Expanding text boxes, pagination and expanding to another page

[PBingrampc]

Attached is a link to a simple form which is actually part of a much larger form. It has several nested add and remove instances. I have three fairly simple issues I need to solve.

     1. Is it possible to set a text box to allow it to grow in height as information is added that exceeds the size of the text box. This feature is available as a property in Microsoft Access as an example. I know you can allow multiple lines but you can see them all without the expanding feature.

     2. This form is design to grow by adding instances. I would like to set up the pagination so it would flow to additional page(s). I think I would just like the line

to continue to flow to the next page without creating a break in the primary instance if that makes sense (the top level of the instances - mode). This level could theoretically by larger than one page so this is probably best route to go. Currently it's not flowing at all to the 2nd page.

     3. Somehow I ended up with a 2nd page to the form. How do I delete that but yet have the expanding form automatically create a 2nd, 3rd (etc) page as required.

http://share.planswift.com/download/?file=W0H3U2V5-GOPO-FI9G-1UIG-OTYPHTB46HB

Thanks,

Patrick

[Niall_O_Donovan]

Hi Patrick,

I can't make changes to your form at the moment, but there are a few things you need to bear in mind. If you want items to expand and push objects down, then you will need a Flowed layout.

See this example about making fields dynamic: http://assure.ly/g80MVY.

Also this looks at the difference between Flowed (where you want to get to) and Positioned (where you are now) subforms: http://assure.ly/eSGQMt.

1. Yes, just select the textfield and go to the LAyout palette. There under height, tick Expand to fit. If you preview this you will see that it expands, BUT will cross over objects beneath it. This is where you need to group objects in a Flowed subform, so that when it expands it will push objects down.
2. The page needs to be set to Flowed. There are pagination settings available under the Object palette and you can start with Place = Follow previous and then Continue filling parent. You also want to make sure that for the subforms (and textfields) you have set in the Object palette that content is allowed to break over pages.
3. Check your pagination settings.

Hope that helps,

Niall

[PBingrampc]

I'm good to go on two out of the three! What's not working for me is the expanding text box. I even tried it in new form just to try to get work. I add a text box to a "flowable" form and cick the tick in layout to allow vertical growth but no luck.

I would rather be at Lahinch today than waiting on a hurricane!

Regards

-pc

[PBingrampc]

Opps - i went back and look at one of the downloads and it did in fact answer the quesition about the expanding text box! Thanks......

I didn't realize you have to exit the field in order to get it to work. Is there any scripting that will allow you to expand that field by hitting the return key?

Thanks,

Patrick

[Niall_O_Donovan]

Hi Patrick,

Batten down the hatches. Reports here have suggested 168kph winds, but hopefully it will abate before it lands. I think that we would all like to be in Lahinch tonight, but its a long way from there to here, idle-dedle-do

Anyway, yes the field expands once the user exits the field. I did an example up where the user could press Enter/Return in a numeric field in a table and it would set the focus to the field below: https://acrobat.com/#d=RZ1lzX23*u7L4N9rtWCYPQ. The commitKey is demonstrated here: http://assure.ly/j1KdNq.

However I don't think this will work in your case, as the user may want to hit Enter/Return to start a new line in the expanding text object. Instead of a new line, they would be chucked out of the field.

Hope that helps,

Niall