Using Forms

The customized screens that guide users through an interview process are called Forms and the answers collected during this process called InfoFiles are saved to an InfoFile or assembled into a template to produce the completed document.

WordFusion Assembler enables you to manage the assembly (Mail Merge) process:

•  View the information at glance during the assembly (Mail Merge) process.
•  Apply and view formatting and mandatory rules to fields.
• Get instant help in context with what you are doing at the moment.
• View a preview of the document without leaving WordFusion.
• View the InfoFile in a preview window.
• View any errors or messages in the messages window.

Forms help users enter and submit information in a consistent way. This reduces the likelihood of data-entry errors and improves the overall process of gathering similar information from different users.

Main Window
The main window of the Assembler shows the fields and other controls that the designer placed on the Form during the design stage. During Assemble Time the Form allows the user to enter data into the fields and applies the rules that will be used to assemble the finished document.




Among other things, a Form determines:

•  The controls and fields are arranged on the form.
• The controls, labels, and instructional text that appear on the form.
• The way controls behave when users interact with them. For example, in a text box, you might prevent users from typing more than 50 characters.
• The fonts, colors, and other design elements used in the form.
• Whether users are notified when they make mistakes in the form or forget to fill out a field.
• Any other rules that a designer may want to enforce during the process of filling out a Form or Assembly.

When users fill out a form based on a form template, the data from that form is saved in XML format as an .ixml. Depending on the form's design, you may be able to do the following when filling out a WordFusion Form:

• Format text you enter into the form.
• Insert repeats and lists that have the exact amount of rows or entries you want.
• Add optional sections to a form or replace one section with another.
• Review and fix errors in the form.
• Save Question Files and Answer Files to your computer and work offline.

Field Preview
During the Assembly (Mail Merge) process it is useful to be able to check at a glance the status of the fields, which have been answered, the values of fields on forms not selected and which may be mandatory. The Field Preview window can be used for this and shows the status of each field during the Assembly (Mail Merge) process, the user can view the value, type, answered property and order at a glance. The grid showing the fields can be sorted and grouped on any of the fields which allows the user to create a personal view of the fields.

InfoFile Preview
The InfoFile Preview window shows the values from the currently loaded InfoFile. This is useful when an InfoFile that is loaded has more Fields than the InfoFile can display. The InfoFile Preview window is a read only view of the data.