ADOBE FORMS

Topics…

Overview on Adobe Forms

Adobe Architecture

Scripting

Integrating in ABAP Program

Demo & Hand-On

Topics…

Overview on Adobe Forms

Adobe Architecture

Scripting

Integrating in ABAP Program

Demo & Hand-On

Adobe Forms - Introduction

Purpose

 Adobe forms is a new technology available from SAP Net Weaver ’04 or
later, you can use to create print & interactive forms for the optimization
of your form-based business processes.

Advantages:

 Interactive functions automate the creation of data for SAP systems

 Full integration into the SAP development environments for Java and
ABAP
 User-friendly tools reduce the time and costs associated with creating
form layouts.
 The usage of the PDF format means that forms retain their appearance
regardless of the environment they are used in.
Adobe Forms - Features

SAP Interactive Forms by Adobe offer the following basic functions:

 Edit forms online or offline

 Forms can be filled in advance automatically with specific data from SAP
applications and then sent to the correct recipients using secure methods
 Automatic consistency checks for forms
 Digital signatures and form certification
 Send completed forms to the SAP application with automatic updates of
the business data
 Smartforms can be migrated to Adobe Forms.
 Both Print & Interactive forms can be designed using Adobe.
Adobe Forms - : Technical Pre-requisites

Pre-requisites:-
 6.40 GUI: make sure that Designer is installed and check on your hard
drive. Default location:\Program Files\Adobe\Designer 7.1. ( i:e ALD
installation is required ).
 Make sure latest 6.40 GUI patches are installed (LiveCycleDesigner
7.1 requirement).
 Adobe reader 7.0 (incl. update to 7.0.8)
 You must have the authorization object S_DEVELOP to Design Adobe
forms.
Adobe Forms - Integration

Integration
 SAP Interactive Forms by Adobe is included in SAP Web Application
Server and can be used by any applications that are based on SAP
NetWeaver ’04 or later.

The following Adobe software is included in the form solution:

 Adobe LiveCycle Designer
A graphical tool for designing form layouts; it is integrated into SAP
NetWeaver Developer Studio and ABAP Workbench.

 Adobe Document Services (ADS)

Web services used to generate the PDF forms at runtime; in interactive
scenarios, they extract the XML data from the form and send it to the
system.

 Adobe Document Services run on SAP J2EE Engine. This means that you
must install the Java Stack of SAP Web Application Server, regardless of
the development language of your application (ABAP or Java).
Adobe Forms - Types

There are two basic types of forms:

1. Interactive Forms

Basic scenarios:
 Online
The user is logged on to the SAP system when he or she fills out the
form.

 Offline
The user is not logged on to the SAP system when he or she fills out
the form. Once the form has been filled out, the user sends it to the
issuer of the form, for example by e-mail. The SAP system of the
issuer then extracts the data from the form.

2. Print Forms
Used normally for Printing/Fax/Email
Adobe Scenarios
Development Environment for Interactive Forms

 Interactive Forms in Web Dynpro for Java in SAP NetWeaver Developer

Studio

 Interactive Forms in Web Dynpro for ABAP in ABAP Workbench

These forms can contain dropdown menus, pushbuttons, text fields, and
other elements that enable users to enter data. The form is generated in
PDF format, which, for example, can be displayed by the user in a
browser. The user uses Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat to fill out the
form and saves the changes made to the form in XML format. The SAP
system extracts the data from the form and saves it to the database,
where it can be processed further.
Topics…

Overview on Adobe Forms

Adobe Architecture

Scripting

Integrating in ABAP Program

Demo & Hand-On

Adobe Forms Architecture:-
Sap Net weaver Application Server
Structure

A PDF-base print form has the following attributes:

 A form interface that sends the application data to the form

 A form context that contains the form logic. This logic controls the
dynamic formatting of the form. For example, it enables variable fields to
be displayed; it specifies that certain texts appear only under certain
conditions (one text for a first warning and a different text for a second
warning); and it can specify that invoice items can be processed
repeatedly in a table

 A layout. In the layout, you define how the output data is positioned, its
appearance in graphics, and the design of the pages
Interface in Form Builder

Interface acts as a link between the Print Program & the adobe
Form. There are 3 types of Interfaces as shown below.

 ABAP Dictionary-based interface

 Smart Forms-compatible interface
 XML-based interface
Interface - Contd

 If you create an interface to be used in an ABAP print program, you

should choose “ABAP Dictionary based”.

 To Keep an old print program without changes, “Smart forms compatible

interface” type can be used.

 “XML schema based” interface can be used with Web Dynpro

applications while designing Interactive forms.
Create Form Interface - SFP
Add Parameters to Form Interface
Create Form Template - SFP

 Specify the Interface created

 Drag & Drop fields in the

Context

 Design The Form Template

Build the Form Context - SFP
Design Form Template - SFP
Form Configuration (NACE OR SPRO)

Following Details needs to be specified while configuring forms:-

 Print Program Name
 Entry Routine Name
 Form Name
Structuring a Form

 Master Page

 Body Page

 Content Area

 Subforms
Master Page

 Every form design contains at least one master page that Adobe
LiveCycle Designer creates automatically.

 You can put objects on a master page that will appear on any resulting
page at runtime, for example, your company logo. Such objects that
never change are called boilerplate objects

 To some extent, the boilerplate objects of a master page could be

compared to secondary windows in SAPScript or Smart Forms.

 On a master page, you must include at least one content area. This
defines the size to be used for dynamic output.

 Content areas can be included only on master pages.

Objects on Master Page
Body Page


Dynamic content is wrapped up in body pages .
 A body page will use the space provided by a content area. If, at runtime,
this happens not to be sufficient due to a large amount of data, the body
page will look for the next content area (which might involve an automatic
page break).
 To some extent, the combination of a content area and a body page
included there could be compared to the main window in SAPScript or
Smart Forms.
 You should think of a body page as nothing more than a wrapper or a
container for dynamic content.
Subforms

 Subforms can be thought of as folders containing several objects. They can be

used for the simple reason of keeping order in the Hierarchy, as it is possible to
expand and compress subforms.
 For further organizing body pages (or, though rarely, master pages), they can
contain subforms.

Note: Be aware that nesting subforms will slow down the processing
performance.
Types of Subform

There are two types of subforms:

If of type Positioned, objects of subforms can be laid down at their exact

position at runtime, relative to the subform. For example, if a text field has
been positioned at the top left corner of a subform of type Positioned, it will
always be positioned at the top left corner of the subform, independent
where on a page this subform is included. (The Hierarchy position of an
Object within a subform of type Positioned is irrelevant for its layout
position.)

If of type Flowed, the objects will follow each other, depending on the space
they require at runtime. A body page (as the topmost subform) is typically
of this type.
Preventing Page Breaks

If you want to make sure that certain objects appear on one page, proceed as follows:

1. Mark the objects.

2. In the Hierarchy, choose Wrap in subform from the context menu.
3. Disallow a page break for this subform. You do this on the Object palette,
Subform tab. Deselect Allow Page Breaks within Content.

This option is not available on a master page or if the subform itself is

included in another subform of type Positioned.

You can also prevent a page break between several subsequent subforms.
On the Object palette, Pagination tab, select Keep with Previous and/or
Keep with Next.

 Keep with Previous: Keeps the subform on the same page as the previous subform, content
area, or body page, depending on which one is selected in the Place box.

 Keep with Next: Keeps the subform on the same page as the next subform,content area, or
body page, depending on which one is selected in the Place box.
Some hints that might help to create readable forms:

 Even though you could have no body pages at all and manage
everything from master pages, it is strongly recommended not to do so.

 You should not nest a subform B in subform A if you want B to be on a

different master page. If you do, the hierarchy tends to become unreadable.

 Although it is possible to select Go to Next Page or Go to Page... in the

After field of an ordinary subform, for the sake of clarity you should not, as
you would essentially force a page break. If you need a page break, you
should create a new body page (which is also a subform), as this will make
the hierarchy easier to understand.

 Keep with Previous or Keep with Next (to prevent a page break between
two subforms) does not make sense for body pages. It should be used for
normal subforms only.
Static Form Elements

 Static Images
 Static Texts
 Geometric Objects
Static Images

The company logo is to appear on all pages. Such objects

are called boilerplate objects
Static Texts & Geometric
Caution

Furthermore, for performance reasons, it is best to use only a small

number of fonts per document.
Dynamic Form Elements

 Integrating Dynamic Fields

 Text Fields
 Image Fields
Integrating Dynamic Fields

1. Go to the Data View (which

results from the form context),
and drag a field to the desired
position in the Layout Editor.

2. Drag a field from the Standard

library to the desired position.
Text Fields
Topics…

Overview on Adobe Forms

Adobe Architecture

Scripting

Integrating in ABAP Program

Demo & Hand-On

Scripting in the Form

Scripting - An Introduction
You can attach scripts to all kinds of non-static objects, that is, for all
objects apart from content areas, static texts, static images, and
Graphical elements (lines, circles, rectangles). However, scripting
That is attached to a non-static object Can access all other objects of
The form, including the static ones.
Scripting in the Form

1. FormCalc ( Recommended for print forms)

2. JavaScript (Recommended for Interactive forms)
Scripting in the Form
Scripting Events

 Initialize .When the object is being initialized, after data from the data stream
has been merged. One usage of this event would be to dynamically determine
the field value.

 Calculate . Processed after data merge, but before display. You can query the
field’s value and manipulate it. The results from the ordinary data binding will
thus be overridden. The calculation triggers again whenever there is a change
to any value upon which the calculation is dependent; hence, self references
must be avoided.

 form: ready . After the form and data have been merged and loaded, and any
calculations and validations events have fired. As this event is processed
before pagination is finished, you can use it to dynamically hide objects. If the
objects are positioned in a subform with type Flowed, no empty space will
result. Instead, the following objects will take up the space of the hidden
objects.

 layout: ready . After the layout has been applied, i.e. after page breaks have
been inserted. You can use this event to access objects placed on master
pages.
Scripting - Syntax Elements
Processing Sequence
Points To Remember

 You can choose between different events to determine when your coding
will be executed.
 ABAP is not supported here.
 For print forms it is recommended to choose FormCalc for simple tasks,
JavaScript for more complex tasks.
 Scripting can be evaluated at the client (front end) or at the server. Since
print forms do not require any user interaction, scripting should run on
the server side.
Topics…

Overview on Adobe Forms

Adobe Architecture

Scripting

Integrating in ABAP Program

Demo & Hand-On

Integration into ABAP Programs

Note:-

FP_FUNCTION_MODULE_NAME
makes use of the class based
exception concept.
This means that you cannot query sy-
subrc. Use TRY - CATCH - ENDTRY
instead.
Topics…

Overview on Adobe Forms

Adobe Architecture

Scripting

Integrating in ABAP Program

Demo & Hand-On

BD Forms – Adobe Examples

 Delivery Packing List

 PO Contract Form
 Sales Quotation Form
PDF Output – Delivery Packing List
PDF Output – PO Contract
PDF Output – Sales Quotation
Requirement Gathering for Forms
 Customizing Details:
 To determine form technology to be
used
 To do initial testing in development
system
 Printers used for Printing
( Zebra,Dymo or Any other
Printer )
 To determine form technology to be
used
 All printers do not support Adobe
forms/Smartforms/SAPScript
 To reduce efforts on alignment
Issues
 Need to Know the
Execution Method.
Whether Executed
through SAPGUI/Portal.
 To determine form technology to be
used
 As Labels printed on Dymo printers
are not executed through portal.
 Barcodes
 Not all barcodes are supported by
Adobe forms. So if Barcodes are
requested on the forms. Please Provide
the Barcode Types to decide the form
approach.
 Page Formats/Label Size
 Providing Page Formats ( Example:
DIN4/DIN5) & orientation of the page
 (Example:- Landscape or Portrait is
very essential while designing the
forms).
 Layout Details
 Providing Form Dimensions, Fonts &
Font size would help to have similar
look and feel.
 To Reduce rework efforts
Tips & Tricks

Program Use
FP_PDF_TEST_00 Displays the Adobe document
services version.
FP_PDF_TEST_17 Attaches a comment to a PDF
document.
FP_PDF_TEST_16 Attaches a file to a PDF document.
FP_PDF_TEST_01 Generates a PDF document from a
form design (template) and an XML
data file.
Setting up an http Connection for ADS

 For a printing scenario with PDF-based forms, you must have installed
Adobe document services on an SAP Net Weaver Application Server with
ABAP and J2EE. To call Adobe document services from an ABAP
application, an http connection must be created as follows:

1.Log on to your SAP Web AS central instance host.

2. Call transaction SM59.
3. Choose Create and name the connection ADS.
4. Enter at least the following:
RFC destination: ADS
Connection type: G
Description: <your description>
Setting up an http Connection for ADS – Contd…..

5. Choose ENTER.
6. Choose the Technical settings tab and enter at least the following:
 Target Host: Enter the host name where your SAP J2EE engine is located.
 Service No: Enter the SAP J2EE http port number. The following naming
convention applies: 5<J2EE_instance_number>00 (50000, for
example, if your J2EE instance is 00).
 Path Prefix: Enter exactly the string /AdobeDocumentServices/Config?
style=rpc or /AdobeDocumentServicesSec/Config?style=rpc if you want to
use SSL
 When you press ENTER, a warning is displayed: .Query String Not Allowed..
Ignore this warning.
7. Choose the Logon/Security tab and configure the security account to your
security requirements.
8. Save your settings.
9. Choose Test Connection.
10. A screen is displayed. The field status_reason should have the value OK if
the test is successful.
Suggested Approach to Design Forms
Questions

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