Acroforms was a way of filing PDFs using Acrobat forms. You had to have a PDF with xfdf data. Synapse created the data and put it into a directory, and then you loaded up the pdf, populated it using xfdf data and that was it. But you needed to have Acrobat professional to allow you to create these forms.
Both the "Available" and "Used-->View" tabs still work, ..... but if the SUBMIT button submits to (in my case) to 127.0.0.1:8008, Acrobat will offer to open the xfdf file, and go into an endless loop and not open it. Quickly fixing the f href file reference at the bottom of the xfdf file with a text editor fixes the problem, and is the best work around I've found so far. So, e.g., just copy the parent pdf acroform to C:\EMR\Client\www, because the xfdf file created by clicking the "Used-->View" button will be auto saved there. So, lets say the acroform is named "CA-17.pdf", and an xfdf file created from it by clicking the "Used-->View" button is named "ED0C751D0486E941750FF887A9FA03C4D832DAD0.xfdf" . Just change the file reference at the bottom the xfdf to "<f href="CA-17.pdf"/></xfdf>". Opening the xfdf file will now open CA-17.pdf with the patient data on it. You can edit the acroform some more and, and the SUBMIT button will work to submit the edited form. I just used an old version of OmniPage Pro (ver 15) to autodesign/create an acroform of the US Postal Service CA-17 form (Return to Work Form), and it worked surprisingly well, taking only 15-20 min to edit the acroform. You can usually get old copies of OmniPage Pro for cheap on eBay, etc. I use an old version of CutePDF Pro and CutePDF Filler (companion apps) for other PDF form editing functions. CutePDF Pro/Filler runs about $55 these days, and there a lot of similar PDF editors available. So my process is: 1. Use OmniForms or OmniPage to auto create an acroform. You could use open source/free Scribus desktop publishing app to design an acroform from the ground up or layer text / check boxes and controls on a form scan. I've done this, but it's more work for complicated forms. 2. Use CutePDF Pro to add the SUBMIT button and hidden syupdfid text box (Not sure if OmniPage will create a working SUBMIT button, but OmniForm didn't work for me in the past). 3. Make a copy of the acroform, fill it out with the synapse variables ($fname, $surname, etc) and save it. (The WebPortal "Edit Acroform" function does work, but has the same f href file reference problem as "Used-->View", so it's easier and safer IMHO to make a saved acroform copy with the synapse variables on it). 4. Use the saved copy to create an xfdf file, exporting the xfdf data using CutePDF Filler or similar (Master PDF Editor, etc, etc.). 6. Add the form and xfdf data using WebPortal's "Add Acroform" page. 7. After that, it's all good, just with the xfdf file reference problem above. Note: Omnipage Pro has a key advantage over Omniforms which is that it will auto design forms from a much wider array of graphic file types and resolutions, but the downside is that some of my favorite powerful editing features from OmniForms were removed in OmniPage Pro. Not sure about OmniPage Ultimate, haven't tried it.
Here's my latest redo on the US Postal Service Duty Form, CA-17. I believe this is my best acroform yet. Created with OmniForm 5.0 + editing in <1 hr. Fonts in all the fill text are bolded to stand out. I discovered the secret to quick OCR and auto form creation in old OmniForm 5.0 is better quality 300 dpi 24 bit color tiffs of the underlying scan graphic.
@Jerry that looks great! I completely forgot about PDF forms and when I tried to use one it failed so I assumed it didn't work anymore. But now that you remind me, it was because the PDF submit button is embedded in the form. So, maybe what we need to do is make up a domain, and use the hosts file to send it to the right location? This process of making a simple acroform needs a video if you're up to it?
