Document Structure
When you add elements to a form, ABBYY FormDesigner automatically builds a document structure, a hierarchy of form fields linked to one or more elements on the form image. You can modify document structures and link elements to any fields of the appropriate type.
Document structures are saved and exported as part of XFD files.
Viewing document structure
To view the structure of the current document, select View → Document Structure. In the right-hand pane, the structure of the fields in the current form will be displayed. You can add new fields as well as delete, rename or move any of the existing fields. To work with fields, either right click a field and select an item on the shortcut menu (Add Field, Delete Field, Rename Field). To move fields in the hierarchy, either press Ctrl+Up/Down arrow or select Move Field Up / Move Field Down. If a field has elements linked to it, you can only move it within its current level in the hierarchy, otherwise you can also move a field between groups.
Adding new fields
When you add a new element to a form, ABBYY FormDesigner automatically creates a new field in the document structure of the same type as the newly created element. To create a new field manually, select Add Field and then select a type for your new field.
Linking form elements to fields
When you add a new element, ABBYY FormDesigner automatically links it to the field in the document structure automatically created for this element. To link an element to another field:
- select the required element on the form image
- right-click the element and select Properties... on the shortcut menu
- in the Element Properties dialog box, click the Linked Field tab and select a field from the drop-down list. You will be able to choose only from among the fields of the type which corresponds to the selected element. If an element is part of a group, it can only be linked to fields that belong to the corresponding group field.
Note.The names of the fields which have no elements linked to them are shown in italics in the document structure pane.
Deleting fields and elements
To delete a field from the document structure, select the required field and press Delete or right-click the required element and select Delete on the shortcut menu.
When deleting an element, the field it is linked to is also deleted, unless it has other elements linked to it. To delete an element without deleting its corresponding field, press Shift+Delete, or select the Delete Block command on the Edit menu, or right-click the element and select the Delete Block command on the shortcut menu.
4/12/2024 6:16:02 PM