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Topic: What's the best way to do this...?
Conf: (P-PDF) Forms & FDF, Msg: 65821
From: hayaiio
Date: 5/29/2002 06:21 PM

On 12/10/99 2:40:24 AM, george wrote:
>Often, the best way is to
>start with a PDF form in the
>first place, and have the user fill it in.

...
>
>I avoid starting with an HTML
>form whenever possible (and it
>usually is) due to the client-side setup
>requirements, and the resulting headaches.

George,

I am not sure if I agree with that recommendation.
The reason for HTML form may not be technical or
licensing cost headaches. Personally, as
a user sitting in front of an on-line form, I prefer
filling in an HTML form rather than an Acrobat
form (unless I have filled in a partcular form
10 or more times and already know what goes where).
I like the end result of having a filled-in form
as PDF neatly layed out.

I know it is blasphemous to say that I don't like
Acrobat forms or any form in most cases here.
Acrobat form is technically interesting, and there
is a definite need for it, but I
want see a study about what people actually likes,
or in this case rather, consider as a lesser evil,
before accepting that I am an exception. :-)

I am of course promoting our own product, but one
way of going from HTML form input or any input
to a dynamically filled-in PDF to generate a
PDF entirely programmatically. It's techincally
plain and simple but it works and can cleanly
avoid many of the restrictions of Acrobat forms
such as base-14 fonts and things you can put
in fields. Please check out:

http://www.fastio.com/forms/form1040.html

to see what I am talking about.

Sam Ohzawa
FastIO Systems - ClibPDF - www.fastio.com - TIFF2PDF