Create editable PDF forms

The following information assumes the use of Adobe Acrobat Pro for creating editable PDF forms for FH Mobile Response.

Information on creating or modifying editable PDF forms in is available in your Adobe Acrobat documentation.

ClosedNaming fields

Below are general guidelines for naming fields in Acrobat, in forms that will be used in FH Mobile Response.

  • You may use up to 25 characters for field names in Acrobat. Shorten form names, grid names, list names, and other names as necessary to meet character-count requirements, but still be recognizable for the data to be entered into that field.

  • In general, reflect the ICS form name and the individual item name on the ICS form you are creating.

  • For fields that are common across many forms, do not include the form name. This practice lets FH Mobile Response propagate the name you first enter for that incident into all fields called incident_name, on all forms.

    Example: Incident Name is a common field that should be named incident_name, regardless of the form on which it appears.

    Caution: Be careful to avoid duplicating field names in fields that are unique to a form.

    There are three types of fields used for setting up ICS forms in Acrobat for use with FH Mobile Response.

    ClosedFields (not in grids/tables)

    Requirements for naming fields not in a grid (table) are:

    • Stay within the 25-character limit.
    • Separate words with underscores.
    • Choose names that reflect the ICS form name and the information to be completed on that form.
    • Maintain consistency of the naming convention throughout the form.

    Example: In form ICS 221, titled Demobilization Checkout, there are fields named Supply Unit and Communications Unit. Field names that follow the naming requirements could be demob_supply_unit and demob_comm_unit.
    ClosedFields in grids (tables)

    Grid fields should be named with the following syntax: 

    gridname.listname_xrow

    Example: In form ICS 218, both the form and the table in the form are named Support Vehicle Inventory. Using the required naming syntax, the first field in the Type column could be named SptVehInvtry.Type_x1, second field in the column would then be named SptVehInvtry.Type_x2, and so forth. The first field in the Make column would be SptVehInvtry.Make_x1, the second field in could be SptVehInvtry.Make_x2, and so forth.

    It is up to the smart form administrator to specify the gridname and listname. However, the overall field name (including periods, underscores, and row designations) must not exceed 25 characters. The chosen names must reflect the grid name and list names on the ICS form.

    ClosedCheck box fields

    Check box fields should be named with the following syntax: 

    formname_fieldname_chbx

    In some cases, you may need multiple field names (in Acrobat) to correctly identify the check box in an ICS form. If this causes the character count to exceed 25, do not include formname.

    Example: Form ICS 212 is titled Incident Demobilization Vehicle Safety Inspection. To include the form name when naming fields in the form would exceed the 25-character limit. To stay within the limit, you can omit the form name. As a result, the first check box field in the Pass column would be named insp_guag_lts_pass_chbx, and the first check box field in the Fail column would be named insp_guag_lts_fail_chbx.

ClosedSpecifying field properties

You should set field properties based on whether the field is a text field or a check box field.

ClosedText fields

In Acrobat, both grid (table) and non-grid fields are text fields. Text fields can be single-line or multiple-line, as determined by the space available in the original ICS form.

  1. On the General tab, do the following.

    1. Clear all check boxes on the tab.

    2. Use the Text Field option to create fields with the following properties.

      • Form set to Visible.
      • Orientation set to 0 degrees.

  2. On the Appearance tab, do the following.

    1. Clear all check boxes on the tab.

    2. Use the Text Field option to create fields with the following properties.

      • Border Color set to No Color.

      • Fill Color

        Single-line fields Multiple-line fields
        Set to No Color. Set to White.
      • Text Font Size set to 10.
      • Text Color set to Black.
      • Text Font set to Times Roman.

  3. On the Options tab, do the following.

    1. Use the Text Field option to create fields with the following properties.

      • Alignment set to Left.
      • Default Value left empty.

      • Spell checking options

        Single-line fields Multiple-line fields

        Check spelling selected.

        Multi-line selected.

        Check spelling selected.

    2. Clear all remaining check boxes on the tab.

  4. On the Actions tab, do the following.

    1. Clear all check boxes on the tab.

    2. Use the Text Field option to create fields with the following properties.

      • Select Trigger set to Mouse Up.
      • Select Action set to Execute a menu item.
      • Actions left empty.

  5. On the Format tab, do the following.

    1. Clear all check boxes on the tab.

    2. Use the Text Field option to create fields with the following properties.

      • Select format category set to None.

  6. On the Validate tab, do the following.

    1. Use the Text Field option to create fields with the following properties.

      • Field value is not validated option is selected.
    2. Clear all remaining options and check boxes on the tab.

  7. On the Calculate tab, do the following.

    1. Use the Text Field option to create fields with the following properties.

      • Value is not calculated option is selected.
    2. Clear all remaining options and check boxes on the tab.
ClosedCheck box fields

In Acrobat, both grid (table) and non-grid fields are text fields. You can use the Check Box option to set up the properties for this type of field.

  1. On the General tab, do the following.

    1. Clear all check boxes on the tab.

    2. Use the Check Box Field option to create fields with the following properties.

      • Form set to Visible.
      • Orientation set to 0 degrees.

  2. On the Appearance tab, do the following.

    1. Clear all check boxes on the tab.

    2. Use the Check Box Field option to create fields with the following properties.

      • Border Color set to No Color.
      • Fill Color set to No Color.
      • Text Font Size set to Auto.
      • Text Color set to Black.

  3. On the Options tab, do the following.

    1. Clear all check boxes on the tab.

    2. Use the Check Box Field option to create fields with the following properties.

      • Check Box Style set to Check.
      • Export Value set to Yes.
    3. Clear all remaining check boxes on the tab.

  4. On the Actions tab, do the following.

    1. Clear all check boxes on the tab.

    2. Use the Check Box Field option to create fields with the following properties.

      • Select Trigger set to Mouse Up.
      • Select Action set to Execute a menu item.
      • Actions left empty.

Note: The Check Box Properties window does not include the Format, Validate, or Calculate tabs.