Working with forms (Simplified Editor)

To clarify, before we begin 

• In this article, the term “fillable form,” “fillable field,” etc., means the individual form fields in a document.  
• When talking about “forms,” we are talking about the fillable fields themselves, not the document as a whole.

Getting started with forms 

When working with fillable forms in the Simplified Editor, CommonLook PDF will try to detect the forms and place them in Form containers.  The Form containers may be “inline,” inside a “parent” container like a Text container, List or Table. 

Checking the “parents” 

CommonLook does a great job detecting containers for the content.  Authors, however, do not always make the best design decisions, when it comes to accessibility. 

For example, oftentimes, when creating fillable forms, authors will use tables to help with the formatting and layout, even when the content is not intended to be read as a data table. In cases like these, you’ll need to make sure that the “parent” container, for your forms, is correct for the actual content.  As shown in the screenshot below, due to the author’s design decisions, a table has been detected.  Because the content is not a data table, the “parent” container should be converted to a Text container.  

In addition, if the author has put a text field, for example, on its own “line” in the document, because form fields need to be closely associated with their text labels, you may find it necessary to resize Text containers, or create new ones, so they contain the form fields and their associated text.  The screenshot below shows a form field on its own, below the text in the page view.  The Form container should be resized to hold the Form, as well. 

In the screenshot below, the Text container has been resized.  CommonLook has also created the “inline” Form container inside the Text container.

Working with “Form field descriptions”

In addition to making sure the form fields are in Form containers, you’ll also need to provide (or verify) the “Form field descriptions,” also known as the “Field tooltips.” 

When someone is using a screen reader to read a PDF, the tooltips convey the question that’s being asked for any given form field.    

If the form fields in your source PDF already have tooltips, the tooltips will be imported into CommonLook.  If tooltips are not in the original document, CommonLook will try to create the tooltips automatically, using the text around the form fields.  When you are clarifying page elements, you’ll be asked to verify the form field descriptions. 

If the fields from your source PDF don’t have tooltips, and CommonLook is not able to create them automatically, then, in “Clarify Page Elements,” you’ll get the message shown below asking you to add field descriptions.  

Guidelines for tooltips 

When someone is using a screen reader to fill out a PDF form, it’s possible for them to navigate from one form field to the next without reading the content of the document in between.  So, it’s important that the tooltips accurately communicate the question being asked.  Additional, contextual information may also be needed.  For example, if a field is marked as “required,” that information should be included in the tooltip.  Enough information should be included in the tooltip so the reader has the necessary context to accurately answer the question. 

While CommonLook PDF can create tooltips, based on the content on the page, these should be verified.   

Verifying, providing, and editing tooltips 

To check your tooltips, or to provide them if needed, follow these steps:

1. Select the container that has the Form field(s) inside it and then, in the toolbar, choose “Edit Inline.”
   
2. Click on the Form Field element that you want to work with.  When a Form Field is selected, on the right side of the Simplified Editor's interface, the “Form field details” dialog box will open.
3. In the “Form field details,” enter the tooltip or edit it, if needed.
   
4. Hit “Save” when you’re done.
5. Repeat the process for the other Form containers, as needed, being sure to save!  

Special considerations for radio buttons 

Radio buttons, in PDF forms, are a special type of field and they introduce a couple of additional things to consider. 

Using the example screenshot above, let’s discuss radio buttons. 

First, because of how radio buttons work, all of the radio buttons for a question will get the same tooltip.  So, for the tooltip, enter the question that’s being asked, but not the specific radio button option.  Referring to the screenshot above, our tooltip for both radio buttons would be, “Do you have a pet?”  Pro Tip: When you enter the tooltip for one radio button, CommonLook will apply that to the other radios buttons in the group!  

Notice, in the screenshot below, the Text container with the question is open, the Form container for the “Yes” radio button is selected, and, in the “Form field details” dialog box, the tooltip has been entered. 

Also, in the “Form field details” dialog box, under the tooltip, there’s a place to enter the “Radio button choice.”  Here, enter the answer option for the specific radio button.  So, for our “Yes” radio button, the “Radio button choice” is “Yes” and for the “No” radio button it would be “No.”

Be sure to hit “Save” if you make any changes to any of the form field details!