown Menu Tool, Dropdown Properties Pane
5. Scroll down the Dropdown Properties pane to the Allow Edit property and change the setting to No:
Figure 23. Dropdown Properties Pane, Allow Edit Property
The dropdown menu will display as detailed below:
Figure 24. Dropdown Menu, New Display Name |