Navigating through fillable forms

Question

I've been working on a fillable medical report and I'm having trouble moving through the template to insert data.

I've created the report, it works well, but I have to click and select each field. When I get to the field, if there is a drop down, I must click on the field, then click in the down arrow to open the drop down.

My 2 questions:

1.  How to navigate to the next field using the tab or another key?

2.  How to select a field with a drop down menu that automatically opens so that I may choose the option?

Thanks.

JP

Answer 1

The answer depends on which type of form controls you've put into the form.

 

If you've used the legacy form fields, the requirement is that the form must be protected "for filling forms" in the Restrict Editing pane, and the protection must be turned on.

Then you can tab from one field to the next, and nothing outside of the fields can be selected or edited. When you tab into a dropdown form field, you can open the list without the mouse by pressing Alt+down arrow.

If you've used content controls, then you don't need any protection from the Restrict Editing pane. (You can prevent editing of anything outside of the controls by selecting everything and clicking Developer > Group > Group.) You can tab from one control to the next, with the exception that pressing the Tab key in a rich text content control just inserts a tab character. A dropdown content control can be opened with Alt+down arrow, like a legacy form dropdown.

If you've used ActiveX controls, that's usually a bad choice; I recommend replacing them with one of the other two types.

Answer 2

Hi,

Unfortunately, your question is too ambiguous because of the different kinds of forms and form controls available. Jay has given you some guidance. If needed, you can save a sample document with the problem on OneDrive or Dropbox and paste a link here. Remove any confidential or sensitive information first. I or someone else can take a look at it.

I hope this information helps. Please let me know if you have any more questions or require further help.

Regards

Answer 3

Thanks.

I appreciate your comments. It will be difficult to anonymize. 

JP

Answer 4

Then, take a look at what Jay provided. Tell us more about what you are doing.