Some of the key capabilites of Forms Standard and Forms
Pro are as follows:
Easily create and deploy XML-based forms in HTML5 or
PDF.
Dynamically assemble fragments into interactive forms based
on data-driven events or user input.
Support offline save, barcodes, and digital signatures in
PDF.
Capture data and transfer it to core systems, streamlining
processes and improving data accuracy.
Next-generation HTML5 rendering for tablet devices in LiveCycle
Forms Pro supports highly accurate pagination, form scripts, and
web fonts.
With new Mobile Friendly HTML5 render capability Adobe LiveCycle
Forms Pro ES4 module extends forms to mobile devices with a browser,
allowing your mobile clients to access forms without downloading
an application. You can automatically share one document template
to PDF, paper, and HTML5, improving process efficiency.
The Forms Portal solution supports form directories optimized
for mobile devices, helping mobile users discover the forms they
need quickly. Next-generation HTML5 rendering for tablet devices
in LiveCycle Forms Pro supports highly accurate pagination, form
scripts, and web fonts. Mobile users enjoy the same look and feel
as they would with a PDF form.The new Mobile Forms component is
designed and architected in a web developer friendly manner and
allows much simpler customization model as compared to legacy HTML
render service.
For more information about Mobile Forms, see Introduction to Mobile Forms, Getting Started with Mobile Forms,
and Working with Forms.
Some of the key areas where this is differentiated from Legacy
HTML render Service are listed below:
Integrate forms data with back-end systems
Support for XML lets
you leverage existing enterprise applications to deploy forms rapidly
and exchange data with core business systems. You can embed forms
with content from key applications and add calculation and validation mechanisms
that automatically verify information as a user completes a form. Returning
captured data to key applications via web services interfaces, speeds up
processing times and reduces form processing costs and the risk
of human error.
Using Forms you can render and process interactive
forms and large data sets. You can create applications that perform
interactive form-rendering operations such as these:
Render interactive PDF documents. For forms created in Designer
that have a flowable layout, Forms adds extra fields and boilerplate.
These components are added as a result of merging the form design
with data or as a result of scripting.
Validate data entry by performing calculations, accessing
databases, or enforcing business rules on field-level data, and
then return the resulting data to the browser.
Load XML data into an XML Data Package (XDP) file or into
a PDF file that contains XDP information. Forms retrieves form data
from central repositories and merges it with the specified form
when rendering the form.
Extract XML data from an XDP file. Forms can process form
data that a user submitted. Form data can be submitted to an organization’s
core systems, therefore increasing the quality of data gathered,
improving customer service, and leveraging investment in core systems.
Rendering forms based on fragments
Forms can render forms that are
based on fragments that you create using Designer. A fragment is
a reusable part of a form and is saved as a separate XDP file that
can be inserted into multiple form designs. For example, a fragment
can include an address block or legal text.
Using fragments
simplifies and speeds up the creation and maintenance of large numbers
of forms. When creating a new form, you insert a reference to the required
fragment and the fragment appears in the form. The fragment reference contains
a subform that points to the physical XDP file.
The advantages
of using fragments are as follows:
- Content reuse:
- You can reuse content in multiple form designs. When you need
to use some of the same content in multiple forms, using a fragment
is faster and simpler than copying or re-creating the content. Using
fragments also ensures that the frequently used parts of a form
design have consistent content and appearance in all the referencing
forms.
- Global updates:
- You can make global changes to multiple forms only once,
in one file. You can change the fragment content, script objects,
data bindings, layout, or styles, and all XDP forms that reference
the fragment reflect the changes.
- Shared form creation:
- You can share the creation of forms among several resources.
Form developers with expertise in scripting or other Designer advanced
features can develop and share fragments that take advantage of scripting
and dynamic properties. Form designers can use those fragments to
lay out form designs. This approach ensures that all parts of a
form have a consistent appearance and functionality across multiple
forms designed by multiple people.
- Reduce costs associated with designing, managing, and
publishing forms
- Reduce development costs and improve operational efficiency
by using one template to render forms to paper, PDF, and HTML5.
Forms management capabilities in LiveCycle Forms Pro ES4 centralize
the management, reuse, and publishing of forms assets, including
forms, fragments, images, and other content. Business employees
can easily locate assets through browsing and metadata searching,
update them, and publish or retire forms to a web portal. Inline
preview and inter-asset dependency analysis lets business and IT
workers understand how changes to forms and assets impact collection.
Multichannel publishing
Form developers
can use an XFA template to render both in PDF and HTML5 formats.
It is specially beneficial in scenarios where you have a large set
of XFA forms that require minimal changes to adapt to Mobile Forms
design practices. You can render these existing XFA forms to HTML5
to target various devices, where XFA PDF is not yet supported.
Developing Guides (Deprecated)
Guides (deprecated) can streamline
and simplify the way that users fill a form. Form developers can
quickly develop Guides (deprecated) in Workbench by using a data
model and Guide Builder. After a Guide (deprecated) is created,
it is rendered in the Forms Service API or the Render Guide (deprecated)
service in Workbench (or a custom service). Developers can also
use Flash Builder to create custom Guide (deprecated) components
based on the Guide (deprecated) components that are included in
Workbench.