LiveCycle Doc team

Changing the fill color of a field based on a condition

2009-11-13T20:42:39Z

It is easy to change the fill color of a field based on a condition, such as when a number exceeds a certain amount. For example, the script (JavaScript) below changes the fill color of a field to yellow when the value is below 100 and red when the value is 100 and up.

Try it
1) From LiveCycle Designer, open the "Dynamic Purchase Order" sample form (Purchase Order Dynamic.xdp).
2) Select the Quantity field (numQty).
3) Select and the "exit" event if a user will be entering data in the field or select the "initialize" event when the field is populated with data.
4) Copy and paste the following script into the Script Editor and edit the fill color to suit your purpose. If you would like the fill color to change for both user entered data and populated data, copy and paste the script into both the "exit" and "initialize" events.

if (this.rawValue >= 100) //red
{
this.fillColor = "255,0,0";
}
else
this.fillColor = "255,255,0"; //yellow

5) Test the script using the Preview PDF tab.

Tips
Use a numeric field with this script.
Make sure that you select JavaScript and run at the client.
Make sure that the "Preview Adobe XML Form As" property (in Form Properties) is set to "Dynamic XML Form".
Use the "initialize" event to make the fill color change when the form is populated with data.
Use the "exit" event to make the fill color change when a user enters data.

For more LiveCycle Designer scripting samples, visit the LiveCycle Developer Center at http://www.adobe.com/devnet/livecycle/designer_scripting_samples.html/.

Should I use the Output service or Forms service?

2009-11-05T17:32:33Z

Recently, when I was automating a process, part of the requirement was to merge XML data with a form design that was created in Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES. When you are merging a form design with data from an XML file, you can use either the Forms service or Output service in LiveCycle ES. Depending on how you use the resultant merged form design and data, determines which service best meets your requirements.

]]> If you are merging multiple sets of XML data to create filled forms, use the Output service. For example, if I wanted to create PDF output that could not be modified (non-interactive) for electronic archival, it is best to use the Output service. In addition, I noticed that the Output service was also useful for creating different types of printed output, such as Postscript and would be useful if I needed to print the output. In summary, use the Output service when you require these features:

Batch processing or merging one or more records with a form design to create multiple documents.

Controlling of printer settings, such as stapling, label printers, collating, and so on.

Using pattern matching to specify different form designs to merge with the data with.

Creating a filled and non-interactive PDF file that is useful for archiving.

Sending the output to a printer.

If you are merging XML data with a form design where the merged output is used by people, such as an PDF form for an approval process, use the Forms service. For example, if I wanted to merge XML data with a form design to create a PDF form, that PDF form would be an interactive form that could be displayed to person. That person could add data to the form and perhaps click a button so that the form could be handled electronically. In summary, use the Forms services when you require these features:

Using form design scripts to transform the appearance of the form, perform calculations, and dynamically generate or retrieve data.

Providing mechanisms to render file attachments and to other formats, such as HTML or form guides (8.2).

Handling electronic form submissions.

Providing mechanisms to pre-populate a form with data.

Hopefully I have whet you appetite with some of the features that the Output and Forms services provide. If you find that you have similar needs in your process, check out the Output service and Forms service sections in LiveCycle ES Services guide for more detailed information.

Adobe Announces LiveCycle Mosaic ES2

2009-10-30T17:06:49Z

You may have missed it during the MAX 2009 conference, among all of the announcements, but Adobe has publicly announced a new product that allows users to create composite Rich Internet Applications (RIAs).

]]> That's the official line, but from someone on the inside let me tell you its a pretty cool product. Imagine being able to translate your knowledge of Flex and JavaScript directly into creating reusable mini-applications, or tiles, that can be shared across multiple RIAs with ease. The tiles provide the "composite" in composite RIA, meaning a single set of tiles can translate into myriad combinations of final applications. We supply the framework, you supply the creativity.

What does all of this have to do with LiveCycle ES2? Well, the server-side components of LiveCycle Mosaic ES2 get added to a LiveCycle ES2 server, which provides the hosting environment. You also utilize the User Management functionality of LiveCycle ES2 to define users and roles. To end users however, it's as easy as going to a URL (using the web client) or launching an AIR application (through the desktop client) and then immediately interacting with the applications you've created.

Want to learn more, check out the LiveCycle Mosaic ES2 product web site here: www.adobe.com/products/livecycle/mosaic/. There's also a data sheet available at that link that provides more detailed examination of the features.

Have a good day!

What I heard at MAX 2009

2009-10-23T18:59:22Z

I had a great time at Adobe MAX 2009. I talked to many users of LiveCycle ES and got some great feedback about the documentation. I don't mean you all love our docs, but I mean you provided some great insights into how we can improve. (But some of you do apparently love our docs!)

Some of the things you asked for:

More examples

PDF versions of Help

More access points to Help via F1

Make it easier to find information on Adobe.com

These issues are all on our radar.

For one, we are working on mining the Adobe.com LiveCycle ES forums for examples. I also hope for more suggestions from you on our LiveDocs pages.

Also, take a look at the Beta version of the Community Help AIR application. Let us know what you think. This new tool makes all the information that you need available from one location, and includes 'Livedocs' commenting and other easy ways to keep in touch with the user community. This is only implemented for a few Adobe products right now. Would you like to see it used for LiveCycle?

Recent Tech Notes

2009-09-30T17:59:03Z

Here's the list of Knowledge Base tech notes that the LiveCycle ES team has published in the past two months:

Making Life Easier When Developing Custom LiveCycle ES Components

2009-09-29T18:00:05Z

Recently, I was developing a LiveCycle ES component that uses Java APIs that are new to me. As I was thinking about how to implement the functionality that these new APIs offered into a LiveCycle ES component, a development pattern occurred to me. This pattern can be used by any LiveCycle ES component developer.

Because a LiveCycle ES component runs as a service, there isn't an easy way to debug the application logic. That is, how can I set a breakpoint in the Java code and step through it? How can I ensure that these APIs are doing what they are supposed to do?

The answer is to use Java APIs inside a test Java console application. Then, you can set a breakpoint and step through your Java application logic to ensure the application logic works properly. Once you are satisfied the application works, copy the application logic from your test Java project to your Java project that creates a custom component.

This worked for me. The new Java APIs I was using were proxy Java APIs that consume a web service that returns real-time weather information. That is right - I wanted to embed a custom service into LiveCycle ES that returns real-time weather information so I can embed weather information into a PDF document. And using this pattern, I was able to ensure that the Java APIs worked before I used them inside a LiveCycle ES component.

Note: If you are interested in knowing how to create a custom LiveCycle ES component that invokes an external web service, then keep an eye out for a future development article titled Invoking Web Services using Custom Components to appear on the LiveCycle ES developer center. As a component developer, this is an article you won't want to miss.

Moving users to a new directory server

2009-09-16T19:13:03Z

Let's say you have configured LiveCycle ES with an enterprise domain that retrieves user information from an LDAP directory server. If you decide to move those users to another LDAP directory server, there are steps you should follow to retain the same user IDs and prevent users from losing tasks that are currently in their To Do lists in LiveCycle Workspace ES.

]]>
Here's what you do:

Make sure the new LDAP directory server contains entries for all of the users that you want to migrate.

Click Settings > User Management > Domain Management and select the checkbox next to the domain associated with the old LDAP directory server. Click the Sync Now button. This pulls user information from the old LDAP directory server into your User Management database.

On the Domain Management page, click the name of the domain. This opens the Edit Enterprise Domain page. Click the Directory Provider.

On the Edit Directory page, click the Directory Users tab. Change the Unique Identifier to a user attribute that is common between the old and new LDAP directory servers (e.g. dn or mail) and then click Finish.

Go back to the Domain Management page and re-synch the domain containing the old LDAP directory server. This migrates your users' unique IDs to the user attribute that you specified in the previous step.

On the Domain Management page, click the name of the domain, and then click the Directory Provider.

Click the Server Settings tab. Change the Server and Port settings, along with any other settings that are different for the new LDAP directory server.

Click the Directory Users tab. Leave the Unique Identifier value as-is, but change the rest of the settings according to the new LDAP directory server and then click Finish.

Go back to the Domain Management page and re-synch the domain, which now contains details about the new LDAP directory server. This migrates your users from the old LDAP directory server to new LDAP directory server, based on the Unique Identifier.

On the Domain Management page, click the name of the domain, and then click the Directory Provider.

Click the Directory Users tab and change the Unique Identifier back to the new LDAP server-specific Unique ID (for example, objectguid for Active Directory).

Go back to the Domain Management page and re-synch the domain.

From now on, your users will be synchronized from the new LDAP directory server, and any existing users will still have access to the items in their LiveCycle Workspace To Do list that were there before the migration.

Adobe TV

2009-09-10T13:44:54Z

Looking for a new way to learn about LiveCycle? Prefer watching TV to reading books? If so, you might like Adobe TV: http://tv.adobe.com, which contains videos on LiveCycle and other Adobe products. You can browse or search for topics that you're interested in, save your favorite videos to "My Library" or share them on social networking sites, and subscribe to RSS feeds of your favorite shows.

LiveCycle ES web application cheat sheet

2009-09-03T13:04:11Z

After installing LiveCycle ES, there are a number of URLs that you use to access various LiveCycle ES web applications. Here's a cheat sheet for those URLs.

]]> LiveCycle ES web application Web URL LiveCycle Administration Console http:// [host name]:[app port number]/adminui LiveCycle Reader Extensions ES http:// [host name]:[app port number]/ReaderExtensions LiveCycle Workspace ES http:// [host name]:[app port number]/workspace LiveCycle Rights Management ES

Note: Before you can access Rights Management ES, you must create a user that is assigned the LiveCycle Rights Management End User role. http:// [host name]:[app port number]/edc/Login.do

LiveCycle Business Activity Monitoring http:// [host name]:8888/bam/login/dashboard.htm LiveCycle Contentspace ES http:// [host name]:[app port number]/contentspace LiveCycle PDF Generator ES to access a IPP printer (Internet Protocol Port) printer http:// [host name]: [app port number]/pdfg-ipp/install

Where:

[host name] is the name of the server where you installed LiveCycle ES. Type localhost if you are logged onto the server.
[app port number] is the default port number for these supported application servers:

JBoss : 8080

WebLogic: 7001

Websphere: 9080

Note: Your application server may be configured to use another port number instead of the default one.

Example:

If you installed LiveCycle ES on a JBoss application (named LC-SERVER) and wanted to use the LiveCycle Reader Extensions ES web application, type http://LCSERVER:8080/ReaderExtensions in a web browser. Please note the capitalization!

Tips for creating form designs for Acrobat and Adobe Reader

2009-08-28T15:37:08Z

Where to start
If you are new to Designer ES, start with one of the tutorials. If not, you can look at one of the sample forms installed with Designer ES. The sample forms illustrate form design techniques, from simple to complex. Each sample is accompanied by a form design, sample data and/or schema, as well as the final version of the form. If one of the sample forms suits your requirements, use it as a starting point. The sample forms are installed in the EN\Samples\Forms folder under the LiveCycle Designer ES installation folder.

See Quick Start Tutorials in Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES Help.

Build compatible forms
Make sure that you determine the version of Acrobat and Adobe Reader that people will use to fill the form. Setting the correct target version ensures that the form designs that you create are compatible.

See Target Version in Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES Help.

Design for reuse
Use fragments if you are planning to use the same element in multiple forms. Using fragments makes updating the common elements much easier.

See Using Fragments in Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES Help.

Consider security
You may want users to enter a password for such things as opening, printing, copying text or applying signatures. When designing interactive PDF forms it is important to ensure that your forms and the data you gather is secure. Designer ES includes many functions and features that provide security options for your forms.

See Setting Security in Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES Help.

Make forms accessible
An accessible form is one that is simple and usable. A simple layout of controls and fields with clear, meaningful captions and tool tips will make the form much easier for all users to fill.

See Creating Accessible Forms in Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES Help.

How it's done
It is easier to start with the layout of the form and then add the dynamic parts, and scripting. While designing the form, preview it often. Previewing ensures that your form designs look and behave the way you intended. Here is an example of the workflow you might use to create a form design:

Set the target version.
Set the form size and define master pages.
Add the form elements (title, header, body, footer),
Set tabbing order.
Test the form with users.

@livecycle How do I add you to my social networks?

2009-08-20T20:23:25Z

Want to stay in touch with what's new with LiveCyle ES? You could wait for our regular press releases ... or you could become one of the LiveCycle nation and get plugged in using one of our social networking outlets. Here's the rundown:

]]>

Adobe LiveCycle Café (download now)

By far the best way to stay in touch. A one-stop resource for all things LiveCycle, LiveCycle Café is an Adobe AIR application (download required) that aggregates LiveCycle news, notes, a cool live chat feature, information on upcoming events, and links to LiveCycle resources. The RSS feeds section includes the best LiveCycle blogs and other online information sources, including THIS blog (arguably the best of them all).

LiveCycle Google Group (take me there)

A community page for people to ask questions, provide answers, and generally discuss all things LiveCycle.

LiveCycle on twitter (take me there)

Straight from the source ... 140 characters or less.

Facebook (take me there)

Become a fan of Adobe LiveCycle ES and join the 354 (as of now) other fans online.

LinkedIn (take me there)

Join one of the LiveCycle related groups to stay connected with like-minded LiveCycle professionals.

Blogs (take me to a list)

There are a number of great blogs loaded with information for new and experienced users. Obviously the documentation blog is the best, but there are some other decent ones too.

And hey, once you're connected don't just lurk. Join in discussions, post to the forums, get on the community pages, and be an active part of the LiveCycle nation.

Have a good day.

Invoking LiveCycle ES 8.2 services using Java proxy files created using JAX-WS

2009-08-14T20:12:09Z

Did you know that you can use JAX-WS to create Java proxy classes that consume the SOAP stack of a LiveCycle ES 8.2 service? That is correct, you have another choice when deciding how best to invoke LiveCycle ES from a Java client application.

When creating proxy classes, you do not need to include LiveCycle Java client JAR files in your Java project's class path. For example, assume you want to invoke the Encryption service to protect a PDF document with password-based encryption.
]]>
1. adobe-encryption-client.jar
2. adobe-livecycle-client.jar
3. adobe-usermanager-client.jar
4. adobe-utilities.jar
5. jbossall-client.jar (use a different JAR file if LiveCycle ES2 is not deployed on JBoss)

However, when you create Java proxy classes using JAX-WS, these JAR files do not have to be placed in your Java project's class path.

Apache Ant lets you create a build script that generates Java proxy classes by referencing a LiveCycle ES service WSDL. The following is an example of a build script:








       !!! Failed to execute JDK's wsimport tool. Make sure that JDK 1.6 (or later) is on your PATH !!!













Within this Ant build script, notice that the url property is set to reference the Encryption service WSDL running on localhost. The username and password properties must be set to a valid LiveCycle ES user name and password. Notice that the URL contains the lc_version attribute.

You can generate JAX-WS proxy files by performing the following steps:

1.    Install Apache Ant on the client computer. (See http://ant.apache.org/bindownload.cgi.)
2.    Add the bin directory to your class path.
3.    Set the ANT_HOME environment variable to the directory where you installed Ant.
4.    Install JDK 1.6 or later.
5.    Add the JDK bin directory to your class path.
6.    Add the JRE bin directory to your class path. This bin is located in the [JDK_INSTALL_LOCATION]/jre directory.
7.    Set the JAVA_HOME environment variable to the directory where you installed the JDK. JDK 1.6 includes the wsimport program used in the build.xml file. JDK 1.5 does not include that program.
8.    Install JAX-WS on the client computer. (See Java API for XML Web Services.)
9.    Use JAX-WS and Apache Ant to generate Java proxy classes. Create an Ant build script to accomplish this task.
10.    Create a BAT file to execute the Ant build script. The following command can be located within a BAT file that is responsible for executing the Ant build script: ant -buildfile "build.xml" wsdl
11.    Place the ANT build script in the C:\Program Files\Java\jaxws-ri\bin directory. The script writes the JAVA files to the ./classes folder. The script generates JAVA files that can invoke the service.
12.    Package the JAVA files into a JAR file. If you are working on Eclipse, follow these sub steps:

•    Create a new Java project that is used to package the proxy JAVA files into a JAR file.
•    Create a source folder in the project.
•    Create a com.adobe.idp.services package in the Source folder.
•    Select the com.adobe.idp.services package and then import the JAVA files from the adobe/idp/services folder into the package.
•    Create an org/apache/xml/xmlsoap package in the Source folder.
•    Select the source folder and then import the JAVA files from the org/apache/xml/xmlsoap folder.
•    Set the Java compiler's compliance level to 5.0 or greater.
•    Build the project.
•    Export the project as a JAR file.
•    Import this JAR file in a client project's class path. In addition, import all of the JAR files located in \Adobe\LiveCycle8.2\LiveCycle_ES_SDK\client-libs\thirdparty.

The following code example uses Java proxy files created using JAX-WS to invoke the Encryption server and encrypt a PDF document with a password.

import java.io.*;
import javax.xml.ws.BindingProvider;
import com.adobe.idp.services.*;

public class EncryptDocument {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        try{
            // Setting configurations to retrieve the Web service
            String url = "http://hsmithk-380:8080/soap/services/EncryptionService?blob=base64";
            String username = "administrator";
            String password = "password";

            // Create the service Client objects needed
            EncryptionServiceService encryptionService = new EncryptionServiceService();
            EncryptionService encryptionClient = encryptionService.getEncryptionService();

            // Retrieve the Web services from the LiveCycle Server.
            ((BindingProvider) encryptionClient).getRequestContext().put(BindingProvider.ENDPOINT_ADDRESS_PROPERTY, url);
            ((BindingProvider) encryptionClient).getRequestContext().put(BindingProvider.USERNAME_PROPERTY, username);
            ((BindingProvider) encryptionClient).getRequestContext().put(BindingProvider.PASSWORD_PROPERTY, password);

            // Create an input Stream
            BLOB inDoc = new BLOB();

            // Get the input PDF document to encrypt
            File ddxFileName = new File("C:\\Adobe\\Loan.pdf");
            FileInputStream ddxFs = new FileInputStream(ddxFileName);

            // Get the lengths of the file streams and create byte arrays
            int ddxLen = (int)ddxFileName.length();
            byte[] ddxByteArray = new byte[ddxLen];

            // Populate the byte arrays with the contents of the file streams
            ddxFs.read(ddxByteArray, 0, ddxLen);

            inDoc.setBinaryData(ddxByteArray);

            //Create a PasswordEncryptionOptionSpec object that stores encryption run-time values
            PasswordEncryptionOptionSpec passSpec = new PasswordEncryptionOptionSpec();

            //Specify the PDF document resource to encrypt
            passSpec.setEncryptOption(PasswordEncryptionOption.ALL);

            //Specify the Acrobat version
            passSpec.setCompatability(PasswordEncryptionCompatability.ACRO_7);

            //Specify the password values
            passSpec.setDocumentOpenPassword("OpenPassword");
            passSpec.setPermissionPassword("PermissionPassword");

            //Encrypt the PDF document
            BLOB encryptDoc = encryptionClient.encryptPDFUsingPassword(inDoc,passSpec);

            //Save the encrypted file as a PDF file
            byte[] encryptedDocument = encryptDoc.getBinaryData();

            //Create a File object
            File outFile = new File("C:\\Adobe\\EncryptedDocument.pdf");

            //Create a FileOutputStream object.
            FileOutputStream myFileW = new FileOutputStream(outFile);

            //Call the FileOutputStream object's write method and pass the pdf data
            myFileW.write(encryptedDocument);

            //Close the FileOutputStream object
            myFileW.close();
            System.out.println("The PDF document was encrypted with a password");

        }catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}

New Solution Accelerators for LiveCycle ES Released!

2009-08-07T18:57:53Z

Earlier this week, Adobe launched another set of Solution Accelerators for LiveCycle ES, which include:

• Financial Services Account Enrollment Solution Accelerator
• Financial Services Correspondence Management Solution Accelerator
• Government Benefits & Services Delivery Solution Accelerator
• Cross-Industry Human Capital Applications Solution Accelerator

For more details, see the Solution Accelerator page on the LiveCycle Developer Center at: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/livecycle/?view=solutionaccelerators.

Latest Tech Notes

2009-07-30T17:34:31Z

Here's the list of Knowledge Base tech notes that thehttp://blogs.adobe.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt.cgi?__mode=view&_type=entry&id=41903&blog_id=217 LiveCycle ES team has published in the past little while:

Using a signature pad to sign a PDF

2009-07-27T19:52:40Z

Customers sometimes ask if they can connect an electronic signature pad to a laptop to sign an Adobe PDF document in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader. The answer is yes, you can. However, support for signature pads requires drivers and plug-ins to Acrobat or Adobe Reader. Also, the PDF document must have the necessary usage rights applied in Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions ES to activate the functionality within Adobe Reader (version 7 of later) that enables users to sign the document.

Adobe lists several partners that support electronic signature pads on the Adobe Security Partner Community. Visit the site and have a look at CIC, Interlink, and SoftPro. These partners provide solutions that can enable you to sign Signature fields in PDF forms.

You can also use a device like a Wacom tablet (not a dedicated signature pad) to sign a PDF document in Acrobat or Adobe Reader. In Adobe Acrobat 9.0 (or later), you can select the Apply Ink Signature option available on the Sign & Certify menu, (Advanced > Sign & Certify), to enable the Pencil commenting tool. With this solution, users can sign or write anywhere in the PDF document. However, the document's integrity is not locked down after the document is signed, like it is when you the use one of the signature pad solutions from one of the providers mentioned above. In Adobe Reader, users can sign the PDF document as long as the necessary functionality is enabled in Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions ES, and the appropriate plug-in is installed for the signature software that uses the Wacom tablet.