April 2008: AUC Topic of the Month
Extending LiveCycle Forms with JavaScript and FormCalc
April's Topic of the Month is all about Extending LiveCycle Forms with JavaScript and FormCalc
In March's eSeminar we focused on LiveCycle Designer, a standalone, point-and-click graphical form design tool included with Acrobat 8 Professional (Windows). This month learn how you can use JavaScript and FormCalc to extend the behavior of XML forms created in LiveCycle Designer. Javascript enables automated forms handling, Web and database communication, commenting, additional user-interface capabilities and more.
eSeminar: Extending LiveCycle Forms with JavaScript and FormCalc
The Apr 16th "Extending LiveCycle Forms with JavaScript and FormCalc" eSeminar was recorded and is now available on-demand.
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One of the most powerful ways to customize PDF forms and add interactivity is by using JavaScript and FormCalc. In fact, for many features like repeated subforms, complex calculations, and most dynamic interactivity, scripting is mandatory. Much of the Acrobat forms model is supported in LiveCycle Designer forms.
The free 75-minute eSeminar will cover:
- An introduction to the LiveCycle Designer scripting environment
- Practical script development, testing, and debug techniques
- Basic scripting examples in XML forms created with LiveCycle Designer
- Adding custom calculations
- Hiding and showing sections of a form
- Changing Form Field properties, such as border color
- Using check boxes, buttons, and combo boxes to control dynamic form features
Thom Parker
Thom Parker is the president of WindJack Solutions, a software developer and a self-described adventurer. He's also a prolific contributor to the Acrobat Community.
Ask an Expert
Get help and advice on scripting using LiveCycle Designer from our experts. Lee Sutton and Joel Geraci will be on hand April 16 - April 30 to answer your most challenging questions.
Joel Geraci is an Acrobat Technical Evangelist at Adobe and AUC Expert , with over 25 years of experience in the desktop design and publishing industry.
Joel Geraci
Technical Evangelist
Adobe Systems
Lee Sutton is a Senior Solutions Architect for Adobe LiveCycle and is considered a premier resource for in-depth education and best practices around LiveCycle and conversion of paper based processes into fully automated LiveCycle-based workflows.
Lee Sutton
Senior Solutions Architect for LiveCycle
Adobe Systems Inc
Tutorials
This scripting guide is designed to provide you with an overview of how you can use LiveCycle Designer calculations and scripts to develop and enhance forms created in LiveCycle Designer.
by Adobe Systems
Download [PDF: 2.0 MB] How to Create Scripts for Online Forms with Adobe LiveCycle Designer.
Documents are made up of text and images. See how to use different methods in Acrobat to repurpose some or all of your document's contents as images.
by Peachpit
Read onlineConverting Acrobat JavaScript for Use in LiveCycle Designer Forms
Acrobat forms and LiveCycle Designer forms have different scripting object models, although most of the Acrobat forms model is supported in LiveCycle Designer forms. This document describes the differences and explains how to handle the conversion to help make the conversion as easy and effective as possible.
by Adobe Systems
Download [PDF: 552 KB] Building intelligent forms using Adobe’s LiveCycle Designer
Stefan Cameron's collection of 40+ tutorials and tips on how to use Javascript and FormCalc in Acrobat Professional and LiveCycle designer, to create dynamic and interactive forms including connecting to real-time databases.
by Stefan Cameron
Read onlineProgramming List and Combo fields in Acrobat and LiveCycle forms- Part 2
In this part, we'll look at a slightly different scenario where individual items are added or deleted from a list. The example is an e-mail distribution list that demonstrates how items can be copied from one list to another.
by Thom Parker
Read onlineProgramming List and Combo Fields in Acrobat and LiveCycle Forms - Part 1
There are times when entries in a Combo box or List field need to be changed on the fly. For example, a parts order form might include two drop-down lists (combo fields); one for selecting an assembly and one for selecting a part within the assembly. Each time a different assembly is selected, the list of parts needs to be changed to reflect the correct assembly parts for that selection.
by Thom Parker
Read onlineDisabling (graying-out) form fields
Disabling, or graying-out, form fields is a common feature in software applications, but is somehow missing from Acrobat and LiveCycle forms. About the closest you can get with built-in features is either hiding a field or setting it to read-only. Each of these is useful in its own way, but neither is satisfactory for the situation where the user needs to see options only available under certain circumstances.
by Thom Parker
Read onlineCreating Radio CheckBoxes
Radio buttons are very useful form-field controls. They provide the user with the simple multiple-choice selections we've come to know and love on all those exams we took as schoolchildren, in which we were instructed to "Select one and only one answer." The article covers the creation of Radio Checkboxes in both AcroForms and Adobe LiveCycle Designer.
by Thom Parker
Read onlineUnderstanding the Execute function in Adobe LiveCycle Designer
This tip discusses the Execute control: How it works and what happens when you implement it on a button.
by Lori DeFurio
Download [PDF: 843 KB] Migrating from Acrobat forms to XML forms
This tip discusses converting JavaScript and actions created in Acrobat (using AcroForms) to work in Adobe LiveCycle Designer (using XML forms).
by Lori DeFurio
Download [PDF: 298 KB] Providing interactive database lookup from forms
Read this tip to learn how to use LiveCycle Designer to write data to and retrieve information from databases.
by Lori DeFurio
Download [PDF: 612 KB] Viewing all Scripts in a Template
Read this quick tip on how to view all scripts in a template in Adobe LiveCycle Designer 7.0.
by Lori DeFurio
Download [PDF: 316 KB] Understanding the Submit function in Adobe LiveCycle Designer
This tip discusses the Submit control in Adobe LiveCycle Designer: How it works and what happens when you implement it on a button.
by Lori DeFurio
Download [PDF: 918 KB] Videos
Acrobat and Designer both have native support for SOAP, perfect for your typical enterprise SOA infrastructure. This tutorial shows you how easy it is to consume web services from a PDF form.
by FlexLive.net
Watch video [SWF: ] Creating a Save As button in LiveCycle Designer
How to create a custom "Save As" button in LiveCycle designer so that an inexperience user, with nothing more than Adobe Reader, can see how to save a copy of the form to their own PC. Includes downloadable templates and graphics.
by FlexLive.net
Watch video [SWF: ] Promotions
Acrobat User Community Exclusive! - $65 Mail-in Rebate on Fujitsu ScanSnap S510 and SnapSnap S510 Deluxe Bundle
The very compact, duplex scanner lets you digitizes both sides of a document in a single pass, (up to 18 pages/min), and automatically convert them into searchable PDFs.
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Save 5% on the "Adobe Livecycle ES: Designing Forms" classroom training
From FigLeaf Training
Fig Leaf Software if offering a 5% discount on Certified Adobe Training to the Acrobat User Community. Fig Leaf Software is a leading Adobe Authorized Training Center having trained more than 30,000 students in Adobe technology. Acrobat User Community members can review the hands-on course outlines and class dates at http://training.figleaf.com.
June 2-3, 2008
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Taught by Steve Drucker
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