On the Tools toolbar is the Text Input tool 
. Use this tool if you want the user to be able to type information into your publication. Input boxes have a variety of uses in multimedia publications, for example: gathering user information, such as name, address, telephone etc.; users can type answers to quiz questions in input boxes; developers can create online questionnaires; and a host of other uses.
A text input box varies from a standard text box in the following ways:
A standard text box includes text that you type into the box e.g. headings for pages, explanatory text, instructions, quiz questions, etc.
A text input box includes the name of a variable. When the publication is run, the user can type directly into the text input box, the information is stored in the variable. You can use the information stored in the variable for a variety of tasks, e.g. displaying the user input on different pages; as an answer to a quiz question; etc.
Draw a Text Input object on the page as described in Adding Objects to a Page. This will automatically open the Text Input tab in the object’s Properties dialog box.
Note:
The points below describe what you must do in order to set up the Text Input box correctly – see Text Input tab for full details of the option settings available to Text Input boxes.
The Allow user to type input into this text frame option is ticked. If this option is not ticked then this object just becomes a standard Text box.
Note:
The Text Input tool is simply a shortcut tool for creating text input boxes; in fact, any Text object you have previously created in your publication can become a Text Input box by ticking this option.
Use the Store input information in this variable option to add the variable in which the user’s information is stored. This is important, if you do not add a variable here, then the information is not been stored anywhere and you won’t know what the user typed.
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The Text Input box on the page will only show the name of the variable. For example, if the variable assigned to this input box was Feedback, then in the workspace, the input box will contain <Feedback>. If you type any other information into the input box it will not appear when the user runs the publication.
Once the user information has been stored in a variable it can be used elsewhere in your publication, for example, if the user enters their name you can have their name appear on other pages – see Displaying Variables on a Page for more information.
The variable in which the user information is stored can be written to a text file using the Write to Disk File action or to a database with the Insert New Record action.
You can format the Text Input box in the same way as standard Text objects. For example, you can change the colour of the text, add bold and underline, change the font and font size, add borders, text effects, transitions, and so on. To change the text formatting, click on the frame of the Text Input box and then use the Format toolbar. To change the border, text effects or transitions, double-click on the Text Input box to open the object’s Properties dialog box and select the appropriate tab to make your changes.
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When you first create a Text Input box they are given a standard Text Input style but as mentioned above, you can change the style to any you require.
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There are many other options that you can set in Text Input tab in the Properties dialog, such as restricting the amount of text a user can enter, limiting entry to letters, number or special characters, and much more. All of these options and more are described in detail – see Text Input tab for more information.