I am told Servoy can generate PDF forms that could be edited from a PDA (offsite) and and then emailed back to Servoy and the PDF form data can be automatically imported into the database? Is this correct?
If YES/Sort Of!, is it just a matter of creating the form in Servoy Developer the way I want it to look and export it with the PDF plugin? I assume th plugin will generate combo boxes with valuelists from the database?
Thanks.
4xjbh:
I am told Servoy can generate PDF forms that could be edited from a PDA (offsite) and and then emailed back to Servoy and the PDF form data can be automatically imported into the database? Is this correct?
If the PDA can handle fill-in Acrobat PDF forms then Servoy can do the rest. Servoy includes extensive support for PDF forms.
For example, you can create a fill-in PDF form using the full Adobe Acrobat 5.0 and then add it to a media field. The reason I suggest using version 5.0 is that this will create “Acroforms” which are forward compatible. Forms created with Adobe Acrobat 7 Professional may not be backward compatible and may not work with Servoy. So staying with “Acroforms” will give you the best compatibility.
The PDF form must include a submit button and two supporting fields. These can be copied and pasted from the sample PDF form solution. This will allow data to be submitted to the backend database through Servoy. Servoy will do the field mapping for you on the fly. Once submitted the form can be re-opened for editing and re-submitted. It is also possible to merge the form and data into a new fixed image PDF form for emailing. Users will only need the free Adobe Reader.
Again, if you must use a PDA, then the PDA must be capable of handling fill-in PDF forms.
4xjbh:
…is it just a matter of creating the form in Servoy Developer the way I want it to look and export it with the PDF plugin?
Yes, you can also create a PDF form out of a Servoy form. That would be an alternative approach to what I have described above. In fact, it may be a better approach because it would not require that the PDA be able to hand fill-in PDF forms. Hopefully your forms are not very complex. Use of PDF files on a PDA may require that additional memory be added to the PDA.
4xjbh:
I assume the plugin will generate combo boxes with valuelists from the database?
No. With the first approach above you would be creating the combo box on the fill-in PDF form. With the second approach you would create the combo box on the Servoy form and the PDF would be a fixed image (non-editable) form.
Dean
Thanks
James