TIP 102: Creating Batches of Buttons
Buttons have some common uses that Acrobat can handle with ease. You typically use more than one button on a page, and Acrobat obliges with a process for creating multiple buttons. You often see buttons used across numerous pages of a document, such as a Back button that returns you to the start of the document. Acrobat has a Duplicate process you can use to quickly add a button to your document's pages.
If the Dialog Doesn't Look Right…
To use the Create Multiple Copies process, use the Button tool to select the buttons you want to use as the anchor buttons. When you open the Create Multiple Copies of Fields dialog, both the Copy selected fields down and across options are active. If you select buttons with the Select Object tool, only the Copy selected fields down option is active. Cancel the dialog and click the Button tool instead. |
In both of these examples, start by drawing the first button. Configure the button and its appearance. If you are using a Back button for the entire document, for example, set the action as well. That saves you a lot of time later. Here's how to add a batch of buttons to a single page:
1. | Select the button (or two buttons, named Button0 and Button1, as in the example used in this tip) and then right-click or Control-click to open the shortcut menu. Click Create Multiple Copies to open the dialog shown in Figure 102a.
Figure 102a. Draw the first buttons and then open the dialog to quickly create multiple copies.
| 2. | In the dialog, define the numbers of rows of buttons you want to use in the document by clicking the arrow or typing a value in the fields. You can also resize the button in the dialog.
Form Fields for All Seasons
A button is a type of form field, just as items like text boxes and radio buttons are form fields. The actions you use with buttons can be applied to any other type of form field you add in Acrobat. Read about working with forms in Chapter 8. |
| 3. | Finally, if you wish, use the positioning buttons to nudge the group of buttons on the page. As you make changes, the buttons are displayed on the document page. | 4. | Click OK to close the dialog. |
The new buttons are named according to the names of the original buttons. In the example, the names of the two original buttons were changed to Button0.0 and Button1.0; the new buttons are named Button0.1 and Button1.1 (Figure 102b). Any additional buttons added to the collection continue the numbering sequence.
Figure 102b. The button copies are named based on the original buttons' names.
Do you want a Back button that appears on every page of your document? That is even easier to create:
1. | Build your button and add the appropriate action. For example, to use a Back button applied to the document's pages, draw the first button and in the Button Properties dialog set an action to go to a page view, in this case to page 1. | 2. | Set the view you want the button to initiate, and click Close to dismiss the Button Properties dialog. | 3. | Move the button to the correct location on the page. | 4. | When the button is finished, right-click or Control-click and choose Duplicate from the shortcut menu. The Duplicate Field dialog opens (Figure 102c).
Figure 102c. You can duplicate a button from one page across a whole document; each button maintains the actions, name, and appearance of the original.
Reading Articles
You can also use a link or button (or a bookmark) to "shortcut" your readers directly to a series of articles in a document. Add the articles to the document first. Then add a link or a button and in the Actions tab choose Read an article from the Select Action pull-down menu. A Select Article dialog opens. Select the article you want to link and click OK to close the dialog; click Close to dismiss the Properties dialog. Read about articles in Chapter 7. |
| 5. | The default selection is All pages; you can click From and type the range to use instead if you prefer. | 6. | Click OK and the buttons are added. Just like that. When you duplicate the button, it is merely a copy of the originalthe buttons' names aren't changed. |
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