Primer on Portable Document Format Forms

This content was archived on June 24, 2013.

November 2008 - Version 1.0

About This Guide

This document is intended to provide a summary of information for occasional users of Portable Document Format (PDF) forms from Health Canada using Adobe Reader.

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction

2.0 Help with Fillable Forms

3.0 Page Navigation

4.0 Interactive Form Conventions

4.1 Highlight Fields On

4.2 Mandatory Field

4.3 Information to be Captured

4.4 Pick List

4.5 Radio Button

4.6 Check Box

5.0 Other Interactive Form Conventions

5.1 Show Text Field Overflow Indicator

5.2 Dates and Calendars

5.3 Tool Tip Text ("Hover Text")

5.4 Dynamic Sections

5.5 Adding Sections on Demand

6.0 Form Validation

7.0 Saving the Form

8.0 Printing the Form

1.0 Introduction

This document is intended to provide a summary of information for occasional users of Portable Document Format (PDF) forms from Health Canada using Adobe Reader. Full details on the features of the Adobe Reader product are provided in the Adobe Reader 8 User Guide available on the Adobe Web site.

2.0 Help with Fillable Forms

To view, complete, and print the PDF fillable forms, or to download blank forms, you need Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4.05 or higher. This software can be obtained free from the Adobe Web site.

In order to save a completed form that contains your own data, you must have Adobe Acrobat Professional 5.0 (full version) or higher. If you do not have this software, you may purchase Adobe Acrobat Professional online.

For more information on fillable forms, please consult the Adobe's Customer Support Page.

3.0 Page Navigation

Reader provides several options to move through the form. A form consists of several pages containing information fields.

To move from page to page:

Next page Right arrow or Ctrl+Page Down

Previous page Left arrow or Ctrl+Page Up

First page Home or Shift+Ctrl+Page Up or Shift+Ctrl+Up Arrow

Last page End or Shift+Ctrl+Page Down or Shift+Ctrl+Down Arrow

Scroll up Up Arrow

Scroll down Down Arrow

Previous screen Page Up

Next screen Page Down

These commands are in addition to the regular scroll bar and mouse controls. As mentioned previously, selecting the thumbnail will take you directly to that page.

To move from field to field:

Move to next field Tab or Down Arrow

Move to previous field Shift+Tab or Up Arrow

These commands are in addition to the regular mouse controls.

4.0 Interactive Form Conventions

As shown in Figure 1 : Interactive Form Conventions below, the following are conventions followed with interactive Adobe forms used at Health Canada.

Figure 1 : Interactive Form Conventions

4.1 Highlight Fields On

As described previously, selecting this button shows a background colour for all the fields that can be completed on the form.

4.2 Mandatory Field

A field that must be completed is a mandatory field. The label (title) of a mandatory field is followed by an asterisk (*) to indicate that it is required. With 'Highlight Fields' on, a mandatory field will also be outlined in a special colour. If a mandatory field is missing (such as empty), the form will not validate successfully.

4.3 Information to be Captured

Simply put, these are the fields of information that the form is designed to capture. With 'Highlight Fields' on, an information field to be captured will have a background colour to make it readily visible.

4.4 Pick List

A Pick List is a drop-down list of choices that has the same purpose as radio buttons (see below) because only one choice can be made. However, the Pick List can dynamically show more choices in a limited space as in Figure 2 : Example of a Pick List. The list is deployed by selecting the down arrow within the information field.

Figure 2 : Example of a Pick List

4.5 Radio Button

A radio button is used to represent each entry in a list of multiple selections where only one selection is accepted. The choice of a particular button deselects any previous choice. Radio buttons show as highlighted fields when 'Highlight Fields' is on.

4.6 Check Box

The Check Box toggles "on" (checked) and "off" each time it is selected. In Figure 3 : Example of a Check Box below, a group of check boxes supports multiple choices as each selection is independent of the other. Check boxes show as highlighted fields when 'Highlight Fields' is on

Figure 3 : Example of a Check Box

5.0 Other Interactive Form Conventions

5.1 Show Text Field Overflow Indicator

All information fields have a maximum capacity. When that capacity is exceeded, the information field displays a plus sign (+) as in Figure 4: Example of Text Field Overflow Indicator:

Figure 4: Example of Text Field Overflow Indicator

Note: Only the visible information is printed. The plus sign is an alert to shorten the information content to a value within the allowed length.

5.2 Dates and Calendars

Another common form convention is the Date field. Dates may be entered directly according to the format indicated (usually the international standard of yyyy-mm-dd). However, it is also possible to enter a date by choosing it from the built-in Calendar as seen below in Figure 5: Example of Dates and Calendar. The Calendar is deployed by selecting the down arrow within the information field.

Note : The down arrow may not be visible until the Information field is selected.

To navigate to the desired month, select the left arrow to go back a month or on the right arrow to advance a month. To change the year more quickly, select the year and the up-down arrows will appear. Simply select the upper arrow to advance a year or on the lower year to go back a year. To choose the date, select the desired day within the month and year.

Figure 5: Example of Dates and Calendar

5.3 Tool Tip Text ("Hover Text")

In certain cases, descriptive details about the information field are available without referring to the Guide. These details "pop up" when the cursor is motionless or hovers in the information field (hence the term "hover text"). By default, the text is the title of the information field.

Depending on the form attributes, this text can be different from the title and more descriptive about what information is to be entered. See Figure 6 : Example of 'Hover Text' below).

Figure 6: Example of 'Hover Text'

5.4 Dynamic Sections

Dynamic sections have been integrated within the electronic Product License Application (e-PLA) form. As a result, the number of pages within an application may vary. These sections are automatically added to the form depending on certain criteria. For example, the e-PLA form will automatically append an Animal Tissue Form when a non-medicinal ingredient that contains animal tissue is added to the e-PLA form as show in Figure 7 : Animal Tissue Form Warning .

Figure 7: Animal Tissue Form Warning

5.5 Adding Sections on Demand

Some forms have the ability to add more sections. User-controlled sections are added by the applicant selecting the appropriate action button. The action button normally appears in the header of the section to be added as shown below in Figure 8: Example of Adding or Removing Sections.

Figure 8: Example of Adding or Removing Sections

6.0 Form Validation

An interactive form offers the advantage of verifying the information that is entered - either as it is entered or when the entire form or section of the form is considered complete by the applicant.

On-going validation may be performed on information fields with specific formats such as date, time, or numeric value. Specific validation can be added for specialized fields such as telephone numbers, the Canadian postal code, or totals in a column of numbers.

Figure 9: Example of Form Validation Message

To remove the validation message, select the 'ok' button. You must correct the cause of the error before proceeding elsewhere on the form.

Note: Typically, the message hides the information field in error. Please ensure that you have understood the message before removing it.

The forms will validate captured information in order to prevent incomplete applications. The validation function ensures that no required information is omitted and that the information given is consistent. The validation will occur upon selecting the (Continue) button after each part and (Finalize) button at the end of the main form.

Each information field box identified with an asterisk (*) beside the title indicates that the information is required (mandatory).

If any mandatory field is left blank, the box (es), containing the necessary information, will be indicated by a coloured background upon validation (see Figure 10: Mandatory Fields Requiring Completion below.)

Figure 10: Mandatory Fields Requiring Completion

On most forms, a successful validation is confirmed by the following:

Figure 11 : Successful Validation Message

Note :Do not send any forms to Health Canada if the form has not been finalized (validated), or if any boxes still have a coloured background. Otherwise, these forms will be considered incomplete and will be returned to the applicant.

7.0 Saving the Form

As mentioned above, Health Canada PDF forms are enabled to save the information captured in the form. Confirmation of this ability is shown by the message below (in the Document message bar):

Figure 12: "You Can Save Data Typed into this Form" Message.

Be sure to save an initial copy of the form at the earliest opportunity (using a date and / or version number in the filename to distinguish your work). It is also good practice to always save your form before selecting the (Finalize) button. By doing so, if the error messages are overwhelming, you can reload the form prior to validation to correct any problems that cause multiple error messages and then redo the validation (after saving again).

8.0 Printing the Form

To print the entire form including any forms generated, use the File Print sequence from the Reader menu.