Moving to paperless forms, part 2

By Eric D. McMillen, MCSE, CCA
Boomer Consulting, Inc., Manhattan, Kan.

Welcome back! Get ready to jump into phase two of your firm's move to an electronic forms (e-forms) environment. Before we do that, let's briefly go over what we learned in part one.

I recommended that firms use Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) based forms since they allow for the greatest flexibility and ease of implementation. Forms based on the PDF format allow them to be distributed by e-mail, web based (intranet, internet or extranet) or traditional file structure. The portability also means we can extend our form-based data collection to our clients, reducing data errors caused by multiple data entry. I also covered phase one of the implementation process, which is the "print and fill stage" — scanning paper forms to convert them to the most basic e-form and then distribute them through your network, e-mail or, best of all, your intranet. The end user could then print out the needed form and fill it out by hand.

This article will cover phase two, the "fill and print stage." In this stage we will take the "print and fill" PDF forms and enable them to be completed on screen. We'll also incorporate logic into the form that allows it to automatically calculate fields and check for data entry errors. So let's get started.

The most common element on a "fill and print" e-form is the text field; however, you can also use check boxes, radio buttons and drop-down lists. Since the creation of all of these elements, use the "Form" tool. I will use the creation of a text box as an example.

Select the "Form" tool. Field names and borders will appear if there are any existing form fields.
Drag to draw a box to the dimension of your required text field.
The "Field Properties" dialog box will appear. This dialog box lets you set the Form Field Options such as Type, Format and Validation Rules.
Enter a name for the field and choose "Text" for the type.
Click on the Format tab. This tab allows you to set the formatting of the information contained in the field. Your formatting options include Number, Percentage, Date, Time, Special and Custom. Custom allows you to create your own formatting style if needed.
Select OK and your field is done.

While creating fields is easy, it does not ensure that the appropriate data will be entered into the form fields. This is accomplished through the use of validation rules on the respective form field. Let's go back to the text field that we created earlier.

Select the field then select Properties from the edit menu.

Select the Validate tab.
Choose the desired Validation Option. If the format is other than Number or Percentage, the only validate script available will be the None and Custom options.
Select OK.

For accounting professionals though, the real power of "fill and print" e-forms comes from the ability to perform mathematical calculations on two or more numeric fields and display the results. These calculations can be either predefined formulas, or customized formulas using JavaScript. Since learning JavaScript is beyond the scope of this article we will cover how to set up a predefined calculation.

Create any number (greater than two) of text boxes on your form. These fields must be formatted as Numeric, Number or Percentage to perform calculations against them.
Select the field that will hold the result of your calculation.
Select Properties from the Edit menu.
Click on the Calculate tab and select "Value Is the (dropdown box) of the Following Fields."
Choose sum (+), this is the default choice, and press the Pick button.
You will see a list of all of the field names on your form. Highlight each field that you want to include in your calculation and press the Add button. After you have added the final field, press the Done button.
Click OK and verify that your calculation foots as expected.

There, you have done it! You have built an intelligent, "fill and print" e-form.

Now you're ready to utilize these with your staff and clients to be more efficient and provide better client service.

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