InfoPath Dev

I have a form that we use to scan barcodes into that I have transferred to Infopath.  My trouble is that when using a 4 column layout table my barcode reader works correctly on the first column but will not move to the top of the second column to continue the input. It either jumps out of the column and continues to scan or inputs all numbers on the last row in the first column. Is there a way to make Infopath work correctly with a barcode scanner or will I need to abandon it in favor of Word or Excel?

 TIA,

John

Have you looked at your tab stops in the form.  So that it moves from field to field the way you want?  I believe this is in form options or field properties.

Hello, I can't seem to find these tab stops. I have looked in both the places you suggested but don't see anything related to tab stops. THis same behavior occurs when I manually enter the data so it is not a problem with the scanner but with infopath. I tried a repeating table to see if it would work and got the same behavior as with a layout table. Any other suggestions? JStairs

Hi -- tab stops are located in the control properties (right click the control, select Text Box Properties -- or whatever type of control it is) , under the Advanced tab. Look for the tab index box. Try setting your first field to 1, your second to 2, etc, and see if that helps.....

Thanks for the help, but the tab stops made absolutely no difference, it is still not working. Just as a recap, here is what I am basically doing... I created a 4 column by 25 row layout table then inserted text boxes into each grid. Starting down column one with 1 - 25 then column 2 with 26 - 50, etc. When I scan the barcode it puts the first one scanned into field one and automatically drops down to field two, i scan the next barcode and it places it into field 2 and moves the input to field three, this is what i want it to do. When it comes to field 25, however, I hit a snag... instead of jumping up to the top of the next column to field 26, it jumps out of the table and starts entering text where no text box or input of any kind exists. Now, if i don't use the scanner and input manually the return key does nothing, to get it to move from one field to the next I have to hit the down arrow on my keyboard. When I get to field 25, the down arrow refuses to work and all entries get put into field 25 one behind the other. Is there anyway to get Infopath to allow the scanner to move to the top of the next column? And how can I get the return to work to enter the number manually and move to the next line. This is standard operating procedure on all tables across almost every application known to man, I cannot fathom why this is not the default situation in Infopath. I hope someone has an ideal out there that will remedy the situation. If not, I guess I will have to use Word or Excel to do this simple form. I would use them now but the company wanted them done in Infopath, but it is beginning to look impossible to me.

Interesting -- I put together a sample form with about 5 columns and 4 rows (also in a layout table) and a text field in each one. I set up the tab index for the first text box in the first column to one, then all the way down the column, incrementing by one, so that column 2, text box 1 had a tab index of 6. When I get to the last cell in the first column and select *tab*, I go up to the first text box in the second column. Return, as you have mentioned, does nothing. When you input manually and get to box 25 and tab, do you go to 26? I'm assuming each text box is bound to its own field?