I am new to Acrobat Forms or Forms LiveCycle.
I have to develop an online application form which can be filled-in and submitted online by interested applicants. The applicant should be able to take a print of the submitted form. the form should be secured and password protected. Once submitted by the applicant, the form cannot be changed by the applicant.
I did some research and found out that I can create forms using Acrobat Forms and LiveCycle Designer. But I am not sure what’s best for my requirement?
I should be able to design a form.
The form should be fillable, printable and submitable online from within one of our websites.
For each applicant who submits the form, I need to have access to the applicant filled in PDF. I should have access to applicant typed in data.
If required, should be able to edit the applicant specific filled in form.
For the above mentioned requirements, I want best fit solution between Acrobat Forms and Forms LiveCycle. Can someone help me understand the difference between Acrobat Forms and LiveCycle Forms Designer and Server? I may be comparing apples to oranges but I would be thankful if one can explain me what is best for my situation
Thanks in Advance
Acrobat Forms vs Forms LiveCycle
2011-01-11 07:08:13
Answered
2011-01-13 10:45:54
#2
Thanks for help SwiftForms.
I am not using LiveCycle Form Server. Instead want to save the filled in pdf versions on our server.
So far, I used acrobat forms for creating form. I was able to configure a submit button to send the complete PDF to a URL on my server and I was able to save the PDF on server.
The issues I have in hand now are:
1) I should be able restrict user from saving the PDF form to his local server. But enabling reader extensions enables saving from Browser along with Submit .Is there any way I can restrict this?
2) I want to save the user-filled-in form as a PDF document (the regular non editable PDF). How can I do it programmatically?
Does using LiveCycle Designer helps in anyway resolving the issues I mentioned above?
I am not using LiveCycle Form Server. Instead want to save the filled in pdf versions on our server.
So far, I used acrobat forms for creating form. I was able to configure a submit button to send the complete PDF to a URL on my server and I was able to save the PDF on server.
The issues I have in hand now are:
1) I should be able restrict user from saving the PDF form to his local server. But enabling reader extensions enables saving from Browser along with Submit .Is there any way I can restrict this?
2) I want to save the user-filled-in form as a PDF document (the regular non editable PDF). How can I do it programmatically?
Does using LiveCycle Designer helps in anyway resolving the issues I mentioned above?
2011-01-13 12:16:04
#3
Accepted Answer
Here's a blog entry that discusses the differences between AcroForm and LiveCycle.http://acrobatusers.com/blogs/thomp/so-what-difference-between-acroforms-and-xfa
As for saving the file. There is no difference between AcroForm and LiveCycle forms. If the form is enabled with Save Rights then it can be saved locally from Reader. This is the default behavior, but I do believe that you can get the level of control you want with Adobe Policy Server, but I'm not sure. Take a look at this web site:
https:///dc.adobe.com
Your only other option is to not Enable Save Rights and submit the data to your server as data only. Unless you are using signatures there is no reason to submit the entire PDF. The data can be imported back into the original form if you want to see it.
For item number 2, sounds like you want to save a flattened PDF. There are a couple of ways to go about flattening a form.
1. Print to PDF
2. Use the doc.flattenPages() function. Download a flatten tool here:
http://www.pdfscripting.com/public/65.cfm
3. Purchase a 3rd party server tool for flattening. Do a google search. I think you might find one at www.appligent.com
Options 1 and 2 can only be performed on Acrobat Pro, so this is only something you could do, not the users with Reader.
2011-01-13 13:48:27
#4
Thanks Thom.
I will dwell into the info you provided and will update this post with my test results soon.
I will dwell into the info you provided and will update this post with my test results soon.
2011-02-22 08:38:52
#5
Thanks Thom, I was able to successfully implement this.
If I had your requirement my personal choice would be to develop the form using LiveCycle Designer and then use Acrobat to Reader Extend it. Reader extension enables the information entered to be saved into the form and allows the form to be submitted. Are you using LiveCycle Form Server to handle the submitted data or another method?
Another option, you can use an email button to attach the saved, filled form and email the completed PDF. That doesn't handle the data however.
Rod
Rod Swift
swiftforms.com.au