Use a regular button, set it’s “Object palette > Control Type property” to “Submit” (a “Submit” tab will appear in the Object palette at this point), then set the “Object palette > Submit tab > Submit As property” to “PDF”.

Note, however, that submitting the PDF is akin to saving the PDF, functionality that is not available by default in the free Adobe Reader. In order to export data in the PDF format in the free Reader, you’ll need to extend your PDF using Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions.

Have you tried having a look at what the items in the list look like after the oDB.open() call is executed? Perhaps the items aren’t what you think they are?

You could place a button on your form with the following script in its Click event (using the list object API where “myList” is the name of your list object):

console.println("myList contains " + myList.length + " items:");

for (var i = 0; i < myList.length; i++)
{
    console.println("item " + i + ": " + myList.getDisplayItem(i) + " / " + myList.getSaveItem(i));
}

Run your form, open the database connection, click on the button and then press “Ctrl + J” in Acrobat to show the JavaScript console. In there, you should see something like this:

myList contains 2 items:
item 0: text1 / value1
item 1: text2 / value2

which would show you what items are in the list. Are there any items? Do they have the values you’re expecting?

I have tried the loop on another computer and it works there. Sorry about that. I stll have the failure when the oDB.open(); is executed though.

Thanks,
Steve

Thank you for your reply and this website. They have been very helpful.

I have tried your suggestions but unfortunately still have the same issues. The problem I am seeing can be reduced to a simple
test. I am using WinXP SP3 with LiveCycle 8.2 and Acrobat 9 pro extended.
I use a blank form and add a Standard ListBox and a Textfield.

In the initialize event for the listbox I add the following code,

this.addItem(”test”,”it”);

In the change event for the list box I add this code,

TextField1.rawValue = this.boundItem(xfa.event.newText);

When I preview the form it shows the “test” displayed in the listbox and when I select “test” in the list box it displays “it” in the Textfield1 box.

This is working as it should. The problem occurs when you place the addItem in a loop.

var i;

for( i=0; i<10;i++){

this.addItem(”test”,”it”);
}

The result of this loop is to fill the listbox with 10 test choices, but when I select them there is no value appearing in the TextField box.

This is the same problem I find when I try to use the custom drop down list. I have found that when the oDB.open(); command is executed the
addItem fails in the same way.

Am I missing something basic here or is this a major bug?

Thanks for your help Stefan.

Steve

Unfortunately, the probem isn’t readily apparent to me although I will point-out two things: First, if your script language is set to “JavaScript” (which I recommend using over FormCalc), you cannot use “$” in your scripts. You need to use the “this” keyword to refer to the object in context. So

this.boundItem(xfa.event.newText);

is the correct way to access the bound item of the new selection in a list object’s Change event.

Second, since you’re using Designer 8.2 and Acrobat 9, you could try using the new List Object API, available since Acrobat 8, to access the bound item and also to verify the structure of the drop down list.

You’re close. Try this, and make sure the script language is set as “JavaScript” (FormCalc is the default):

if (this.rawValue == null || this.rawValue.length == 0)
    this.presence = "hidden";

This will check to see if the value of the field is null (no value specified) or if it’s an empty string (length == 0). If either of those conditions are true, the text field’s presence will be set to “hidden”.

I’m having difficulty with an issue and would appreciate any assistance you might be willing to provide.

I’m trying to hide blank text field from printing. I have no problem hiding other types of fields - I just can’t figure out how to hide a text field. I’ve inquired on the Designer ES forum, but the response did not work either.

I’ve tried the following JavaScript on the Preprint option to no avail:

if {this.rawValue == ” “} this.presence = “hidden”;

if {this.rawValue == Null} this.presence = “hidden”;

if {this.rawValue == Null()} this.presence = “hidden”;

if (this.rawValue == “”) {field.presence= “hidden”}; (from Adobe Forum)

Thanks!

Andi

Unfortunately, the problem is that the free Reader cannot, on its own, connect to a database and import/export data. This functionality must be either (1) enabled in the PDF using LiveCycle Reader Extensions ES or (2) supported on the server with LiveCycle Forms ES.