Insert an Explanation Into a PDF Form Template

To insert an explanation in your PDF form template, you need to insert a repeating field. To do this:

  1. In Policy Modeling, add the attribute to the list of explanation attributes available for the form.
  2. In your PDF editor, make sure the PDF form template is in form editing mode.
  3. Create a Start data field. To do this:
    1. Add a text field.
    2. In the PDF Form Assistant dialog, click the Repeating fields tab.
    3. Click Start Mark.

      PDF Form Assistant showing Start Mark selected on the Repeating fields tab
    4. Click the Copy button (or Ctrl+C).
    5. In the PDF form template, edit the field properties.
    6. Name the text field "start".
    7. Paste the copied field code into the Tooltip field.

      Text Field Properties dialog in a PDF editor showing the new Name and Tooltip for the text field
  4. Create an explanation node. To do this:
    1. Add a text field.
    2. In the PDF Form Assistant dialog, click the Explanations tab.
    3. Select the attribute that you want to show the explanation for. Only those attributes that have been added as available to the form in step 1 will be shown. You can use the Filter field to search for attributes containing a particular string of text.

      An attribute selected on the Explanations tab in the PDF Form Assistant dialog
    4. Click the Copy button (or Ctrl+C).
    5. In the PDF form template, edit the field properties.
    6. Replace the field name by pasting the copied field code (Ctrl+V).
    7. In the PDF Form Assistant dialog, click the Repeating fields tab.
    8. Click Group number.
    9. Click the Copy button (or Ctrl+C).
    10. In the PDF form template, edit the field properties.
    11. Paste the copied field code into the Tooltip field.

      Text Field Properties dialog in a PDF editor showing the new Name and Tooltip for the text field
  5. Create an End data field. This denotes the end of the information to be repeated. To do this:
    1. Add a text field. The text field must be far enough down the page to be clear of all entity instance attribute data that could appear on the form once generated.
    2. In the PDF Form Assistant dialog, click the Repeating fields tab.
    3. Click End Mark.
    4. Click the Copy button (or Ctrl+C).
    5. In the PDF form template, edit the field properties.
    6. Name the text field "end".
    7. Paste the copied field code into the Tooltip field.
  6. Save the PDF form template.

Note that only conditions affecting how the decision was reached are displayed in the explanation node, not the attribute itself. If you want the form to include the text of the attribute itself, then you need to add this as a separate text field before the start field for the explanation.

An example of an explanation inserted into a template is:

Form template showing fields for an explanation

The resulting form when there is an explanation for the attribute would look like this (where the children are Mariam, Salma, Yasin and Hamza):

A generated form showing an explanation included

Note that:

  • Repeating fields can only be used once per page. That is, there should only be one Start field and one End field on each page.
  • Start and End field names should be unique where multiple repeating fields are used in a form template.
  • You must allow sufficient space between Start and End fields for the generated explanation. A good idea is to always include the End field at the bottom of the page.
  • The distance between the Start field and the explanation node is what influences the spacing between each line in the explanation.
  • The use of repeating fields in a PDF form template results in a PDF form that does not conform to the PDF/UA (ISO 14289) standard for accessibility.