You can add and define a Form Template in any Content Server location where you have permissions to do so. The location of the Form Template and its permissions determine who can access and initiate it. For more information about permissions, see Understanding Permissions.

You define Forms by completing the following tasks:

After you define a Form Template, you can perform the following actions:

Adding a Form Template

The administrator and users who have the Form Template creation privilege can create Form Templates. You can store Form Templates anywhere within Content Server. By default, you can add basic Form Templates found in the Forms module. If your Content Server includes the optional PDF Forms and eForms modules, you can install other types of Form Templates.

Adding Module Form Templates

When you add a Form Template, you are prompted to specify the template type when any of the following Forms modules are installed:

Defining Form Fields on the Form Template

You define Form Template fields using the Form Painter, which allows you to add and configure the fields you want to appear on the Forms based on this template.

You can define single value fields, multiline value fields, popup fields, or check boxes, allowing you to determine the best input method for each piece of Form data. For example, if you want to determine whether a new employee wants embossed or printed business cards, you would define a check box attribute called Printed on an office supply order form so that employees can select the check box if they want printed cards or clear the box if they want embossed cards.

After you define fields on a Form Template, you can edit them. You can also define custom views of the Form Template that can display or hide fields. The following table describes Form Template field types.

 

Note

Note:
Users with the appropriate administrative privileges can create custom attributes.

 

Field Type Use
Date Field A date field
Date Popup A list of dates
Flag Checkbox A check box that indicates a True condition if selected or a False condition if not selected
Integer Field An integer field. This attribute type cannot include values with decimals. If you want to include values with decimals, use the Real Field attribute type.
Integer Popup A list of integers. This attribute type cannot include values with decimals. If you want to include values with decimals, use the Real Popup attribute type.
Real Field A real number field. This attribute type can include values with decimals. If you want to include only whole numbers, use the Integer Field attribute type.
Real Popup A list of real numbers. This attribute type can include values with decimals. If you want to include only whole numbers, use the Integer Popup attribute type.
Text Field A single-line text field
Text MultiLine A multiline text field
Text Popup A list of text values
User Field A user name field that includes the ability to search and select users
Set A subset of one or more related fields
Signer Field A signer name field that includes the ability to search and select signing authorities and groups. Your administrator must install the optional eSign module for this field to display.

The Set attribute allows you to create a set of related fields in the same way that you define fields on the Form Template using the Add Attribute menu in the Set. For example, you can define a Set named Employee Name that contains Name, Phone, and E-mail Address fields.

Using Signing Fields

You can also add a Signing User field to a Form Template. A signing field is similar to a User field, except that it allows you to select users or groups that have the Signing Authority privilege provided by the eSign module. When you add a group or user to the field, only Signing Groups or users with Signing Authority should be available for selection.

 

Note

Note:
Signing fields are not available in PDF Forms or eForms.

 

For more information about eSign, see Working with Signing Tasks.

Specifying Field Properties

When you define a field, you specify the field's properties. Some properties are found in more than one field type, and others are unique. For example, all fields include a Name property, but a date field is the only type to feature the Include Time Field property. The following table explains field properties and which field type uses them.

Property Value Attribute Specifies
Name Text All The attribute name
Locked Check box All except Flag Check Box If selected, allows users to add rows for the attribute. If cleared, rows are fixed.
Max # Integer All except Flag Check Box The maximum number of rows in the field
Default # Integer All except Flag Check Box The default number of rows in the field
Order List All The order in which the attribute is displayed
Check String Check box Flag Check Box Applies to submissions from PDF views only. The value is a name that corresponds to the checked state value issued from the PDF Form when it is submitted. Content Server compares the value submitted as the field value with the checked value stored in the template. If the submitted value matches the checked value stored in the template, the check box is true (checked). Otherwise, the value stored for the check box is false (unchecked).
Show in Search Check box All except Flag Check Box and Set Allows Content Server to search attribute values
Required Check box All except
Flag Check Box and Set		 Users must provide a value in the field under the following conditions:
•

If the user accesses the Form outside of a Workflow, the Form has any type of submission mechanism and the action is to submit.

•

If the user accesses the Form within a Workflow, the Form is required in the Workflow regardless of the Workflow storage mechanism.

Include Time Field Check box Date Field If selected, includes a field where users can specify an hour
Valid Values List All popup attribute types A list of selectable values displayed in the field
Length Integer Text Field The maximum number of characters in a field. The maximum value is 254.
Display Length Integer Text Field The display length of the field value
Rows Integer Text Multiline The field height
Include Group Check Box User Field If selected, a group is a valid value for the field

 

Note

Note:
The Required option is enforced for a submission mechanism or in a Workflow, but not for a revision mechanism.

 

Choosing a Database Table

You can associate a Form Template with a Structured Query Language (SQL) table in the Content Server database. An SQL table enables you to store Form data in the table. When you create a Form based on the Template, you decide whether to select this option, depending on how you want to use the data that you gather with the Form.

If you do not use an SQL table as a storage mechanism, revision and submission mechanisms store data entered into PDF Forms based on this Template as binary large objects in the DTree and DVersData tables in the Content Server database. Also, you cannot directly access saved Form data that is based on this template by means of LiveReports or external applications.

You can specify one of the following data storage methods:

Using an Existing SQL Database Table

If you associate an existing SQL database table with a Form Template, all fields on the Template must correspond in name and type to columns in the specified table. The table may have additional columns, but not fewer. For all PDF Forms based on this Template, SQL Table is available as revision and submission mechanisms to users who have the appropriate Form usage privileges. The SQL Table mechanisms store Form data as records in the new database table. You can directly access Form data that was saved in the SQL table by using LiveReports or external applications.

Verifying a Database Schema

If you need to view an SQL database table's schema before you select this method, you can verify that it matches the Form Template. The schema is considered a match (that is, the Form Template will work with the database table) when the following conditions are met:

Using a New SQL Database Table

If you associate an existing SQL database table with a Form Template, Content Server uses some of the space in its database to create a table whose columns correspond to the Template's fields. For all PDF Forms based on this Template, SQL Table is available as revision and submission mechanisms to users who have the appropriate Form usage privileges. The SQL Table mechanisms store Form data as records in the new database table. You can directly access Form data that was saved in the SQL table by using LiveReports or external applications.

If you want to create an SQL database table based on an existing table, you can output the SQL commands required to create the table. You can copy and paste the commands into an SQL command editor and then submit the commands to create the table.

 

Note

Note:
By default, the length of CHAR character fields (columns) is 255 (multiline text fields are VARCHAR 2000). After you paste the command syntax into the editor, you can change these default lengths, as needed. Do not remove any columns or change data types.

 

Disconnecting a Database Table

If you no longer want to associate an SQL database table with a Form Template, you can disconnect it.

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