Discussing features and drawbacks of Adobe LiveCycle Designer; basic features and examples.

1. How to create interactive forms and track response data
Presented by:
Jeremy Harder
Michigan Association of School Administrators
Technology & Design Coordinator j jharder@gomasa.org

2.  http://www.adobe.com/products/livecycle/designer/
 60 DayTrial Download

3. An overview of the LiveCycle Enterprise Suite

4.  Livecycle Enterprise Suite (ES) is a platform
for developing custom workflows
 Databases and forms are used to complete
tasks
 Example of how ES might be used:
http://www.adobe.com/products/livecycle/

5.  Gathering form data via theWeb is not
intuitive
 Development/Web-coding knowledge
required for intermediate to advanced
functionality

6. LiveCycle can replace paper forms without much hassle

7.  Designer is a spin-off that is packaged with
Adobe Acrobat Professional
 Designer can be used to build static and
dynamic PDF forms

8.  Adobe LiveCycle Enterprise Suite
 ES Modules
Installed on Web accessible server to process data
▪ Forms
▪ Digital Signatures
▪ Mosaic
▪ Etc
 LiveCycle Designer
Installed on your workstation. Modules not required to distribute forms.
▪ PDF creation tools
▪ PDF distribution

9.  Adobe Acrobat 9 Pro now includes form field
tools, and distribution functions
 The difference is that Designer allows for
scripting

11. Screen capture from http://www.adobe.com/products/livecycle/forms/
 Forms is a module for LiveCycle ES
 Forms handles user-submitted data and
routes it to…
 Databases
 Processes
 Users

12. Screen capture from http://www.adobe.com/products/livecycle/forms/

14.  Static
 User input fields
 Can be printed
 Interactive
 Fields can be validated (required, pattern match)
 Subforms can be hidden/revealed based on input
Example

16.  DesignView
 XML Source
 Master PageView
 PDF Preview

17.  Examples of form objects:
 Text field
 Image Field
 Email Field
 Numeric Field
 Buttons

18.  Frequently used combinations can be saved
as form fragments and easily reused
 Shift-click to select all objects to include. Right
click -> Fragments -> Create New

19.  LiveCycle Designer comes packaged with
some great pre-built forms:

20.  Word and Excel documents can be imported
and converted to PDF forms in the wizard.

21.  Start with a blank page

22.  FormCalc equations are similar to
spreadsheet formulas
 Field value calculations ensure correct data
submissions and save time for your users

23.  Make required (and provide error messages)
 Pattern match

25.  Save as a PDF and store/send as needed
 Distribute via email using LiveCycle Designer
 Distribute via acrobat.com using LiveCycle
Designer
 Stores the form to your account
 Accessible to others via URL
 Drawback: No data submission handling built-in

28.  Print and fax
 Email
 Via form button (may not work for some users)
 User initiated
 HTTP submit
 Requires handling script onWeb server

31.  Open the PDF in Acrobat Pro
 Go to Advanced -> Extend Features in Adobe
Reader
 Distributed PDF will now allow users to Save
As… PDF
 Still not perfect though…
 Email Submit button will continue to save as XML
instead of PDF
 Use with caution. Include specific how-to
instructions in form document

32.  Example of Acrobat generated results file

33. How to create interactive forms and track response data
Presented by:
Jeremy Harder
MichiganAssociation of SchoolAdministrators
Technology & Design Coordinator
jharder@gomasa.org