Form Guide Rendering Explained

You probably already know that Form Guides are an exciting way to render an Adobe dynamic form via a Wizard-style interface. See this link for more details: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/livecycle/es/fggettingstarted.pdf
However, all this document says about how rendering a Form Guide works is:
The process for rendering form guides is similar to the process used to render forms in PDF or HTML. You must create a new process in Workbench ES that uses the form guide rendering operation renderFormGuide.
How does rendering a Form Guide really work?
Part 1: http://avokahhh.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/form-guide-rendering-explained/
Part 2: http://avokahhh.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/form-guide-rendering-explained-part-ii/

how could i define a variable with "html data" ?
Create a variable of type document and then a service to read the html from where ever it's located. If you put it in LiveCycle, you can use the ReadRessource service. If it's on the file system, you can use the Read Document. If it's in the database, you can use the JDBC service.
Also, one more doubt where should i use this variable in my process to get the same?
You want the response once you've submitted the data, so the html is really the result of calling the process that's processing the data. So I would create an output variable of type document on that process.
Right now it displays a random number in the browser because your submit process is long lived. When a process is long lived (asynchronous), you invoke it and then you get an identifier back. It's kind of a fire and forget. You can use that identifier to check the status of the long lived process, since long lived processes can take hours, days to complete. You don't want your browser to wait that long, hence the identifier.
However if you change the process to be short lived (synchronous), the browser will wait for the result of the process, which really means the output variables for that process. If your output variable contains html, it'll display html.
So the key is make you submit process short lived and populate the output variables appropriately.
Jasmin

Similar Messages

How to return a html repsonse after form guide rendering in browser?

How to return a html repsonse after form guide rendering in browser indicating that server has recieved transmission and request is submitted succesfuly?
I am rendering the form guide in browser using guide invoke service and when i submit the data in browser to server through guide , it is displaying some random number in browser?
i need to display a resposne that request is submitted successfully?

how could i define a variable with "html data" ?
Create a variable of type document and then a service to read the html from where ever it's located. If you put it in LiveCycle, you can use the ReadRessource service. If it's on the file system, you can use the Read Document. If it's in the database, you can use the JDBC service.
Also, one more doubt where should i use this variable in my process to get the same?
You want the response once you've submitted the data, so the html is really the result of calling the process that's processing the data. So I would create an output variable of type document on that process.
Right now it displays a random number in the browser because your submit process is long lived. When a process is long lived (asynchronous), you invoke it and then you get an identifier back. It's kind of a fire and forget. You can use that identifier to check the status of the long lived process, since long lived processes can take hours, days to complete. You don't want your browser to wait that long, hence the identifier.
However if you change the process to be short lived (synchronous), the browser will wait for the result of the process, which really means the output variables for that process. If your output variable contains html, it'll display html.
So the key is make you submit process short lived and populate the output variables appropriately.
Jasmin

Render Form Guide & Submit Form Guide

Hai all,
Could anyone tell me where can I find the properties or explanation for the Render Form Guide & Submit Form Guide services of Samples-Forms category, in Workbench ES?
Thanks,
Aswani.

Thanks a lot Scott..
Your explanation was really helpful..
I just want to tell you the reason, why I raised such a question.
When I first started to work on the rendering of forms using Livecycle Workbench & Workspace ES, I got to read two different pdf.s..
both named "fggettingstarted"..
which explains clearly the steps, right from creating a form, till rendering the same in workspace..
In the first link mentioned below, it is said to use "Render Form Guide" service & in the second link, "Render Form Guide ES Update 1" service..
Thats where, I got the doubt which one to use?
Please check out with the below links..
Under the topic "Creating an xfaForm variable" in the Chapter "Using a Form Guide in Workspace ES".
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/livecycle/es/fggettingstarted.pdf
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/livecycle/8.2/fggettingstarted.pdf
Thanks!
Aswani.

How can I pass data from a form guide to another form in a business process

How do we pass data from a form guide to another form(not necessarily a guide) without having to open the form. For example we have a small form guide to capture the contract id so we can then get data from contracts table to present to the user in a form. We want the user to open the guide (either Flex guide or form guide) to enter the contract id. Upon submission we want the process to get the contract data and put it into the form that will be opened at the next step by the user without having a user interact with the form to get the data into it. In other words we need the process to get the data and populate a different form than the form guide the contract id was entered in and this new form needs to be opened in the next step by the user.

Firstly, I'm assuming that you have a Forms ES Server if you are rendering a Guide. This could be either version ES1, ES2/2.5 or ES3/ADEP
If you submit the form back to the server, you can populate a second (PDF/XDP) form with the data bound to the same schema/Data Model using Forms ES.
You referred to the next user in the chain - If you are using Process Management, this is very easy, as you define what form is used to render the data in the "Presentation & Data" section of the Assign Task activity

Display form guide in browser using ES2

I am trying to render a form guide in worspace and also in a browser so you can access the guide via a url outside the workspace environment. Can someone refer me to a good guide or tutorial for this.
Thanks

Rendering the guide in workspace is very easy and straight forward. Simply point to the guide in the asset area of the action profile.
To render the guide in a browser I created a simple process
that calls the Render Guide process (in the Guide (system) application). It is a generic renderer that accepts a URL to indicate which guide you want to display as well as a TargetURL to update the submit button for submissions. I then use the Rest interface to call my process and voila th eguide gets displayed. Does this make sense?
Paul

Rending a form guide

Hi all,
I am currently attempting to use the API Quick Start to load a form guide. I am able to load the guide itself without any issue. However, I cannot populate it with data from the PDF it's attached to, the form guide appears empty.
My understanding is that I need to pass the data I want in the InputData parameter of the renderFormGuide function. I have attempted to pass everything from a PDF file, to an xml file to just an xml string.
For example:
InputStream input_stream = new FileInputStream("c:\\data\\test.xml");
Document oInputData = new Document(input_stream);
I know this file contains valid xml as it successfully fills the PDF using XPAAJ, but it will still leave the form guide blank.
This was the only part of the quick start I changed, so perhaps there is another option somewhere that I cannot find. Any help would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Daniel

Thanks for the response. I wasn't aware that XPAAJ isn't supported anymore. In any case it doesn't help my situation.
I attempted what you asked me to do and it appears that the XML file loads fine in the preview.
When I generate some preview data, it also appears fine in the pdf preview, but not on the rendered form guide.
Any other advice? Like I said, I am using the API quick start.
Cheers,
Daniel

Form guide not displaying fields

Hi,
I am creating a from guide using the RenderFormGuide component. The rendered form guide does not display any fields. I am able to preview the same XDP as a form guide in the designer, and it works perfectly fine. Are there any properties in the RenderFormGuide thats preventing the fields from being displayed?
Also, this form guide is not for use in workspace. This is to be opened up on the browser.
Thanks.
Regards,
Vidya

I used the guide builder in designer to create the guide. I chose the guide layout, dragged fields to the guide through the add/bind fields option. The fields do not show up for me even with default values.
I tried to create a form guide with no fields, just the default section and panel. Even this results in the same problem.
When I pass the sample form guide that comes with designer install through the render form guide component, only the guide layout gets created - there are no sections or panels. I am wondering if i am making a mistake in setting the form guide properties?
These are the properties that I set:
Application Web Root : http://[hostname]:[portno]
base URL : http://[hostname]:[portno]
Content Root URI : repository://
Target URL : http://[hostname]:[portno]
The only property that I modified in the Form guide render options is "Cb = True"
Thanks.
-Vidya

Trouble getting Form Guides to render in Workspace, any ideas?

I've been trying unsuccessfully to get any Form Guides to render correctly in Workspace. I've just began to dive into the Form Guides to investigate to see if they were a usefull tool to our users. I have been following the Adobe Form Guide documentation to a T, but with two different forms I cannot get them to render in Workspace.
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/livecycle/8.2/fggettingstarted.pdf
On one form, an xdp, the Form Guide starts to render the .swc, getting the frame of the Form Guide, but no content or objects from the original Form ever pulls in, it just stays static. I have the most simplest of process, just to test if the Form Guide will load.
Then, on my other form, which is the basic sample Mortgage app process that you build in Adobe documentation. It's a pdf and I get a Workspace error : (ALC-WKS-007-040) and no .swc rendering.
As stated in the Form Guide documentation, I'm using the Render Form Guide ES Update1 in my xfaForm variable. And the Advanced setting I used were from the documentation as well.
My question is there something I'm missing or some way to track down my issue? Any help would be great. Thanks.

What happens with Guide is it load up the HTML stub and then load the swf from the location defined in the stub. That location gets added in there by the TargetURL property of the render service. So make sure it's set properly.
As for the XXX-040 error, this an error in the Render Form Guide ES Update1 service. Can you send the message from the error log?
Jasmin

Form Guide - Web Service for Drop down

Running LC ES 1 8.2 with JBoss
I have a form that I created in Designer and everything works fine in Workspace. I decided to make the form into a Guide and have changed my web service so that it executes on the initialize event for the drop down. I have a hidden button on the form that runs from the server and my code below also runs from the server.
Page2.CompanyCodeBtn.execEvent("click");
The guide renders fine in Workspace but the drop down does not display anything.
Thoughts? I don't see anything in my server log either.
Thanks,
John

How are you populating the DDList - is there scripting that parses the incoming XML or is it simply a binding exercise?
Paul

Form guide with digital signature inside workspace

Hi,
I want to use form guides for user form filling, but also the resultant PDF form must be digitally signed. I'm presenting the form inside Workspace and as a part of workflow.
I've read Form Guides Getting Started document. There, it uses xfaForm type input variable for the process. As I know, xfaForm is data only. So it doesn't work when signatures are needed. I've tried to change the variable type to documentForm in the Sample Mortgage Loan Flex process, but with again no success. This time, on the second step of process, the form rendering on Workspace gave an error as follows:
TypeError: Error #1009: Cannot access a property or method of a null object reference.
at MethodInfo-11871()
at flash.events::EventDispatcher/dispatchEventFunction()
at flash.events::EventDispatcher/dispatchEvent()
at mx.core::UIComponent/dispatchEvent()
at mx.core::UIComponent/set initialized()
at mx.managers::LayoutManager/doPhasedInstantiation()
at Function/http://adobe.com/AS3/2006/builtin::apply()
at mx.core::UIComponent/callLaterDispatcher2()
at mx.core::UIComponent/callLaterDispatcher()
To sum up: Can we use form guides for filling out forms that are to be digitally signed and sent to the next step in the process?
Thank you

This can be done but you must use the Document Form var to route the signed pdf. You must configure the FormGuide submit button to 'Submit from PDF' in Guide Builder.
Also the button on the form must be configured to submit as 'PDF' (not XDP). This change is done when you open the form in designer.
Note that after you have submitted the signed pdf you will be dealing with a pdf subsequently.
Attached is a sample FormGuide.

Render Form Guide from PDF

I'm trying to render a form guide from a pdf, using the RenderFormGuide service, but I get the following error:
Failed to load TemplateStream for FormQuery= from location URI =repository://.
Does this mean that the only way to render a Form Guide is to pass the path to an xdp and not a document containing a pdf?

Ok - thanks for the quick reply.
The reason I'm trying to render a Form Guide from a PDF is that once the user submits the Form Guide a PDF is rendered, but this PDF isn't Reader Enabled. So my thought was that if I used a Reader Enabled PDF to render the Form Guide I would end up with a Reader Enabled pdf once the Form Guide was submitted. I've set the 'Submit from' propety in the 'Guide Properties' to PDF.
Seen as this isn't possible, is there a way to Reader Enable the PDF the Form Guide submits to?

Getting Runtime error while including pdf doc with Form guides.

Hi,
I have urgent requirement where I have to capture the data in the PDF doc   what user enters into the form Guides.
I am trying this on ES2.
I followed the steps what they mentioned at :: http://help.adobe.com/en_US/livecycle/9.0/workbenchHelp/help.htm - >>Creating Guides using LiveCycle Workbench ES2 -> Including the PDF doc with a document.
They mentioned that we have to create form design (pdf) with same data model.. But When i tries to create form design by including the data model .. it is not allowing to me save as pdf and its telling that we have to save as xdp only.   So saved as xdp only and followd all the same steps what they mentioned .. but we are getting error like :::
2010-01-07 17:13:08,227 ERROR [com.adobe.idp.workflow.dsc.invoker.WorkflowDSCInvoker] An exception was thrown with name com.adobe.repository.ResourceNotFoundException message: ALC-REP-018-000: Resource
[/Form/SampleFormGuides/1.0/Form/MyInformation.xdp] does not exist or you do not have sufficient rights to access it. while invoking service RepositoryService and operation readResourceContent and no fault routes were found to be configured.
Please find my form guide setting to invoke my REST URL.. and my process.
please help me in this regard ,,,,,

Hi Han,
The problem might be in path of the resources. Please check the path for the pdf you includes at form guide.
Please check concat( ) operation .. make sure that it is correct and pointing as per your work bench.
And
At Configuring the REST endpoint for the PDF render service:,   6th point , please select   as System level rather than INVOKE_PERM.
I hope it helps.
Thanks
Praveen.

Form Guide - Populating a drop down with entries from another field(s)

Greetings all!
Here is what I am trying to accomplish:
1. Build a repeating panel that has a field for the entry of a Name. (I can do this)
2. Build a drop down field on another panel that will be populated with the Name entries from one or more of the repeating panel Name fields in 1. above. I would like this to happen while the user is in the same render of the form guide.
3. Setup:
     LC ES2
     Workbench 9.5
     Would utilize Workspace to complete the form guide
     Want to use a .fml data model
Any help would be appreciated.
Best Regards,
Rick Kuhlmann

pguerett,
Many thanks for that lca. I have been able to move forward with development of a POC Form Guide.
However, I have one other issue that if solved will push my POC to the point of demo status for the business.
Here it is:
The business needs to be able to add the names of children to a Children Info panel on the form guide. - No problems with that.
Then they need to be able to go to another panel in the form guide and select a child name from a drop down to associate that child with the name of a father. - The previous post with the lca solved that.
Now what I need to do is to be able to take the selected child in the father panel and place that value into the data model.
Why? because the final part of this form guide is to populate a pdf form that is really a legal petition to the court. The child(ren) names form the Children Info panel are listed at the beginning of the petition. Then the selected child in the father panel is displayed in the father section.
So what I am looking to do is to populate that selected child in the father panel to a property in the data model.
However, based on the lca you sent it does not seem that when I add a Data Object to the Data Model in the Guide Builder that I am not able to push that data back into the original Data Model. I thought that using a Binding might work but I have struck out so far.
Clear as mud? Any help you or anyone else can provide would be wonderful.
Thanks a ton!
Rick Kuhlmann

Digging into the XFA data from AS in the form guide

So I'm delving into the wonderful and wacky world of making custom layouts for Form Guides in Flex Builder, and I've got a question that hopefully y'all can answer or point me in the right direction.
So I've taken the SampleRepeaterAccordion file from the SDK and I want to modify it so that the 'title' of each accordion pane is drawn from the one of the fields in the pane itself. These values get populated in the initialize event of the subform the repeater is built off of, and the values do not change.
So I see that the title is an Hbox with a label that pulls the name of the panel and adds the index after the name. I've been able to modify that statement to pull the item that the repeater instance is based off of using the currentItem property of the repeater. So I have something like:
label="{rpt.currentItem.Resource.value}"
(where 'Resource' is the name of the field in the subform that I want to pull the value from).
This puts "[object Object]" into the label of the HBox. I want the value itself, however. I tried .rawValue instead of .value, but that came out blank.
So how should I be going about fishing data from the XFA form in the action script of the form guide? Or am I headed entirely the wrong direction? I didn't see any docs on this sort of thing. If I missed them, I'd appreciate a pointer to them!
Thanks!

Hi Templeton,
Did you find any solution for it. Is there any way to tell in form guide that which field on the repeater I want to display in header.
I was also thinking of making it in flex a custom component to do that and also add filtering capabilities. do you know how can we filter records in repeater accordion or grid
Also can you send me your code if you don't mind
Thanks
Manoj

Form Guides don't show in Preview

I am trying to learn how to create form guides and have found that when I click the preview button, nothing but a blank template of the form guide appears. None of the text or graphics I have added appear. Can anyone provide any solutions?
I am working with ES2.

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Form Guide Rendering Explained

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