Ch. 012. Field Setup: Data Capture for Text Fields

The Data Capture tab for text fields provides four "User Control Types". The Data Capture window for text data varies slightly between the selections of the drop down for User Control Type. Each selection applies a different set of attributes to the field. We will illustrate how information is gathered in each of the four examples here. See the chapter on "Data Capture Tab - General" for other prompts on this tab.

Entry from Field Type Tab

  • What type of field will this be? = Text
  • Data for this field will come from? = User Entry

User Control Type: TextBox This option allows a single line entry and is best when used for a short string of text that does not wrap. The text entered in the Default Value field provides your user with an example of the type of entry required and may be overwritten by the user. Setting the Maximum Length prevents the user from entering too much text. Note if you would like the additional text that does not fit in the amount of space you allow for this field, you can create another field on your template and use the "text-overflow" option that is chosen in the "Field Type" tab.

User Control Type: Text Area Basically the same as "Text Box" but this option allows multiple lines of text, as in the example below. You may still use the Max Length box to set how much text can be entered in the text area. Note if you would like the additional text that does not fit in the amount of space you allow for this field, you can create another field on your template and use the "text-overflow" option that is chosen in the "Field Type" tab.

User Control Type: Drop Down List This option allows you to provide a list of data from which the user makes a selection. You will enter each choice on a separate line. The Default Option will only work properly if the option also exists as part of the List Options. This screenshot below displays three addresses. The drop down value displayed to the user and the information that will be populated on the template is separated by a Pipe Symbol “|”. Returns that are needed on the template are added to the row of text using a backslash-n (\n). Here is an example of this:

Chicago Office|123 Main Street\nChicago, IL 60187\nPhone: 312-555-1212

In the above example, the customer will see "Chicago Office" in the drop-down menu. When it is chosen, the following will be populated in the area designated for this information:

123 Main Street

Chicago, IL 60187

Phone: 312-555-1212

Important: you cannot use HTML here in this area. Only plain text is allowed.

User Control Type: Rich Text Area This option is not available when building your template in the Interactive Designer version of eDocBuilder. The Interactive Designer has its own rich text behavior. This option is similar to the "Text Area" option but provides greater versatility in formatting (both to the designer and the end user) using a WYSIWYG text editor with toolbar options. The behavior experienced by the user may be slightly different depending on the specific browser they choose to use when customizing your template.

Allow User to Choose Base Font: When using this option this new choice will appear. If you would like your customer to choose from the fonts available in this template then check this box. The customer will not be given the choice of fonts otherwise. Please note: Because eDocBuilder is pre-loaded with system fonts available to all templates, the system fonts as well as the fonts you uploaded in the "Assets" area for the template will be available choices for your customer.

Entry from Field Type Tab

  • What type of field will this be? = Text
  • Data for this field will come from? = Another Field Not available in the Interactive Designer version of eDoc

Please select the field to use data from - When you choose "Another Field" in the Field type tab you will need to tell eDocBuilder what field you would like the entry to come from. The user will not see a prompt for this information. You will still be able to set particular attributes to this field in the format tab. You will choose from a drop-down menu in the data capture tab that lists all the field names that are available in your template.

Entry from Field Type Tab

  • What type of field will this be? = Text
  • Data for this field will come from? = Static Text or Field Scripting

Please enter the static text here - When this option is chosen the customer will not be prompted for entry of any information. One choice is to enter static text that you want to show on the template but do not want the customer to have an option of changing. If your intent is to have this field be part of a Field Script then leave this entry blank. Field scripting is explained in greater detail later.

Entry from Field Type Tab

  • What type of field will this be? = Text
  • Data from this field will come from? = Variable Data File (only available on Forms Based templates)

If this combination of choices is made in the Field Type tab then there is no entry needed for Data Capture. The customer will be prompted to upload a Variable Data file and map up the field that will pull the text from.

Entry from Field Type Tab

  • What type of field will this be? = Text
  • Data for this field will come from? = Text Overflow

Not available in the Interactive Designer version of eDoc

Please select which field to overflow text from, as needed - If this field is able to take the text that is overflowing from another field, choose the name of the field here. If the customer's entry goes over what is available in the field you chose text will flow into this field. You can flow more than one field into another and you can have text flow from one page to another. If the text does not go over the amount allowed this field will remain empty on the template.

Color Palette: Refer to the chapter on Color Palettes for how to set your palettes. In this drop-down, you will choose which color palette you want to use (if any) for this particular field of text. This option will ensure that the customer will only be able to choose from specific colors you want them to for that block of text. This is great for situations such as stamps and thread where only certain colors are available. Please note: This drop-down menu applies to text fields where the end user can change the font color. For forms-based templates, this means it applies to Rich Text Area fields only. Note that Rich Text Area fields also have a control that allows for changing color on a range of selected text that is independent of the palette color choices.

Enable RGB Color Picker: Allow customers to change the color of the text from an RGB color picker.

Enable CMYK Color Picker: Allow customers to change the color of the text from a CMYK color picker.

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