"New Year’s Resolution: Learn JavaScript"

By Leah Lothringer
PDF Store Support Team
Issue 1 for 2007

Happy 2007 from all of us at PDF Store! With the festive season over, many of us will have moved on to assessing which of our New Year's resolutions were the most unrealistic. The prospect of working off a few too many mince pies or latkahs can be daunting, so in this issue of PDF Perspectives, I offer the palatable topic that is integrating JavaScript into PDF.

JavaScript has long been integrated into web pages and in the last couple of years, Adobe has integrated it inside of Acrobat. So what is JavaScript? In short, it is a programming language that enables developers to automate tasks that would otherwise be monotonous and time-consuming. JavaScript can be placed virtually anywhere in Acrobat, including form field buttons, page open and close actions and document opening and closing actions. JavaScript can also be placed at the Document Level, Application Level and Page Level, enabling you to call JavaScript from a central location. Dave Wraight discusses this in greater detail in Where Should I use Acrobat JavaScript?.

If at this point you're worried that you are not some programming wizard, you can eschew those concerns. JavaScript is by no means difficult to learn and you only need to master a little to gain a lot.

For some practical examples of JavaScript in action, take a look at Chris Dahl’s article on Example Acrobat JavaScripts and Planet PDF’s collection of tutorials and code samples that cover order forms, formatting, credit card validation and more.

Additionally, the Planet PDF Forum is frequented by active, experienced users from across the world who are glad to share their expertise.

Have a terrific 2007.