Creating interactive PDF forms from Structured FrameMaker

[Shlomo Perets]

Art,

You wrote:

>But if you want to do the entire job more quickly, use Acrobat's LifeCycle 
>form too.

It depends on what the 'entire job' is...

If it is a separate form (single or multi page), Adobe LiveCycle Designer 
is indeed a very good choice (and many PDF producers have it already as it 
is bundled with Acrobat Professional).
Form fields may also be inserted in PDFs using Acrobat Professional.

But form fields of different types (including text fields and check boxes) 
-- not separate forms as such -- may be needed in longer/complex documents. 
Such multi-page documents (possibly with cross-refs, variables, tables, 
graphics, conditions etc.) are way beyond the scope of LiveCycle Designer 
(or other dedicated form design tools) and are better handled in FrameMaker 
(especially so if already in FrameMaker, regular or structured).

In PDFs that are primarily intended for screen display, form fields -- in 
addition to data entry or selection --  can be used to enhance 
interactivity (buttons with tooltips or different states) or search actions 
(e.g. selecting a search phrase from a pre-defined list instead of typing it).

Sample PDFs demonstrating a variety of form fields, inserted through 
hypertext markers in source FrameMaker files (distilled with FM-to-Acrobat 
TimeSavers + Form Asst) are available at 
http://www.microtype.com/ShowcaseFormAsst.html


Shlomo Perets

MicroType, http://www.microtype.com * ToolbarPlus Express for FrameMaker
FrameMaker/Acrobat training & consulting * FrameMaker-to-Acrobat 
TimeSavers/Assistants