Using flash fields

Use the Flash Field object in interactive forms to deliver rich media content like embedded videos and data graphically displayed in charts.

Note: Flash Field objects are supported in Acrobat and Adobe Reader 10.0 or later. Remember to select this target version option on the Defaults panel in the Form Properties dialog box.

When you add a Flash Field object to a form, you specify the URL of the SWF file. You can also specify the location of an image file to use as a poster image. The poster image file is rendered any time the flash field is not in use or deactivated.

If you plan on using the form offline, you can embed flash data and poster image files in the form so that all components of the form are available. Keep in mind that embedding multiple SWF files and image files can significantly increase the size of the PDF file. To know more about the differences between embedding versus referencing objects, see this article.

You can display rich media content in a floating window, as well as add Flash assets like video, sound, image, text, XML, and SWC files. You can embed or reference Flash assets, or have a combination of both. You can also bind Flash Fields to a content provider such as an XML schema or a WSDL file.

In addition, you can configure various aspects of how rich media content is presented in a form. For example, in the Object palette you can define these properties:

To specify the URL of a SWF file

  1. In the Object palette, click the Field tab.

  2. Do one of the following actions:

    • If you know the location of the SWF file, in the URL box, type the URL to the file and press Enter.

    • To browse to the location of the SWF file, click the Browse button to the right of the URL box, navigate to and select the SWF file, and click Open.

To embed flash data in the form

 In the Object palette, click the Field tab and select Embed Flash Data.
Note: If you are using the paper forms barcode object, do not select the Embed Flash Data option unless you have assigned a collection to the barcode, which does not include Flash Field objects. The embedded flash data is larger than the paper forms barcode object can hold.

To specify the location of a poster image

You can use BMP, JPG, GIF, PNG, or TIFF files as a poster image.

  1. In the Object palette, click the Field tab.

  2. Do one of the following actions:

    • If you know the location of the poster image file, in the Poster box, type the URL to the file and press Enter.

    • To browse for the location of the image file, click the Browse button to the right of the Poster box, navigate to the image file, and click Open.

To embed a poster image

 In the Object palette, click the Field tab and select Embed Poster Image.
Note: If you are using the paper forms barcode object, do not select the Embed Poster Image option unless you have assigned a collection to the barcode, which does not include Flash Field objects. The size of the embedded poster image file is larger than the paper forms barcode object can hold.

To display rich media content in a floating window

  1. In the Object palette, click the Field tab and select Display Flash Content In Floating Window.

  2. To configure the size and position of the floating window, in the Property list, enter values as needed. Values are measured in points. (see Flash field properties in the Field tab)

To add an additional asset

  1. Click Edit.

  2. Click Add (+).

  3. In the Browse for Additional Asset dialog box, select the file you want to add, and click Open.

  4. (Optional) To embed the file, select Embed Asset.

  5. Click OK.

To unembed or delete an additional asset

  1. Click Edit.

  2. In the Additional Assets dialog box, do one of the following actions:

    • To unembed an asset, select the asset in the list and deselect Embed Asset.

    • To delete an asset, select the asset in the list and click Delete (+).

  3. Click OK.

To define custom data-binding properties for a flash field

  1. Select the flash field.

  2. Enable the form to connect to the data source when the form is opened.

  3. Bind the check box to its corresponding data node. For information about how to bind objects to a data source. (see Binding fields to a data source.)

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