1.0 Table of Contents

2.0 Introduction

3.0 ARTS PDF Form Manager Setup
3.1 System Requirements
3.2 Installation
3.3 Uninstallation
3.4 Registration

4.0 Using ARTS PDF Form Manager
4.1 ARTS PDF Form Manager
4.2 Connection Properties
4.2.1 Configuring your connection properties
4.2.2 Testing your e-mail settings
4.2.3 Changing the HTTP port number
4.2.4 Enable/Disable Request logging
4.3 Routing Options
4.3.1 Standard Routing
4.3.2 Email Routing
4.3.3 Folder Routing

5.0 Log Files
5.1 Request log files
5.2 Error log files

6.0 Customizing Templates
6.1 HTML Templates
6.2 E-mail Template
6.3 Macros

7.0 Storage of Files
7.1 FDF files
7.2 Temporary files
7.2.1 Storing in subfolders

8.0 Using the provided sample files

9.0 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
9.1 Exporting selected data
9.2 Data not processed
9.3 An active or not active server
9.4 No HTML or e-mail template
9.5 No e-mail sent
9.6 URL Link for the submit button
9.7 Not Listening status

10.0 Appendix A – PDF Forms
10.1 Creating Form Fields
10.2 Creating An Exportable PDF Form
10.3 Editing the submit button

11.0 Appendix B – Format of Templates
11.1 HTML Template Format
11.2 E-mail Template Format

12.0 Troubleshooting

2.0 Introduction

ARTS PDF Form Manager is a standalone server application for receiving and routing PDF form data in a number of ways. The application acts as a simple web server, allowing you to serve HTML pages and manage submitted form data from any computer visible on your network or the web.

ARTS PDF Form Manager can be configured to send the form data back to the user’s browser as either:
• a .zip archive.
• A download link to save the FDF file.

Additionally, ARTS PDF Form Manager can be configured to:
• intelligently email the FDF to a specified or dynamically set address.
• save the FDF file to a specified directory on the network.

ARTS PDF Form Manager can be installed on a desktop PC or a dedicated server.

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3.0 ARTS PDF Form Manager Setup

This section provides information on the system requirements, installation and un-installation instructions, and registration of ARTS PDF Form Manager.

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3.1 System Requirements

The following are the technical specifications required for using ARTS PDF Form Manager 1.0:

• Windows ME, NT 4.0, 2000, XP.
• Pentium II 233 MHz or equivalent
• 64 MB RAM
• ARTS PDF Form Manager does not require Adobe Acrobat to run. However, the full version of Adobe Acrobat is required to create PDF forms.

For technical support queries please consult the Troubleshooting section of this manual.

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3.2 Installation

1. Execute the installation file provided.
2. Follow the prompts to install ARTS PDF Form Manager.
3. To register the full version, enter the serial number provided or alternatively the demo version will be installed.
4. Open ARTS PDF Form Manager by clicking on the Start menu, 'Programs > ARTS PDF Form Manager > ARTS PDF Form Manager'.

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3.3 Uninstallation

To uninstall:

1. Verify that ARTS PDF Form Manager is not running.
2. Open the Control Panel; ‘Start > Settings > Control Panel’.
3. Double click the ‘Add/Remove Programs’ icon.
4. Select ‘ARTS PDF Form Manager’ from the menu.
5. Click “Add/Remove”.

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3.4 Registration

If you choose to upgrade from the demo version:

1. Open ARTS PDF Form Manager.
2. Go to 'Help > About PDF Form Manager…'.
3. Click "Register". 4. Enter your personal details and serial number.
5. Click "Register".
6. Click "Save".

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4.0 Using ARTS PDF Form Manager

This section provides information on the main features of ARTS PDF Form Manager.

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4.1 ARTS PDF Form Manager

• Status of the server can be viewed on the ARTS PDF Form Manager title bar. The available status options are:
  • Listening (server name and port number¹)
  • !!!Not Listening!!!
• Hit Name - Name of the requested document.
• In Folder – Local folder location of the requested document.
• # Hits - Number of hits for the requested document.
• Time Last Hit - Date (dd/mm/yy) and time (hh:mm:ss) of the last hit.
• Last Referred By – The referrer URL where the request comes from.
• Last URL – The request path.

¹ If there is no port number the default HTTP port number is 80.

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4.2 Connection Properties

4.2.1 Configuring your connection properties

• Choose Server > Properties
• Set your web settings:
  • Enter the Web Root² by clicking "Browse" and selecting the appropriate folder where all your web pages will be stored³.
  • Enter the HTTP port number⁴.
    The default port number for HTTP is 80.
    You can enter any value from 1 to 65535.
    Note: Port numbers 0 to 1023, 'well-known port numbers', have been reserved by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
  • Enter the default page.
    This is the default web page where hits will be directed, i.e. index.htm, default.htm
• Set your email settings:
  • Enter the Admin email address. Text and FDF files routed via e-mail will appear to be from this address.
  • Enter the Mail Server.
    This should be the IP address or configured host name of your mail server. i.e. \\mail.mycompany.com, 192.168.0.1.
• Click OK to save the properties entered.

² A web root is the base directory where all files are served.
³ Note: If you wish to use the sample files installed with ARTS PDF Form Manager, you must have the web root as the directory where ARTS PDF Form Manager was installed.
⁴ This designates the port over which ARTS PDF Form Manager resides and is also the address to which all forms must be submitted to, i.e. http://domain.com:8080. If another application attempts to share the same port, the server status may change to !!!Not Listening!!!

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4.2.2 Testing your e-mail settings

1. Choose 'Server > Properties'.
2. Enter an e-mail address in Test Email Address. This is the e-mail address that the test e-mail will be sent to.
3. Click "Test".
4. An e-mail will be sent to the e-mail address you have specified.
5. If you have difficulty communicating with your mail server, refer to our Troubleshooting section.

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4.2.3 Changing the HTTP port number

1. Choose ‘Server > Properties'.
2. In ‘HTTP port’ enter the HTTP port number.
The default port number for HTTP is 80.
You can enter any value from 1 to 65535.
Note: Port numbers 0 to 1023, 'well-known port numbers', have been reserved by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).
3. Click “OK”.
4. You will be prompted to restart the application. Click “OK”.
6. Restart ARTS PDF Form Manager.

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4.2.4 Enable/Disable Request logging

To enable or disable request logging (Also see Request log files):

1. Choose ‘Server > Properties’.
2. Check the 'Enable logging of requests to file' box to enable logging or uncheck the box to disable logging.
3. Click “OK” to save the properties entered.

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4.3 Routing Options

User can set how PDF form data will be processed on the server and what response will be sent to client web browser. To activate one of the routing options, select the checkbox and enter the appropriate data. Note, these routing options are optional.

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4.3.1 Standard Routing

Send form back to a user's browser:

• Raw - will return the FDF back to the client form.
• Zipped - will prompt the user to save the form data within a .zip archive file.
• As Link - will return a webpage (processed.html) that contains a link to open the PDF form (see customizing webpage templates).

Prompt for saving on ARTS PDF Form Manager - checking this box will prompt ARTS PDF Form Manager’s server administrator to save the PDF form when the user submits the form (not recommended in an unattended environment).

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4.3.2 Email Routing

Using these options, ARTS PDF Form Manager can be configured to send the FDF file via email to a specified email address.

Send to the email address specified in the form field - Enter a field name found on the PDF form that will contain the e-mail address. Use a hidden text field to prevent users from changing the value from within a browser.

Send a copy to this email address - If required a recipient address can be ‘hardcoded’ into this field. This e-mail address will always be sent a copy of any form data submitted.

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4.3.3 Folder Routing

The FDF file will be saved in the folder specified. The folder specified must use local addressing (e.g. C:\myfolder\subfolder) rather than the Universal Naming Convention (UNC), i.e. \\mycomputer\folder. To save to a folder on your network, first map the network drive, for example \\NetworkServer\MySavedFDFs\Temp map to X:\Temp.

Save in a server folder specified in the form field - Enter a field name found on the PDF form that will contain the local address of the folder, i.e. C:\SavedFDFs. Using a hidden form field you can prevent users from changing the value from within a browser and have multiple forms saving to different destinations.

Save a copy in a server folder - Click "Browse" and select the appropriate folder where a copy of the FDF file will always be stored.

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5.0 Log Files

Log files can be viewed in the 'Logs' folder of the ARTS PDF Form Manager installation directory, i.e. C:\Program Files\ARTS PDF Form Manager\Logs. Two types of log files are kept within this folder: request.log and error.log.

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5.1 Request log files

Request log files contain information about requested files including the IP address of requested file, time of last hit and request pathname.

The file naming of request log files will have the following format: Request xxxxxx.log, where xxxxxx is the date (month day year) the log file is created e.g. requests on 1^st of May 2003 will be saved in a file called ‘Request 050103.log’

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5.2 Error log files

The error log file, ‘Error.log’ is to inform the server administrator of any errors that have been raised in relation to the operation of ARTS PDF Form Manager.

Examples of situations when errors are logged:

• The submitted data is not processed.
• An e-mail fails i.e. the attached FDF file is not found.
• File cannot be saved i.e. when user selected a folder that does not exist or does not have permission to write to.

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6.0 Customizing Templates

ARTS PDF Form Manager uses a number of different HTML templates that can be modified to suit your business needs. Incorporate style sheets, formatting and custom text to seamlessly integrate ARTS PDF Form Manager with your business profile.

HTML and e-mail templates are stored within the ‘Templates’ folder of the webroot directory (refer to Connection Properties for setting a webroot). Simply open the template in the appropriate editor and change the content.

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6.1 HTML Templates

The HTML templates are:

• notprocessed.html
• processed.html
• norouting.html
• ziprouting.html

notprocessed.html – this page appears when the data is not processed. Having a PDF form that submits data other than FDF format data (e.g. HTML, XML, PDF, XFDF) causes this page to appear.

processed.html – this page appears when the ‘As Link’ standard routing option is selected. The data will be processed and routed back to the browser as a link to the FDF file. This page requires the %fdflink macro⁵.

norouting.html – this page appears when the data is processed but not routed. In this situation no checkboxes are selected in the ‘Routing Options’ dialog.

ziprouting.html – this page appears when the ‘Zipped’ standard routing option is selected. The data will be processed and routed back to the browser as a link to a .zip archive file. This page requires the %ziplink macro.

⁵ For more information on using macros, refer to the Macros section.

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6.2 E-mail Template

There is only one e-mail template.

• email.txt

email.txt – this will only be sent if ‘Email routing’ options are set within the ‘Routing Options’ dialog on the PDF Form Manager server.
Note: only plain text emails are sent.

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6.3 Macros

• %fdflink
• %ziplink
• %fdfdata
• %fdfdatah

%fdflink – creates a hyperlink to FDF file stored in the server’s FDFs temporary folder.

%ziplink – creates a hyperlink to .zip archive file stored in the server’s ZIPs temporary folder.

%fdfdata – displays the submitted form data in format:

field1 = value1
field2 = value2

(Uses pure line breaks for plain text format - used in the email template).

%fdfdatah – displays the submitted form data in format:

field1 = value1<br>
field2 = value2<br>

(Uses HTML line breaks - used in the HTML templates).

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7.0 Storage of Files

7.1 FDF files

There are a number of ways that ARTS PDF Form Manager can store your FDF files. It can be stored by:

• Prompting the server administrator to save the FDF file (see Standard Routing).
• Routing your data via e-mail (see Email Routing).
• Routing your data to a folder (see Folder Routing).

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7.2 Temporary files

A temporary file for FDFs, HTMLs and ZIPs can be found in the ‘Temporary’ folder of the webroot directory, i.e. C:\WebRoot\Temporary.

Exiting ARTS PDF Form Manager (selecting ‘Exit’ from the Server Menu) will prompt user to delete the temporary files. Clicking ‘Yes’ will delete the contents from this folder, clicking ‘No’ will retain the temporary files.

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7.2.1 Storing in subfolders

You can store your temporary files in subfolders within the ‘Temporary’ folder. To do this you must edit your PDF form submit button to submit to the folder (see Editing the submit button).

The submit button must contain the complete URL to your web server with a forward slash (/) and the subfolder name, e.g. http://server/folder.

For example, entering a URL in the submit button as ‘http://myserver/Employee’ will submit to http://myserver and will store:

• Temporary FDF files in ‘Temporary/FDFs/Employee’.
• Temporary HTML files in ‘Temporary/HTMLs/Employee’.
• Temporary ZIP archives in ‘Temporary/ZIPs/Employee’.

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8.0 Using the provided sample files

A number of sample files and a PDF Form are packaged with the installer. To use the sample files, first configure your web root to reflect the directory where these files were installed, i.e. C:\Program Files\ARTS PDF Form Manager\SampleWebroot. The sample files are listed below:

• index.html – is a sample default page. For this to work your server must be configured to have index.html as the default page. See Configuring your connection properties.

• sample.pdf – a PDF that submits and processes FDF data. For this to work you must edit the submit button to submit data to your server. See Editing the Submit button.

• sample_notprocess.pdf – a PDF that does not submit FDF data and will not process the data submitted. Only use this file if you want to activate the notprocessed.html. (For this to work you must edit the submit button to submit data to your server. See Editing the Submit button.)

• notprocessed.html – See HTML templates.

• processed.html – See HTML templates.

• norouting.html – See HTML templates.

• ziprouting.html – See HTML templates.

• email.txt – See E-mail templates.

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9.0 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

9.1 Exporting selected data

“Is there any way to not show the submitted form data besides not placing the macro in the HTML file? For example, what if I want to display data for only some fields and I have hidden fields that I do not want to display.”

If you don’t want to show all the fields you can choose to export selected form fields from the PDF.

To select fields to export:

In Acrobat 5.0,

1. On your PDF form activate the form tool and right click your Submit/Export button.
2. Go to ‘Properties…’.
3. Go to the ‘Actions’ tab.
4. Select ‘Submit form’ and click “Edit”.
5. Click “Select URL…”.
6. Under ‘Field Selection’ choose “Only these”.
7. Click on “Select Fields…” and add the fields you wish to export into the ‘Included fields’ listbox.

In Acrobat 6.0,

1. On your PDF form activate the form button tool and right click your Submit/Export button.
2. Go to ‘Properties…’.
3. Go to the ‘Actions’ tab.
4. Select ‘Submit a form’ and click “Edit”.
5. Under ‘Field Selection’ choose “Only these…”.
6. Click on “Select Fields…” and choose the fields you wish to export.

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9.2 Data not processed

“Why isn’t my data processed/submitted? All I get is the HTML file based on the ‘notprocessed.html’ template”.

Make sure that your form exports only FDF format data (not HTML, XML, PDF, XFDF) because ARTS PDF Form Manager only processes export data of FDF format.

To check whether your form submits in FDF format:

In Acrobat 5.0,

1. On your PDF form right click your Submit/Export button.
2. Go to ‘Properties…’.
3. Go to the ‘Actions’ tab.
4. Select ‘Submit form’ and click “Edit”.
5. Click “Select URL…”.
6. Under ‘Export Format’ ensure that ‘FDF Include’ is selected.

In Acrobat 6.0,

1. On your PDF form right click your Submit/Export button.
2. Go to ‘Properties…’.
3. Go to the ‘Actions’ tab.
4. Select ‘Submit a form’ and click “Edit”.
5. Under ‘Export Format’ ensure that ‘FDF Include’ is selected.

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9.3 An active or not active server

“How can I tell if the server is working?”

If your server is working it will show:

1. ‘Listening’ status in the title bar.
2. ‘Waiting for HTML access…’ status in the bottom pane.

If your server is not working it will show:

1. ‘!!! Not Listening !!!’ status in the title bar.
2. ‘NOT active…’ status in the bottom pane.

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9.4 No HTML or e-mail template

“I have no HTML or e-mail templates. What do I do?”

You can manually create your template files and place them into a ‘Template’ folder of the webroot. Otherwise, default templates will be automatically created when activated by a certain routing option. See HTML Templates or E-mail Template to view what particular action activates and automatically creates a template.

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9.5 No e-mail sent

“I didn’t receive an e-mail and I’ve checked that there are e-mail routing options selected. What else could be wrong?”

Check if ARTS PDF Form Manager can communicate with your mail server. To do this:

1. Go to ‘Server > Properties…’
2. In ‘Test Email Address’ enter an e-mail address
3. Click “Test”

An e-mail should be sent the e-mail address specified. If you do not receive an e-mail then you have not configure your server correctly or the recipient’s e-mail address is invalid. In ‘Mail Server (SMTP)’, you must enter the IP address or hostname of your mail server.

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9.6 URL Link for the submit button

“What would be the URL link for my submit button?”

Hint: Check the title bar of ARTS PDF Form Manager. If the title bar says ‘Listening(http://myserver:8080)’ then the URL link would be ‘http://myserver:8080’.

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9.7 Not Listening status

“My status is always ‘Not Listening’. How do I get it ‘Listening’?”

Try changing the port number. ARTS PDF Form Manager defaults to port number 80 that may be already in use. See Changing the HTTP port number.

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10.0 Appendix A – PDF Forms

10.1 Creating Form Fields

To create form fields, you must have the full registered version of Acrobat. Open a PDF file, and then follow the instructions below to create:

Using Acrobat 5.0,

1. Click on the 'Form Tool' toolbar button or press Shift + F.
2. Draw a field onto the page. You will be presented with the Field Properties window, which will allow you to configure the field appropriately (e.b. Name, Type, Actions, etc).
3. Once all the fields have been setup and placed, save the PDF file, and you will have a PDF Form.

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10.2 Creating An Exportable PDF Form

To create an exportable form you need a button that exports your PDF form to the web server:

Using Acrobat 5.0,

1. On PDF form create a field (see Creating Form Fields)
2. In the field properties window:

a. Make the field of type 'Button'
b. Click on the Actions tab
c. Choose the appropriate method in the "When this happens..." listbox. (Choose 'Mouse Up' to activate the action when user clicks on the button).
d. Click "Add"
e. For the Action Type select 'Submit Form'
f. Click "Select URL..."
g. In 'Enter a URL for this link' enter the complete URL to your web server E.g. http://www.myserver.com#FDF
h. Under ‘Export Format’ ensure that ‘FDF Include’ is selected.
i. Click "OK"
j. Click "Set Action"
k. Click "OK"

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10.3 Editing the submit button

Using Acrobat 5.0,

1. Click on the 'Form Tool' toolbar button or press Shift + F.
2. Right click on the submit/export button.
3. Select ‘Properties’.
4. In the field properties window:

a. Click on the Actions tab.
b. Click “Edit”.
c. Click "Select URL...".
d. Edit the appropriate properties.
e. Click "OK".
f. Click "Set Action".
g. Click "OK ".

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11.0 Appendix B – Format of Templates

11.1 HTML Template Format

The basic structure of a HTML page⁶ is as follows:

The HTML tags used in the above HTML page are:

• <HTML></HTML> - Defines the entire HTML document (this tag is always at the start and end of a HTML document).
• <HEAD></HEAD> - This contains the text that introduces the HTML document.
• <TITLE></TITLE> - This is contains the text for the title bar of the HTML page (this tag is always within the HEAD tag).
• <BODY></BODY> - This contains the text for the body of the HTML document (after the HEAD tag).
• <P></P> - Starts a new paragraph and is equivalent to two BR tags.
• <B></B> - Bolds the text within the tag.
• <BR></BR> - Breaks the current line of text.

⁶ HTML pages are viewable and editable by opening the HTML page in a text editor.

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11.2 E-mail Template Format

The structure of the e-mail template⁷ is as follows:

To change the subject, simply change the text after ‘Subject: ’. Deleting this line will display the default subject, ‘Submitted form data’.

⁷ An e-mail template can be created or edited in a text editor.

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12.0 Troubleshooting

Before contacting us, please take the following steps:

1. Read the ARTS PDF Form Manager FAQ in this manual or on our web site at http://www.aroundtablesolution.com/.
2. If you still cannot find an answer to your problem, try the ARTS PDF Form Manager conference at the ARTS Forum on our web site at: http://forum.aroundtablesolution.com/.
3. If you have no luck there, then e-mail techsupport@aroundtablesolution.com. In your email try and provide as much detail as possible as that will help ARTS Technical Support to ascertain the problem quickly. As a guide, fill out the answers to these questions:
a. The exact version of ARTS PDF Form Manager you are using (this is located by running ARTS PDF Form Manager, and then clicking Help > About ARTS PDF Form Manager). Please also specify whether you are using a demo or full registered version.
b. Whether or not you purchased Maintenance with ARTS PDF Form Manager. If you did purchase Maintenance, please supply your ARTS PDF Form Manager serial number.
c. The exact version of the Operating System you are using (this can be determined from Start > Settings > Control Panel > System)
d. The amount of free disk space remaining (found by double clicking on "My Computer", and then right mouse clicking on the drive and selecting "Properties").
e. The CPU speed and amount of RAM for the system on which ARTS PDF Form Manager is running (e.g. Pentium 233 MMX, 32MB RAM).
f. Any other programs that are running at the time of the error (e.g. Outlook, Internet Explorer, etc).
g. All error messages that were displayed when the error occurred.
h. The exact series of steps that led to the error.
i. Whether this error occurs on every PDF document or just some.
j. What program was used to create the PDF documents? E.g. Acrobat Distiller, Crystal Reports, Zeon PDF Driver, etc.

Feedback

If you have ideas and suggestions on how we could improve ARTS PDF Form Manager, we would love to hear your thoughts. Please send them to info@aroundtablesolution.com.

Legal Notes

Acrobat and Exchange are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated. ARTS PDF Form Manager is copyright © A Round Table Solution (ARTS) 1998-2003.

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