Creating a fragment

In this section, you will learn how to create a fragment.

You can create a fragment in a separate file or in the current form design.

  1. Open the Purchase Order Interactive.pdf sample form located in \EN\Samples\Forms\Purchase Order\Form Fragments\Forms.

  2. At the top of the form, select the P.O. Number and P.O. Date Text Field objects.

  3. Select Edit > Fragments > Create Fragment.

  4. In the Name box, type POInfo as the name for the fragment.

  5. Type Purchase Order Number and Date as the description of the fragment.

  6. To define the fragment in a separate XDP file that is stored in the Fragment Library, select Create New Fragment In Fragment Library.

  7. In the Fragment Library list, select Open Fragment Library, and then navigate to and select the Fragments folder in EN\Samples\Forms\Purchase Order\Form Fragments\Fragments.

  8. In File Name, leave the file name as POInfo.xdp.

  9. Leave the Replace Selection With Reference To New Form Fragment option selected so that the P.O. Number and P.O. Date Text Field objects in the form design will be replaced with the new form fragment.

  10. Click OK.

  11. Save the form design as My PO Interactive.PDF.

Notice that the look of the P.O. Number and P.O. Date objects has changed. The change is because a reference to the newly created PO Info fragment has replaced the objects.

A fragment icon appears in the upper-left corner of a fragment reference and uses the color of the object boundary borders. The objects within a fragment reference have gray borders to indicate that you cannot edit them from the fragment reference.

Clicking anywhere within a fragment reference selects it, and dragging anywhere on a fragment reference moves it. You cannot select any of the objects in a fragment reference.

Similarly, the objects in a fragment reference are not available in the Hierarchy palette because you cannot select or edit them in a fragment reference.

View full size graphic
A.
Fragment reference icon on a subform

B.
The objects in a fragment are not available

You can move a fragment reference and its contents in the Hierarchy palette in the same way that you move other form objects. However, you cannot drag objects into a fragment reference.

Click to continue: Editing a fragment

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