Apache OpenOffice (AOO) Bugzilla – Issue 47799
Access to input fields made easier/more intuitive
Last modified: 2013-08-07 14:38:26 UTC
For the input fields in a new document to be filled by the user, it should be easier to access them when the new document is opened. What I mean is a document or a template containing input fields made by Insert > Fields > Other > "Functions" tab > Input field When I open a document containing these fields, 1. I cannot see the text until all fields are filled and the last dialog has been closed (maybe a bug in my display?), 2. for each field a new dialog is opened instead of just letting me insert the text into the field within the text directly, 3. each dialog has to be closed by Alt+W (German localization) or "Weiter", 4. and after the last dialog the whole chain stopps and cannot be run through again (instead I have to click on the fields with the mouse). To make this feature as useful as it is in MS-Word, one should implement 1. the possibility to jump to the next field by pressing just one button (I would prefer Tab), 2. insertion within the field in the text where the text is visible, 3. the chain of fields just starting over after Tab-bing from the last field. Actually this is the only feature missing that has kept me from completely converting all my office work to OOo yet. Rolf
Reassigned to ES.
As you described, you want to use the document as a form. Then see http://sw.openoffice.org/servlets/ReadMsg?list=dev&msgNo=1098. OOo has no pendant to a microsofts Form-TextField. IMO a new field type is much-needed. You can use form-textfields in OOo too, but the length is fix. Though it is planned to change this (see the specs-docs), other shortcomings are: borders are printed, without border you need an unprintable shading to identify the field. Regards Peter
Hi Peter, Thanks for your answer. I have to say, of all the possible things to try achieving an effect similar to MSWord's input fields and forms, the Input Field of OOo seems the best candidate to me: It looks like standard text, it appears grayed, takes over the text styles, runs as long as you would like (though some might want to be able to confine it in length if appropriate) and behaves just like normal text within text. I can block the whole text by just marking it and choosing a write protection for it, and I still have access to the input fields. When I save the document as a template and call this, (almost) everything is working as expected. The only drawback yet is its roundaboutness during fill-out. I could live with dialogs popping up for each field, but the text should be visible and you should be able to begin filling out all over once you reached the bottom. So to me this seems to be like a tweaking of an already existing element rather than introducing a new one. That's why I placed this issue under Enhancements. I don't want an MSO clone, and if there was another way of doing the task so smoothly as I can in my daily office work with MSWord, I would happily accept it. But IMHO this is a real chance of tweaking something existing in OOo to make it really usable in office practice. Rolf
Reassigned
duplicate to issue 33737 *** This issue has been marked as a duplicate of 33737 ***
closing duplicate