Dynamic Text Box size

Expand to fit works only when focus leaves the field (i.e. if you tab out of the field). During run-time, the scroll-bar will appear in the area you have designed at design-time. Once you leave the field, the field is dynamically resized. If you wish the rest of the document to reflow, you must define the text field within a subform which is in turn a child of a flow content subform.

I am very new to Adobe Designer. In fact, this is my first project. I have tried and tried, but I cannot make a text box expand and flow the document. I have messed with everything, including downloading the sample from this site. I just cannot figure out what I am missing. Can someone walk me through the process of creating a expanding text box from a blank, new page? All I need is the steps taken to create a single expanding text box, and hopefully I will see what I am missing.

Chris,



Here are the steps:



1) Open a new form and drop a text field on your form.

2) On the object inspector, click on the "field" tab.

3) Check the "Allow multiple lines" box and set your desired property values.

4) On the "layout" inspector, select "expand to fit" in the dimension that you want (i.e: width and/or height)

5) From the hierrachy, right click on your textfield and select "wrap in subform".

6) Select your new subform that just created. On the "Object" inspector, select "subform" tab.

7) Choose "flow content" for type. Select "top to bottom" for flow direction.

8 ) On the "layout" inspector, select "auto-fit" for both height and width.

9) Now, you can test your form by click on "PDF preview" tab.



Basically, above are the steps that you need. The idea is ,like David in previous post said, put your form field in the "flow content" subform.

Jimmy,



Thanks for the response. I followed your directions to the letter, and still have the same results as before. I can type multiple lines, and I get the scroll bar in the box, but when I click off the field (tab out or click on the document elsewhere) all that happens is I get a plus symbol at the bottom right corner of my box, but it is not resized.



This is driving me crazy. If it is possible, I can send off my simple single text box form for review. I just can't figure out what I am missing.

Make sure you have this saved as a dynamic PDF. It will not work for a static document.

MAN! David, you rock! That was is. I was attempting to preview from the unsaved document. Once I saved it as you suggested...it worked fine. Thanks! I was getting ready to toss this computer through a window...now thanks to everyone here...I can continue my project until the next problem!

Tossing it through a window might hurt an innocent bystander. I prefer using a golf club or baseball bat (so long as they are from my old set!) :-)

Thanks for the tip, Sgreen!



While we are all looking at this, I am working on the second half of my document, which requires the form to expand as the fields do.



I have read above, "If you wish the rest of the document to reflow, you must define the text field within a subform which is in turn a child of a flow content subform."



I am trying to make sense of this...hopefully I will figure it out.

Ok I finally got the text to wrap successfully and it grows if you add multiple lines of text. However, on the form I have a bunch of fields and if for example, i type in field one, it grows right over the fields below. So it grows but the next fields below do not move to allow for the extra words typed in.

Dianescanlon,



You need to make sure all other fields below the growing text field is wrapped by a "flow content" subform. This way, when the text field expands, it pushes other fields downward.



Hope this helps.