SECTION 8.6
675
Interactive Forms
TABLE 8.69 Entries common to all field dictionaries
KEY
TYPE
VALUE
FT
name
(Required for terminal fields; inheritable)
The type of field that this dictionary
describes:
Btn
Button (see “Button Fields” on page 685)
Tx
Text (see “Text Fields” on page 691)
Ch
Choice (see “Choice Fields” on page 693)
Sig
(PDF 1.3)
Signature (see “Signature Fields” on page 695)
Note:
This entry may be present in a nonterminal field (one whose descendants
are fields) to provide an inheritable
FT
value. However, a nonterminal field does
not logically have a type of its own; it is merely a container for inheritable at-
tributes that are intended for descendant terminal fields of any type.
Parent
dictionary
(Required if this field is the child of another in the field hierarchy; absent other-
wise)
The field that is the immediate parent of this one (the field, if any,
whose
Kids
array includes this field). A field can have at most one parent; that
is, it can be included in the
Kids
array of at most one other field.
(Sometimes required, as described below)
An array of indirect references to the
immediate children of this field.
In a non-terminal field, the
Kids
array is required to refer to field dictionaries
that are immediate descendants of this field. In a terminal field, the
Kids
array
ordinarily must refer to one or more separate widget annotations that are as-
sociated with this field. However, if there is only one associated widget anno-
tation, and its contents have been merged into the field dictionary,
Kids
must
be omitted.
Kids
array
T
text string
text string
(Optional)
The partial field name (see “Field Names,” below; see also imple-
mentation notes 116 and 117 in Appendix H).
(Optional; PDF 1.3)
An alternate field name to be used in place of the actual
field name wherever the field must be identified in the user interface (such as
in error or status messages referring to the field). This text is also useful when
extracting the document’s contents in support of accessibility to users with
disabilities or for other purposes (see Section 10.8.2, “Alternate Descrip-
(Optional; PDF 1.3)
The
mapping name
to be used when exporting inter-
active form field data from the document.
(Optional; inheritable)
A set of flags specifying various characteristics of the
field (see Table 8.70). Default value: 0.
TU
TM
text string
integer
Ff