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OmniForm Filler Features

2  Introduction

OmniForm Filler Features

OmniForm Filler, an easy-to-use environment for working with forms, 
includes the following features:

Form Filling

You can fill a form with the information you need and print, or mail it. 
Information entered can easily be searched and sorted in the OmniForm 
Filler database.

OmniForm Filler Database

All information you enter into a form is stored as a part of an OmniForm 
Filler database. You can create, duplicate, search, and sort records, and 
import and export database information to and from other databases. 

Field Validation

A form can be set up by the person who created it to 

validate

 a fillable 

field automatically. For example, the validation could specify that a field 
must contain a specific type of information. OmniForm Filler would 
display a prompt if you tried to enter incorrect information.

Field Calculations

A form can be set up by the person who created it to perform 
calculations automatically and display the correct value as you fill the 
appropriate field(s) in the form. This automates data entry and reduces 
the possibility of errors.

Form Printing

You can print forms from OmniForm Filler. You have a choice of 
printing just the form, just the data entered in a form, or both the form 
and its information. If you choose to print just a form’s data, you can 
print it over a preprinted form placed in your printer.

Form Mailing

Use electronic mail to send your forms to other users if you have 
Microsoft Exchange/Outlook or Lotus cc:Mail/Notes installed. Microsoft 
Exchange/Outlook users can also add routing slips to mailed forms.

Summary of Contents for OMNIFORM 3

Page 1: ...OmniForm Filler User s Manual Version 3 0 for Windows 95 and NT CAERE CORPORATION 100 Cooper Court Los Gatos California USA 95032 3321...

Page 2: ...ou have questions about how to use menu commands dialog boxes scroll bars or edit boxes OmniForm Filler User s Manual Version 3 0 for Windows 95 and NT 800 1284 030 A Copyright 1998 Caere Corporation...

Page 3: ...manage information databases print and mail forms to other users This chapter gives an overview of the form filling and information management capabilities OmniForm Filler provides as well as an expl...

Page 4: ...dation could specify that a field must contain a specific type of information OmniForm Filler would display a prompt if you tried to enter incorrect information Field Calculations A form can be set up...

Page 5: ...ut the manual Italicized Text Labeled buttons menu commands dialog box text and any text in an onscreen form are italicized for example Choose Open in the File menu Menu titles icon names dialog box n...

Page 6: ...Documentation 4 Introduction Symbols Two symbols are used in this manual to highlight text This symbol means Note It introduces a tip or an item of note This symbol means Warning It introduces cautio...

Page 7: ...2 Installation and Setup This chapter describes how to install OmniForm Filler and begin using it including the following sections System Requirements Registering OmniForm Filler Installing OmniForm...

Page 8: ...form Install your scanner and test it in Windows according to the manufacturer s instructions before using it with OmniForm OmniForm Filler 3 0 for Windows 95 and Windows NT is a 32 bit application a...

Page 9: ...rt automatically If it does not click Start in the Taskbar and choose Settings Control Panel The Control Panel appears Double click Add Remove Programs The Add Remove Programs Properties dialog box ap...

Page 10: ...ose Programs Caere Applications OmniForm Filler 3 0 The OmniForm Filler window appears 2 Click the Open button or choose Open in the File menu The Open dialog box appears 3 Select a form to open and c...

Page 11: ...With Forms This chapter describes the basics of working with forms including Opening a Form The OmniForm Filler Window Moving Through Fields Filling Fields Spell Checking Saving Your Form Printing a...

Page 12: ...To open a form 1 Click Start in the Taskbar and choose Programs Caere Applications OmniForm Filler 3 0 2 Click the Open button in the standard toolbar or choose Open in the File menu The Open dialog b...

Page 13: ...ns as shortcuts to commonly used menu commands A form contains fields You can enter information in a field such as text in a Name field or a check mark in a check box field By default fillable fields...

Page 14: ...s the same as choosing its corresponding menu command All these corresponding menu commands are explained in online help You can also drag the standard toolbar to any other location in the OmniForm Fi...

Page 15: ...cursor in the first field Next field Press the Tab Previous field Press Shift Tab Next line in a fill text field Press Enter to move to the next line in a multiple line fill text field End of a line...

Page 16: ...Selection on page 3 14 Type Ahead As you begin to enter a word in a fill text object OmniForm Filler will automatically complete the word This works only when there is previously filled information t...

Page 17: ...check box field can contain one of three marks a check mark an X or a fill Check boxes are commonly used for Yes No questions and for selecting an item in a group as in the next two examples Check bo...

Page 18: ...k box fields You would click this cell to fill it in the same way as a check box field Fill Graphic A fill graphic field contains a graphic you select You can import an existing graphic or you can use...

Page 19: ...phic field while keeping its exact proportions Select Stretch to Fit to change your graphic s original shape and size to fit in the fill graphic field Depending on the shape of the fill graphic field...

Page 20: ...u want to be able to see information behind the graphic Whether a graphic prints transparently depends on your printer driver See your printer documentation for information Deselect Transparent if you...

Page 21: ...on page 3 9 and then return to step 7 on this page 7 Place the page with the graphic that you want in your scanner making sure it is aligned correctly 8 Click OK OmniForm Filler scans the graphic and...

Page 22: ...red by the creator to Require that you enter information in a field and do not leave it blank Require that you enter specific information in a field Require both of the above Require that you choose f...

Page 23: ...ctures or text Usually these objects have been inserted to provide the form with more information For example you may see an icon in your form such as the one pictured below In the OmniForm program th...

Page 24: ...cking the Form Language Selection 1 Choose Options in the Tools menu The Options dialog box appears 2 Click the International tab The Language selection is grayed out but readable Dictionaries for all...

Page 25: ...ing the Current Form selection could cause OmniForm Filler to reformat data already entered Spell Checking Your Form 1 Click the Spelling button in the standard toolbar or choose Spelling in the Tools...

Page 26: ...niForm Filler saves automatically There is no save command but there is a Save As command Use the Save As command to save a form to another location or with a different file name Printing a Form This...

Page 27: ...to assemble multiple printed copies in the proper sequence This option is available if your form has more than one page and your printer supports collating 5 Enter offset measurements under Print off...

Page 28: ...formation To print your form as a macro a macro number must have been assigned to the form in the OmniForm program Consult your OmniForm administrator or the form s creator if you need to assign a mac...

Page 29: ...installed to mail a form Selecting a Mail System 1 Choose Options in the Tools menu The Options dialog box appears 2 Click the General tab OmniForm Filler selects your installed mail application by d...

Page 30: ...o send If you do not specify a range OmniForm Filler will send all records by default Select All Records to send all records in the current database Select Current Record Set to send the current found...

Page 31: ...fied Adding a Routing Slip Microsoft Exchange Outlook users can add a routing slip to mail See the Microsoft Exchange Outlook documentation for detailed information To add a routing slip 1 Open the fo...

Page 32: ...them there manually As an original form This is a partially designed form You can fill in highlighted fields Some of the form can be edited in the OmniForm program An original form maintains its origi...

Page 33: ...m usage option Select Use Designed Form to view the form as it was designed by another person Select Use Original Form to view the form as it looked originally This option is not available if the form...

Page 34: ...Form Usage Options 24 Working With Forms...

Page 35: ...Managing a Database 1 Chapter 4 Managing a Database This chapter introduces basic database concepts including the following sections What Is a Database Managing Database Records...

Page 36: ...the first record in a new database Any user of this database can create a new blank form using the record as a template and then fill in new information to create another record This makes it possible...

Page 37: ...ting Information Using OmniForm Filler Data Files Importing Information The form you open becomes the first record of a new database as soon as you fill in a field You can then create new records with...

Page 38: ...ield OmniForm Filler cannot create a new record until you fill at least one field in an empty form A form with fields filled only by automatic calculations such as a date field is still considered emp...

Page 39: ...Duplicating Records You can duplicate any record in a database as long as it has information entered in at least one field This is useful if you want to create records that will contain much of the sa...

Page 40: ...base First Record Click the First Record button or choose Go To in the Records menu and First in its cascading menu to move to the first record in your database Previous Record Click the Previous Reco...

Page 41: ...w record Searching Records for Information A database can contain a tremendous amount of information If you had to search manually through hundreds of records in your database to find a particular rec...

Page 42: ...else in the Customer field Make sure you have no extra spaces after your entry If for example you typed in an extra space then OmniForm Filler would search for the Franich Halsey entry plus a space i...

Page 43: ...up to the entry name itself begins with find records that begin with the Value entry This search finds records that have Franich Halsey as the entry or at the beginning of an entry in the Customer fi...

Page 44: ...r field Be careful when selecting contains as one of your conditions In a search for the value male for example your search would include any records that contained the word male It would therefore al...

Page 45: ...ave a found set open from a previous search 6 Click OK OmniForm Filler searches for and retrieves all records that contain the information you specified in the Search dialog box Under the standard too...

Page 46: ...To sort records 1 Choose Sort in the Records menu The Sort dialog box appears 2 Select the field by which to sort in the Field Name drop down list All the fields in your form are listed here 3 Select...

Page 47: ...he new calculation and reflect this rate Older records would not reflect the new calculation because the original rate was correct at the time If another new calculation was added to the same expense...

Page 48: ...to apply the new or changed calculation to just the record you are viewing Select From To to apply the new or changed calculation to a range of records Enter a number in the From and To text boxes If...

Page 49: ...n the form in the OmniForm program Contact your OmniForm administrator or the form s creator if you need data protection turned off To delete the current record 1 Choose Delete Record in the Records m...

Page 50: ...h a record or records 1 Choose Refresh Record or Refresh All Records in the Records menu If you have chosen Refresh all Records OmniForm Filler auto matically checks to see if any record has been upda...

Page 51: ...base file takes up considerably less disk space than the database itself It can be copied or mailed more quickly than the entire database Share information from different databases For example you mig...

Page 52: ...dialog box 3 Click OK The Export As dialog box appears A file name appears in the File name text box The file is named by default with the name of the currently open database You can change the file n...

Page 53: ...ield on the right and click Remove if you decide not to export its information 7 If you want to specify a range of records to import Click Range to open the Record Range dialog box Otherwise OmniForm...

Page 54: ...database driver you can export up to 255 fields at a time To export your data to an available data source 1 Select Export in the File menu The Export Setup dialog box appears 2 Select ODBC Database i...

Page 55: ...s useful for sharing data especially if you want to send another user just part of a database To set up the shared form location 1 Select or create a folder for your shared OmniForm Filler forms 2 In...

Page 56: ...s contains information exported from an OmniForm Filler database Any supported database source such as FoxPro Available sources depend on the installed database drivers An OmniForm Mailable Filler Dat...

Page 57: ...ile Select a data source in the Available Data Sources list box to import files from another database source You can also add delete and set up data sources 4 Click OK The type of dialog box that appe...

Page 58: ...ds you can import from the other database appear on the right 7 Link fields on the left to fields on the right This tells OmniForm Filler which field data to import from the other database and where t...

Page 59: ...open the Record Range dialog box to specify a range of records to import Otherwise OmniForm Filler imports all records by default Type the first record number to import in the From text box and the l...

Page 60: ...Managing Database Records 26 Managing a Database...

Page 61: ...ides technical information on such topics as program operation and compatible file formats This chapter contains the following sections General Troubleshooting Solutions OmniForm Filler Setup Issues U...

Page 62: ...lications are functioning properly Make sure that your system meets all requirements as listed in System Requirements on page 2 2 If you are using a scanner make sure the scanner is plugged in and tur...

Page 63: ...r setup program Setup Program Requests the Same Disk Exit the program and restart your computer if the Setup program repeatedly requests the same disk If this does not solve the problem and the correc...

Page 64: ...your computer Back up files and records outside your Omnifill folder if you want to save them To uninstall OmniForm Filler in Windows 95 1 Exit from OmniForm Filler 2 Click Start in the Taskbar and ch...

Page 65: ...ble conflict See your device documentation A SCSI termination problem Make sure the scanner is terminated properly See your scanner documentation A memory related problem Try closing open windows and...

Page 66: ...that support object linking and embedding OLE If you create a new object rather than creating one from a file OmniForm Filler launches and the Open dialog box appears Select an OmniForm form in the di...

Page 67: ...lick System in the Control Panel The System Properties dialog box appears 3 Click the Performance tab All memory information appears in this tab See your Windows documentation or the Windows online he...

Page 68: ...a time add more RAM to your system Low Disk Space Check your Temp folder for unnecessary files if you seem to be running out of disk space too quickly Files are stored here especially after a system h...

Page 69: ...or higher FoxPro 2 0 or higher Paradox 3 x or higher text based and CSV files E mail Programs Microsoft Exchange Outlook Lotus cc Mail Notes 2 0 and above Graphic Formats OmniForm can import the foll...

Page 70: ...re you have assigned a Macro Number If this has been assigned then the current printer may not support macros See Printing Your Form as a Macro on page 3 18 for information The current word cannot be...

Page 71: ...support information for the United States Canada and the European Community Please refer to these pages if you need product support You must be registered to receive product support Complete and send...

Page 72: ...Caere Product Support 12 Technical Information...

Page 73: ...the next typed character will appear data The plural of datum used here to refer to any information entered in a field such as text and numbers database A collection of similar information stored as...

Page 74: ...able fields You can print fax or mail this type of form Object Linking and Embedding OLE A feature that enables users to insert and use objects created in other applications into a form ODBC An acrony...

Page 75: ...ns for basic file operation such as saving and printing and for moving through records in a database text file A file containing information in text form its contents are interpreted as characters enc...

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