LiveCycle Doc team

Changing the fill color of a field based on a condition

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:42:39 -0500

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?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 12:32:33 -0500

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.

Adobe Announces LiveCycle Mosaic ES2

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 13:06:49 -0500

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).

What I heard at MAX 2009

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:59:22 -0500

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

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 13:59:03 -0500

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

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:00:05 -0500

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

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 15:13:03 -0500

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.

Adobe TV

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:44:54 -0500

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

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:04:11 -0500

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.

Tips for creating form designs for Acrobat and Adobe Reader

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:37:08 -0500

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?

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 16:23:25 -0500

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:

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

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:12:09 -0500

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.

New Solution Accelerators for LiveCycle ES Released!

Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:57:53 -0500

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

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:34:31 -0500

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

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:52:40 -0500

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.