Merge Forms
All Merge Forms that are linked to the Web Form are listed in this Overview. At least one Merge Form must be enabled for the Web Form to be filled out. Enabled Merge Forms are stored after the Web Form has been transferred to the file cabinet as individual PDFs. In this case, the Web Form is not saved again as a single PDF.
You can edit existing Merge Forms or select a new Merge Form. The Merge Form can have any file format that can be displayed by DocuWare Viewer (List of Supported File Formats)
If you use a "Merge Form," DocuWare Forms needs the System Storage Path for temporarily storing the Merge Forms.
Merge Forms Designer
Link the web form and the merge form using fill areas. Drag a fill area in the merge form and assign a web form field to it. The entry in this field will be transferred to the merge form. The fill area is given the same name as the mapped field.
Note for workflow designers:
You can embed an empty form field into a workflow and have it filled out directly in the mask of a workflow task.
To create a blank form field, drag a fill area here, but DO NOT map it with a web form field. The fill area is displayed as a field in the task mask of the workflow and is filled in there.
Give the fill area a name. This name is used to display the fill area in the Workflow Designer
Mapping fill areas
There are two methods for mapping fill areas to a Web Form field:
The user first drag a border around all areas to which the data from the filled-out Web Form should be transferred. The Add Fill Area tool is used to do this.
Next assign the Web Form fields: Click on a form field and enable the tool Map fill area to form field. Then drag the mapping arrow to the desired fill area until the point of the arrow is docked on the border.
Or the user creates a fill area as described above, but maps the Web Form field directly. The next border is then inserted, etc.
Note: The field names of the Web Form are not automatically transferred to the Merge Form. Define how the fill areas are to be filled in the settings – see below.
Fill area settings
Click on a fill area with Edit fill areas and mappings to edit its settings.
Fill mode | Define how a fill area of a Merge Form should be filled out. The options to be used here depend on the Web Form mapped to the fill area. |
Field content | The field content is automatically transferred from the Web Form for Text and Number fields. The fill modes are grayed out. Example: In the "Personal Information" Merge Form, a fill area is created above the row next to "Name" and mapped to the single line text field "Last Name." When the user enters his/her name "Miller" in the Web Form, "Miller" appears in the "Name" row of the Personal Information form. Field Content is also automatically enabled if you have mapped the field name of a Checkbox, a Multiple Choice, or a List Field to a fill area instead of linking the individual selection buttons. In this case, the options selected by the user are entered in the fill area. Tip: Test whether the fill area border is large enough with the Sample Text option (see below). Example: A Merge Form offers "Invoice address" and "Delivery address" as options. In the Web Form, an "Address" checkbox exists with the two selection buttons. If the fill area is now linked to the field "Address" and the user selects "Delivery address," then "Delivery address" appears after the "Address" line in the Merge Form. The other option does not appear in the stored Merge Form. |
Mark with 'X' | If you link a selection button of a Checkbox, Lists, or Multiple Choice field with a Fill Area, the Fill Mode changes to Mark with 'X'. The option selected in the Web Form is marked with an 'X' in the box of the Merge Form. |
FixedValue | This option can be used as an alternative to Mark with 'X'. Here you can enter a different value than "X" to mark a selected option. |
Font | Unlike in a Web Form, you can format the font in the Merge Form. You can select from different fonts, sizes, and colors, as well as the font weight and the horizontal text direction (not for signature fields). |
Sample text | The text entered here is displayed in the box of the fill area. The sample text is not saved in the Web Form. |
Wrap text | This option is only displayed when a single-line text field has been mapped to a fill area. If the option is activated, the entered texts are split over several lines. For new forms from DocuWare Version 7.10 on, this option is activated by default. For existing forms, this option remains deactivated by default. Note: Make sure there is enough space in the fill area - see also the tip "Wrap text" below. |
Fill area name | The fill area automatically gets the name of the linked field. If the fill area is not linked to a web form field, you can enter your own name here. This name can be used to display the fill area in a workflow. |
Mapped field ID | The fill area can be uniquely assigned to one Web Form field. No change is necessary |
Tips
You can also assign a Form field to several fill areas if, for example, a name field appears in multiple places on the Merge Form. Here, an additional mapping arrow is always active in the mapping mode. Disable the mapping mode with "Escape."
Hold down the Ctrl key and click with the Edit tool on different fill areas in order for example to adapt alignment, field content, or font for all areas in one go.
The options in the list under "Tools" are then only enabled if the Edit tool is enabled and at least two fill areas are marked.
In the Merge Form Designer, the most important functions for the fill area tool are available directly by right-clicking:
Use a keyboard shortcut to enter frequently used commands like pasting or deleting. Click Ctrl+A to select all fill areas and Ctrl+Z to undo each of the work steps.
Use the arrow keys to locate the fill areas precisely.
Fill areas can be copied, cut, and pasted into a Merge Form.
To remove a mapping, enable the Edit tool from the Tools list select Mappings – Show All, and then click on the mapping arrow and the trash can symbol.
To get an overview of the entire Merge Form, click the View whole page tool. Show image in original size shows the Merge Form in 1:1 ratio – one monitor pixel corresponds to one image pixel.
Wrap text - use the sample text to check the text position in the fill area:
Wrap text option is deactivated: In this case, the text position is centered vertically. Depending on the length, text will be truncated.
Wrap text option activated: The text moves upwards in the fill area so that the full word length can be inserted.
This option also inserts automatically a padding at the top of the fill area. If the fill area is too small, the text will be truncated in the height.
Note that the effect of this padding is not covered by the preview. It is only visible in the stored PDF.Tip: Monitor the position of the sample text, when you activate the Wrap text checkbox. If the sample text hardly moves, the fill area is probably too shallow. In this case, deactivate the text wrap or enlarge the fill area.
To make sure that the text is positioned correctly in the fill area, store a test PDF and check the text position in the stored PDF.
Merge Form Output
You can use the store dialog to make settings in two different ways: Firstly, the dialog determines the file cabinet in which the filled-out form should be stored. The file cabinet is specified in parentheses after the dialog. Secondly, the index fields of the dialog are used in the next step for indexing the form.
Here you can see all the store dialogs that are assigned to you as a user.
The user filling out the form does not see the store dialog. However, he/she must also be assigned the store dialog (DocuWare Administrator > Organization > User Administration > Users > Dialogs).
Note: If you want the form input to be validated before it is submitted, select a store dialog for which a validation service is defined.
PDF properties
Web forms with templates can be protected so that they cannot be changed after they have been stored in the file cabinet. For this, select the storage option No (flattened PDF).
Show values from hidden fields on PDF: Specify whether or not to transfer content from fields hidden in the web form to the form template. The feature is turned off by default for new forms.
However, the feature is enabled by default for existing forms (DocuWare version 7.8 or earlier). This ensures that the behavior does not change with the update to DocuWare Version 7.9.
Attachments
This section is only visible if the Web Form contains at least one attachment.
Attachments entered into a Web Form can be distributed to various users using Merge Forms. However, files which are not relevant to all recipients are often attached to the Web Form. Only activate the fields containing attachments that you wish to save with the current Merge Form.
All of the Web Form's attachment fields are displayed here – including the fields that were added in earlier DocuWare versions. All attachments are enabled by default.
An attachment must be selected for at least one Merge Form. If there is only one Merge Form, the attachments cannot be disabled – they will be saved as well in any case.
Best practice: creating an order form
DocuWare version 7.8 added an option in connection with mege forms. Determine whether content from fields that are hidden in the web form should be transferred to the merge form or not. So far, such values have always been transferred.
This option simplifies the ordering process since the entries in the web form can be used to generate a completed order form.
Step 1:
Create a number of fields on the forms designer referring to the corresponding table on your purchase order template. Set 0 to all numeric fields as pre-defined entries to ensure the calculation formulas function works properly.
Step 2:
Implement a series of behaviors to ensure that all unneeded rows stay hidden, thereby maintaining a lean form. One approach is to ask form submitters to define the number of rows required for the form. This can be achieved through a drop down where they indicate the desired quantity of rows. Forms utilize this input to dynamically hide any additional rows beyond the specified number, ensuring only the necessary rows are displayed. .
Step 3:
Uncheck the check box Show values from hidden fields at the Merge Form Designer Output. (For new forms, this checkbox is unchecked by default).
Your merge form result should align exactly with the input and settings defined by the form submitter at the time of submission. If you need to make changes to your merge form, set your PDF formatting options as editable PDF. Later you'll be able to download the result documents and edit them.
Merge Form Indexing
You can use the index values to look for forms in the file cabinet, for example. Define how index fields should be filled out.
On the left, you can see the index fields of the Store dialog that you selected in the previous "Merge Form Output" step. Index fields marked as mandatory fields in DocuWare must be used for indexing.
If "Read only" is set for an index field in the store dialog or at field level, this field is not displayed here because no new entries are possible.
Filling process "Web Form Field"
The index field is filled with an entry from a Web Form field. Select the Web Form on the right under "Value."
The selection under "Value" is adjusted based on the type of index field:
For an index field of the "Number" type, the form does not offer a text element.
A "Keyword" index field is suitable for a "Checkbox" form field, as only a keyword field can manage several index entries.
The file cabinet field "Decimal number" is only filled with a form field "Number."
The file cabinet field "Date/Time" is only filled with a form field "Date."
When you link a form field File attachment to an index field, the name of the attached file (with extension) is entered as an index value. If several attachments are available, the file names are separated from each other with semicolons. If the file cabinet field is a keyword field, each file name is used as a keyword entry.
Attachments are saved with the form as a DocuWare document in their original format.
If a select list with "Only entries from select list possible" is enabled for an index field, ensure that the user can only make entries from the select list when filling out the Web Form. Otherwise, problems can occur storing the form.
Filling process "Fixed Value"
Enter a text to be used to automatically fill out the index field. You can quickly find a form in the file cabinet again with fixed values such as "Document type: Form" and "Subject: Employee."
Note: The document name of the stored form in DocuWare does not necessarily correspond to the title of the form. Which field's content is to be displayed as a document name is defined in the organization areas of DocuWare Administration under File Cabinet > Fields.
If a select list is enabled with "Only entries from select list possible" for an index field, DocuWare offers the select list entries as fixed values for the filling process.