Livecycle

To create form designs using a positioned context

Using a positioned context, you build the form design by using as many master and pages as are required. When the object layout and formatting is completed, you set the appropriate properties to those areas of the form design that will flow content.

If you are familiar with creating forms that have a fixed layout, you may find that creating a form design in a positioned context is most comfortable and familiar. In addition, this approach provides the easiest and most straightforward way of converting an existing form that has a fixed layout into a form design that has a flexible layout.

The following steps provide a general idea of the design process for creating a form design in a positioned context, assuming that the planning stage is completed.

1.	Create the required master pages.

2.	On the page, create the form content. If you are converting a form that has a fixed layout, simply begin by wrapping the objects on the form into subforms. If you are starting with a blank form, do the following tasks:

•	Add objects to the form and enclose them in the appropriate subforms.

•	Apply the necessary formatting to the objects.

•	Finalize the layout of the objects within their subforms, and subforms on the page.

•	Add scripting if required.

3.	Implement the dynamic concepts:

•

Unwrap the default subforms on each of the pages. The subforms will become children of the root subform, form1, which has flowed content. From this point on, you will be designing in a flowed context. You will notice that the subforms are positioned one below the other because the flow direction is top to bottom.

•	Apply the necessary formatting to the subforms, such as subform binding type and borders.

•	Define the flow. This task includes setting the occurrence values, allowing page breaks, defining leader and trailer subforms, defining which subforms to keep together, associating subforms to master pages, and setting margins.

4.	Test the form by using sample data.

Note:

The sample forms included with LiveCycle Designer ES follow this procedure. For usability reasons, the subforms that contain the actual content are wrapped inside a subform that has its binding type set to none. By configuring the subforms in this way, you can quickly understand the overall structure of a form when you see it in Hierarchy View for the first time.

Considerations for creating a form design using a positioned context

When you are creating forms that have a flowed layout using the positioned context, you should be aware of the following:

•

Set the form’s content to flowed only when you are satisfied with the layout. When the form’s content is set to flowed, you can revert to a positioned layout, but you may experience problems with the form layout. For example, if you choose to wrap the subforms inside a single positioned container, the subforms will be positioned exactly where they were in their respective pages and may overlap each other. To avoid this situation, wrap the subforms as described earlier, by using page grouping.

•	The subform’s default minimum and maximum count are set to 1, and must be adjusted to behave dynamically.

•

Wrapping objects inside a subform does discard any extra space defined beyond the objects. You may choose to add left and right margins to realign the subform horizontally. You might also resize the subform, but doing so will reposition the objects because they are positioned relatively to the parent.

To create form designs using a positioned context