Speed Processing and Collaboration with Perceptive eForms

2. Speed Processing and Collaboration with Perceptive eForms Dana L. Hones Application Engineering Manager Seminole Tribe of Florida danahones@semtribe.com Stacy Walker Product Analyst Perceptive Software stacy.walker@perceptivesoftware.com #inspire14

3. Session overview Perceptive eForms (formerly called ImageNoweForms) allows users to collect business or process-specific information through familiar HTML-based forms that are tailored to business needs. Today we’ll cover how the Seminole Tribe of Florida went from novice to expert eForm developers and users. We’ll also explore using iScript and other tips for best practice eForm design, and will include a how-to guide that offers you the tools and confidence to build your own eForms. #hashtag

4. What are Perceptive eForms? • Electronic forms • Create electronic versions of paper forms • Add workflow – Approval and routing • Manage all documents in one place! • Perceptive components • ImageNow Client – Desktop client for Perceptive Content • Perceptive Form Server – Web server for eForms • WebNow – Web client for Perceptive Content

5. Goals of presentation • Supply you with the information we wished we had before we started the project • Give you a quick overview of the eForm development process • Provide a taste of life as an eForm developer • Learn something and have some fun

6. The project! • 25 eForms required by accounting ASAP • We can do this ourselves! We started from no knowledge of Perceptive eForms 8 months ago • First attempt – Use existing programming knowledge and in-house IT staff • It got real! • We hired a consultant (Jason from eDocsParadigm, Inc.)

7. Here’s what we did • Check Request Form • Requester fills out first part • Accounting fills out second part

8. Check Request Form - Requester

9. Check Request Form - Accounting

10. Here’s what we did • Check Request Form • Employee Expense Reimbursement

11. Employee Expense Reimbursement

12. Getting started • Download required script libraries • Set up server environment • Set up naming convention • Plan on starting with a simple form and increase complexity as confidence builds • Development speed will pick up quickly as you build up a “library” of working code • Make a list of common operations – find code examples if necessary • Can use 3rd party JavaScript libraries to speed development

13. Example list of operations

14. Check Request Form – reference for operations

15. Design Development Testing Deployment Miller time • eForm development

16. Design process • Developed a design process • Gathered the following design documents • Copy of mock-up, paper form, etc.

17. Example mock-up

18. Example paper form

19. Design process • Developed a design process • Gathered the following design documents • Copy of mock-up, paper form, etc. • Documentation of form – fields, lookups, validation, workflow, Perceptive Content information

20. Documentation of form - 1

21. Documentation of form - 2

22. Design process • Developed a design process • Gathered the following design documents • Copy of mock-up, paper form, etc. • Documentation of form – fields, lookups, validation, workflow, Perceptive Content information • Set up a collaboration site (Microsoft Project Server)

23. Collaboration site

24. Development process What makes up an eForm? - 1 • What do we need to develop? Here are the artifacts from “Check Request” • check_request.js – JavaScript for the form (client) • check_request.xml – data definition – lists the fields used in the form • check_request.xls – extensible style sheet language – contains the information to render the XML document into the form • check_request_lookup.xml – holds the information for the “static” dropdowns

25. Development process What makes up an eForm? - 2 • checkrequest_compete_inbound.js – iScript routes completed form to queue based on form data • checkrequest_lawson_submit_inbound.js – iScript sends to Lawson (ERP) • checkrequest_submit_inbound.js – iScript check for attachments and send e-mail notifications • eform_email_template.jsh – used for email templates with iScript

26. Development process What makes up an eForm? - 3 • forms.css – style sheet for form – handles the “look and feel” for the form – can be shared to give all forms the same “look and feel” • iscript_lawson_account.js – iScript file for Lawson account database lookup • iscript_lawson_acctunit.js – iScript file for Lawson acctunit database lookup • iscript_lawson_activity.js – iScript file for Lawson activity database lookup

27. Development process What makes up an eForm? - 4 • iscript_lawson_cashcode.js – iScript file for Lawson cash code database lookup • iscript_lawson_employee.js – iScript file for Lawson employee database lookup • iscript_lawson_member.js – iScript file for Lawson member database lookup • iscript_lawson_paytype.js – iScript file for Lawson pay type database lookup

28. Development process What makes up an eForm? - 5 • iscript_lawson_pl.js – iScript file for Lawson process level database lookup • iscript_lawson_vendor.js – iScript file for Lawson vendor database lookup • xmlasx.js – 3rd party XML plugins • xmlw3cdom.js - 3rd party XML plugins

29. Development process • How to build a form • Two ways to build – Perceptive Content or text editor • Goal is to create XML, XSL, CSS files to make a bunch of code look like your form

30. Perceptive Form Designer

31. Text editor

32. Development process • How to build a form • Two ways to build – Perceptive Form Designer or text editor • Goal is to create XML and XSL • Use Source Control to manage artifacts

33. Source control to manage artifacts

34. Development process • Adding functionality to a form • Scripting

35. Scripting • There are two types of scripts when creating eForms • JavaScript – Used for client-side (browser) programming. Hiding/un-hiding sections of the form, field and form level validation are some examples of when you would want to use JavaScript • iScript – Used for server side programming. iScript also provides a way to make calls to external resources (database and program) to get/put data. iScript provides the developer a way to use Perceptive Content functionality in their scripts. You would use iScript to handle workflow, access outside data and communicate (email) with a user.

36. Development process • Adding functionality to a form • Scripting • JavaScript

37. JavaScript cheat sheet

38. Development process • Adding functionality to a form • Scripting in general • JavaScript • iScript

39. iScript documentation (Perceptive’s online docs)

40. Development process (continued) • Workflow • Queues • Flatten a form

41. Workflow example

42. Development process (continued) • Integration to third party applications (ERP) • Create a process • Create the integration software • Handle errors • Integration example

43. Integration example

44. Testing process • Set up staging environments • Development • Testing • Stage • Production • Hand test • Use automated testing tools – can be tricky

45. Deployment process • Publish a form • Perceptive Content • Restart Apache

46. Publish a form - 1 Click “Manage” from the ImageNow client.

47. Publish a form - 2 Choose “Forms” then “New” Fill out name and description

48. Publish a form - 3 Choose “Mange Form Components”

49. Publish a form - 4 Choose “Data Definitions” and click “Add” Choose the xml file using windows explorer

50. Publish a form - 5 Choose “Shared Files” and click “Add” to add any shared files (Optional)