How to Create a Custom Currency Format with Text in Adobe Acrobat PDF Fields
Question details
The user needs to format a fillable PDF text field to display as currency alongside appended custom text, such as '$100.00 incl GST'.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Designing a fillable PDF form or invoice that requires a specialized financial data display.
- Observed behavior
- Acrobat lacks a built-in formatting option to append arbitrary text to a currency value, requiring a scripting workaround.
Ensure your PDF editor supports JavaScript for form fields, as you will need to apply custom Format and Keystroke scripts to achieve this result.
Use Custom JavaScript for Format and Keystroke Validation
Since Acrobat does not provide a built-in command for appending text to currency, you must write a custom script to format the displayed value and validate user input.
Applying a custom format script will change the appearance of the numbers after the user clicks out of the field. A keystroke script is equally important to prevent the user from typing invalid characters, which could break the format.
Enter 'Prepare Form' mode in Acrobat, right-click the target text field, and select 'Properties' from the context menu.
Click the 'Format' tab at the top of the Properties dialog box. From the 'Select format category' drop-down menu, choose 'Custom'.
In the 'Custom Format Script' window, enter your JavaScript to format the input. For example, to add a dollar sign and 'incl GST', use a utility formatting script that converts the raw number into your desired string.
In the 'Custom Keystroke Script' window, enter a validation script to restrict the user to only typing numbers, commas, and decimal points.
Create Custom Currency Formats Easily with WPS Spreadsheet
Instead of writing complex JavaScript in a PDF editor, you can easily create financial forms and invoices in WPS Spreadsheet using built-in custom cell formats, then export them directly to PDF.
- 1. Open WPS Spreadsheet: Launch WPS Office and create a new Spreadsheet to design your invoice or fillable financial layout.
- 2. Apply Custom Format: Right-click the target cell, choose 'Format Cells', navigate to 'Custom', and enter your desired format layout, such as $#,##0.00 "incl GST".
- 3. Export to PDF: Once your form is designed, go to 'Menu' > 'Export to PDF' to save your perfectly formatted document.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why doesn't the standard currency format allow custom text in PDFs?
Built-in PDF format categories are strictly predefined to ensure universal compatibility across all basic PDF readers. Adding arbitrary text requires overriding these defaults using Custom JavaScript.
Can I apply this custom script to multiple PDF fields at once?
Yes. In your PDF form editor, you can hold Ctrl (or Cmd) to select multiple text fields, right-click to open Properties, and apply the Custom Format script to all selected fields simultaneously.
What happens if a user enters letters into the custom formatted field?
If you do not implement a Custom Keystroke script to block letters, the Format script may fail or output a 'NaN' (Not a Number) error when attempting to parse the invalid input.
Does the custom format affect the underlying calculation value?
No, the format script only modifies how the value is displayed on the screen. Any subsequent calculations involving that field will still use the actual numeric value entered by the user.
