LiveCycle Forms ES — in depth

With Adobe® LiveCycle® Forms ES software, you can extend your core business processes beyond the enterprise — more securely and cost effectively. Deploy XML-based form templates as HTML, PDF, or SWF over any platform or device. Then, capture data from submitted forms and transfer it directly into your organization's core systems, streamlining form-driven business processes and improving data accuracy.

LiveCycle Forms ES Datasheet (PDF, 173k)

How it works

Step 1. Develop form templates

Create an intelligent, XML-based form template using Adobe LiveCycle Designer ES software or any other standard design tool. As an alternative, you can start from an XML schema or Web Services Description Language (WSDL) to create the form template, or import from existing forms in PDF, Word, or other formats.

Step 2. Manage templates

Use the repository in LiveCycle ES Foundation or your existing ECM environment to manage templates, fragments, XML data schemas, and other assets.

Step 3. Render forms

LiveCycle Forms ES renders XML templates as HTML, PDF, or SWF forms that can be accessed by both internal and external users, whether online or offline. Forms ES can prepopulate certain fields with data already available in your enterprise systems, or dynamically manipulate a form at runtime to present only form sections that are required to be filled by a particular user for a specific business transaction. You can also use Forms ES to assemble multiple PDF forms into a single PDF form package to collect all relevant information in a single file.

Step 4. Use the forms

With ubiquitous Adobe Reader® or Adobe Flash® Player software or any web browser, users can participate in your business processes by easily completing and submitting electronic forms. Data can be instantaneously validated on the client side to ensure data accuracy prior to form submission.

Step 5. Process forms

Data captured from submitted forms can be transferred directly into your core systems, which improves data accuracy and reduces transaction cycle times. Data can be validated with client- or server-side business logic and enterprise systems.

Key capabilities

Accelerate form creation and processing

With intuitive, graphical design capabilities, LiveCycle Designer ES and LiveCycle Forms ES make it easy to design and deploy forms without deep technical knowledge. You can re-create the look and feel of existing paper-based forms and enable users to access electronic forms through a universal client — such as Adobe Reader, Flash Player, or a web browser — increasing user adoption and reducing training costs.

Improve user experience with dynamic forms

Using LiveCycle Forms ES, you can deploy PDF, SWF, and HTML forms — both inside and beyond your organization's walls — to capture data critical to your business processes. LiveCycle Forms ES simplifies form completion, allowing users to enjoy faster response times and have a more enjoyable experience filling out forms. Support for dynamic forms means even the most complicated forms can provide a rich and engaging user experience.

Generate form guides

Form guides are Flash Player compatible wizard-like panels that help guide people through a data capture experience. Form guides can dynamically change and adapt based on input data to ensure that only relevant and accurate data is captured. These rich and engaging experiences help reduce transaction abandonment rates that are prevalent with more complex data collection interfaces.

Improve efficiency with form fragments

Fragments are a collection of fields or objects grouped together for a logical data capture objective (for example, address blocks or financial information sections). With LiveCycle Forms ES, these fragments can be dynamically stitched together based on user input or any data-driven event. Business rules and logic can be applied and linked to the fragments using LiveCycle Workbench ES or LiveCycle Designer ES. Form fragments make it easy for organizations to quickly create new forms using prebuilt fragments and to manage and change form templates through global fragments that are used in multiple forms.

Assemble PDF packages

LiveCycle Forms ES can assemble multiple PDF forms into a PDF form package, making the form completion easier. Customers, partners, and suppliers can access a single PDF form package that contains all the necessary forms for their transaction without having to manually figure out and compile which forms or documents are required for a transaction. A single package of PDF forms can be assembled for a transaction based on data input.

Integrate with back-end systems via XML

Support for XML means you can leverage existing enterprise applications for rapid form deployment and data exchange with core business systems. And built-in data validation capabilities allow you to automatically verify information as the user completes the form — improving both data accuracy and transaction processing time.

Enable offline form completion

Deployed in conjunction with LiveCycle Reader Extensions ES software, LiveCycle Forms ES allows users to save PDF forms to their local hard drives, fill out the forms offline, and submit the completed forms the next time they are online. This is especially beneficial for those accessing the web via dial-up connection or when people need more time to gather information to complete a form. If your end users prefer to submit the completed forms by mail or fax, dynamic 2D barcode technology, provided by LiveCycle Barcoded Forms ES software, gives your customers greater convenience and flexibility to bridge the paper-to-digital divide.

Employ digital signature and encryption capabilities

By deploying Adobe LiveCycle Digital Signatures ES in conjunction with LiveCycle Forms ES, you can provide security outside your core systems and beyond the firewall.

Automate processes and workflow

You can automate form-driven business processes using LiveCycle Process Management ES software, and then monitor and optimize processes using the built-in Business Activity Monitoring capabilities included with LiveCycle ES Foundation.

Create universally accessible online forms

With LiveCycle Forms ES, government agencies can meet accessibility requirements, including Section 508 and up to W3C WCAG 1.0 Level AA guidelines, which mandate that electronic technology must be equally accessible to people with disabilities.

Eliminate costly errors

Completing forms electronically means there is no need for your employees to re-enter data manually, thus reducing errors and processing costs.

Improve return on IT investments

Adobe PDF can be embedded with content and data from key applications and enhanced with calculations and validations to create powerful intelligent documents and forms. By offering an avenue for returning captured data to key applications via SOAP-based interfaces, LiveCycle Forms ES further leverages existing investments in critical applications and processes.