Specifications

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LIVECYCLE ES4 OVERVIEW
Forms Standard ES4 and Forms Pro ES4
Last updated 1/15/2015
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.