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Adobe Acrobat 7.0

Setting Tabbing Order

For many PDF documents and especially PDF forms, users may press the [Tab] key to move through the document. You can specify the order in which tabbing moves a user through your document. This can make your document more navigable for your readers.

Return to topSetting Tabbing Order: Page Properties

You can set the order in which users can tab through elements on your page (e.g., links, comments, etc.).

NOTE: You have to set a tabbing order for every page separately.

  1. Open the PDF document

  2. On the left side of the window, from the Navigation pane, select the Pages tab
    The Pages pane appears, displaying thumbnails of each page in your document.

  3. Right click the thumbnail of the first page you want to set a tabbing order for » select Page Properties...
    The Page Properties dialog box appears.
    Page Properties dialog box

  4. Select the Tab Order tab

  5. Select the tab order you would like

Use Row Order
Tabs through rows from left to right.

Use Column Order
Tabs through columns from left to right and from top to bottom.

Use Document Structure
Tabs as specified by the program creating the document (e.g., Word, Excel).

Unspecified
Tabs by row, first through form fields, then through links, and lastly through comments.

  1. Click CLOSE

Return to topSetting Tabbing Order: Form Fields

Users completing your form will often press [Tab] to advance from one field to the next. You can set the order that the user tabs through the form fields.

  1. Open the PDF document

  2. Ensure that the tab order for page properties is set to Unspecified
    HINT: For more information, refer to Setting Tabbing Order: Page Properties.

  3. On the Advanced Editing toolbar, click the SELECT OBJECT TOOLSelect Object Tool
    HINT: If the Advanced Editing toolbar is not displayed, from the Tools menu, select Advanced Editing » Show Advanced Editing Toolbar.

  4. From the Advanced menu, select Forms » Fields » Set Tab Order
    Each form field displays a number representing its current tabbing order.
    Field with field number displayed

  5. To set a different order, click the form fields in the desired tabbing order
    HINT: Be sure to start with the first form field.

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