Basic form with external data

Question

I am not sure if I am overcomplicating something I am trying to do with designer/Acrobat.
I am trying to create an interactive work order.
Much of the basic layout has been done, and most of the fields are doing what I want them to do, though I still have a little here and there that needs some tweaking.  But before I get to doing those, my primary focus is to have the form access external data.
For example.  I have a table in the form that has the following fields.
Quantity     Part Number     Description     Price     Amount
Quantity, price and amount are all internal to the form itself, and are fillable by the user of the form, with the exception that the amount field is a calculated value based on the previous two.  My intention is that these fields are only filled by the user of the form when needed.
My issue however is the Part Number and Description fields, which has me quite perplexed on what would be the best way to go.
From some of what I have read here and there in this forum and elsewhere, it seems that I have to have some kind of complex setup regarding sql servers if I want to use a simple database file (access for example) where I can edit as needed on the fly to pull data into the form as needed, using for example, a pulldown, to populate the two fields.
I can muddle through that for my personal needs, however, my intention is to provide the form to co-workers so they can use it without having to set up what I am seeing as extremely complex setup of installing and configuring sql servers and so forth.  The computers will not be connected to any networks, these are field laptops.
What I was hoping was to provide the database with the pdf file and let the end user simply copy those to a folder and use them without much fuss, aside from them being able to edit the database file to add their own custom information.  I was also considering adding in the ability for them to save and recall customer contact information as well.
I am not by any stretch of the imagination a programmer.  I am a technician.  I can figure out how to use access easily enough.  But beyond this...well...its all greek to me if you get my gist.
Am I overcomplicating the matter.  Is there an easier approach to what I want to do?  Are there any complete samples  (includes all the files needed) available that I can use and study to accomplish what I am trying to do?
Appreciate any input from you folks here.
Thanks.

Answer 1

Hi,
There are (at least) two ways of approaching this.
One is to have the Part No. and Description in an external source (eg database) and then set up a data connection in the form to access this information. One problem is that if the user are using Adobe Reader, then the data connections will not work. See summary of deployment options here: https://acrobat.com/#d=3lGJZAZuOmk8h86HCWyJKg
Another option is to hard wire the Part No and Description into the form. There is an example here and links to a tutorial on Acrobat Users website. Linking Drop Down Fields / Combo Boxes
Good luck,
Niall