"In Fine Form"

By Leah Lothringer
PDF Store Support Team
Issue 21 for 2006

In last week's issue, I touched on one of the most intimidating components of a working paperless office - electronic forms. PDF forms technology can be complex however it is possible to implement a solid workflow with the right tools and a little knowledge.

Processing forms on the server provides a great deal of power and flexibility. Depending on the system, users can either fill out the form online, or download the form and use a "submit" button to send their data back to the server. For projects of a large or unknown scale, server solutions offer a good way to control costs and ensure that all respondents can respond in the same way. The server approach returns control to the form providers, as the data will be processed on their end.

Implementing a forms management solution, such as Formium means that your end users will be able to fill out any PDF form without the need for Adobe Acrobat. Formium can be integrated with your backend processes so that collected form data can be exported where desired (for example, to a Microsoft Access database). Additionally, flattened PDFs of the filled forms can be produced, which can then be emailed back to the user.

Comparatively, PDF/Mergician allow users to set up PDF forms that can directly import information from databases, spreadsheets or delimited text files, resulting in a filled form. For example, you could enter an invoice number into your PDF template and the corresponding customer and order information would automatically be imported. You'd then be able to print the document and send the client their completed invoice.

Want to learn more? The Planet PDF Forum is an excellent resource for discussions and advice relating to PDF technology. A very active, experienced group of forum members from across the world are available to share their expertise.