SECTION 8.6
685
Interactive Forms
8.6.3 Field Types
Interactive forms support the following field types:
•
Button fields
represent interactive controls on the screen that the user can
manipulate with the mouse. They include
pushbuttons, check boxes,
and
radio
buttons.
•
Text fields
are boxes or spaces in which the user can enter text from the key-
board.
•
Choice fields
contain several text items, at most one of which may be selected as
the field value. They include scrollable
list boxes
and
combo boxes.
•
Signature fields
represent electronic signatures for authenticating the identity of
a user and the validity of the document’s contents.
The following sections describe each of these field types in detail. Further types
may be added in the future.
Button Fields
A
button field
(field type
Btn
) represents an interactive control on the screen that
the user can manipulate with the mouse. There are three types of button fields:
•
A
pushbutton
is a purely interactive control that responds immediately to user
input without retaining a permanent value (see “Pushbuttons” on page 686).
•
A
check box
toggles between two states, on and off (see “Check Boxes” on page
•
Radio button fields
contain a set of related buttons that can each be on or off.
Typically, at most one radio button in a set may be on at any given time, and se-
lecting any one of the buttons automatically deselects all the others. (There are
exceptions to this rule, as noted in “Radio Buttons” on page 688.)
The various types of button fields are distinguished by flags in the
Ff
entry, as
shown in Table 8.75.