Expert: Ken Black - 3/7/2009

Question
I receive a .pdf file with approximately 300 text fields and drop down menus
from a vendor.  Approximately 100 of these fields and two of these drop
downs will be filled in (manually) with data.  Is there a way to retrieve what
these text fields and drop downs have been named so I can control the text
fields and import the data into the from excel to automate the data entry?  
Thanks for any help.  Should I also post to an Excel expert?  Thanks for any
help.
Dan

Answer
Hi Dan,

You can reveal the field names by choosing Edit Fields from the form menu. This can be located in different places depending on the version of Acrobat Professional you are using. This will also depend on whether or not you have editing rights to the document.

Version 7 and 8, Put this under the Advanced menu and call the command Edit Fillable Forms. While version 9 gives Forms its own menu and calls this command Add or Edit Fields.

This will put the form into an editable mode that will show all the fields and their names. You can export the form as a text file and import this into Excel to help speed up your field naming. The order it comes in may not be exactly what you want as it does not seem to keep the set tab order from Acrobat, it could depend on the form and how it was set up to begin with.

Once you have your Excel document cleaned up and filled with your appropriate data, you can export it as a text file (tab delimited) and import it back into the Acrobat form using the Import Data command. Again versions 7 and 8 keep it in a different place than version 9, but at this point you should see it in the same place as the Edit command, either in its own Form menu (version 9) or under the Advanced menu (version 7 and 8).

Thanks,

Ken Black

www.bestprintingonline.com