Making a popup/tooltip with Acrobat's form fields

Richard Crocker Planet PDF Managing Editor

December 13, 2000

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Download the PDF used in this example (PDF:17K)

Using the 'Hide/Show Field' Form option in Acrobat allows you to hide information until a user moves the mouse over a certain field. In the screenshots below you'll see the button called 'Read here' - this is the field used to display the text I've put into the hidden field. When you hold the cursor over the 'Read here' button the black popup box is displayed.

The first step is to name the two fields you use. For the example below you'll see I've named the first button 'Read here' and the second 'Popup window'. You name them by double-clicking on the the field and typing in the Name box.

The first button 'Read here' requires two actions to be set: one to display the 'popup window' field when the cursor is held over the Read here button; the other to hide it when the cursor exits the Read here button. These are set in the Actions tab.

To set the 'Mouse enter' action. Click on 'Mouse enter'and then 'Add'.

Now select the action Type as 'Hide/Show Field' and go to the 'Edit' button. Select the 'popup window' field and the 'Show' option.

To set the 'Mouse exit' action. Click on 'Mouse exit'and then 'Add'. Now select the action Type as 'Hide/Show Field' and go to the 'Edit' button. Select the 'popup window' field and the 'Hide' option.

The second button 'popup window' requires little for it to work in the example. Apart from the Appearance tab - which is used to set the background colour, font type and size - the Options tab is where the text is set. The screenshot below shows where you write the text to be displayed in the window that pops up - you type in the Default text box.

Your popup is now ready to test.