Acrobat 8 Barcoded Forms

8/7/2019 Acrobat 8 Barcoded Forms

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OvviwI you are amiliar with the orms capabilities o Adobe Acrobat then you may have

already discovered a new icon on the Forms toolbar that resembles a barcode. Tis

is the 2 dimensional bar code object, the technology behind LiveCycle Barcoded

Forms.

LiveCycle Barcoded Forms automates the capture ouser-supplied data rom

printed orms using 2D barcode technology. It eliminates the requirement to process

incoming paper-based orms using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) or manual

data entry. Form users simply complete their orms using the ree Adobe Reader,

print them, sign them, and then submit them by ax, or by mail. In some cases

the orm author may even provide the end user with the choice between electronic

submission with digital signatures or paper based submission with an ink signature.

ry changing the inormation in this small orm example to see how a 2D barcode

captures data in real-time. Te barcode will change each time you modiy and then

exit the elds (by using the ab key or example). Te data itsel can be stored in any

number o ormats including tab-delimited, your own custom ormat, or even XML.

Applying the 2D Barcode

Beore applying a 2D barcode, you need to create a PDF orm that

can be lled in beore it is printed (a ll-and-print PDF orm). I

you do not already have one, open one o your print-and-ll orms

(printed out and then lled in by hand) and use the new Run

Form Field Recognition tool rom the Forms menu. Tis will scan

through the entire orm automatically creating elds where they

are required. You can litera lly convert a paper based orm to a ll-

and-print orm in seconds.

I the Forms toolbar is not already displayed in your workspace, click

on ools, then Forms, and nally Show Forms oolbar. Tis wil lgive you quick and easy access to create additional elds, modiy

existing ones, and apply the 2D Barcode.

With your ll-and-print orm you have a choice to either distribute

the orm as-is and spend a lot o time and money entering in data

manually when orms are returned, or you can add a 2D barcode

to capture the data and completely eliminate any requirement or

manual data entry.

Beore selecting the barcode tool, be sure you ll in your orm with as

much sample data as possible to reect what you expect end-users to

provide.

ARTICLE

BY LEE suTTon

[email protected]

Acoba 8 ad Bacodd Foms

FOr MOre InFOrMAtIOn

AdobeLiveCycleBarcoded

FormsDatasheet

(PDF:468KB)

AdobeLiveCycleReaderExtensionsDatasheet

(PDF:520KB)

Caig Adob LivCycl Bacodd Foms wih Adob Acoba 8

Try changing the information

in this small form example

to see how 2D barcodes work.
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Find some ree real-estate on your orm where you can apply the 2D Barcode. Te physical

space required wil l depend on the barcode type (symbology) you plan on using. I you

chose PDF417, you will need a rectangle shape that is wider than it is longer and or QRCode

as well as DataMatrix you will need a square space.

Click on the icon o the barcode in the Forms toolbar and you will see a cross-hair cursor.

Select an open area on your page and draw the barcode the same way you would a text

eld. Beore you click on the OK button on the rst screen displayed aer releasing the

mouse button, take a moment to read the notice. You will see the text separate license

required. It is important to note that there are possibly licensing requirements to use this

technology. I will provide some examples o license use cases urther on.

Once the barcode is drawn, the properties boxwill appear and the 2d barcode will be

rendered on the orm. I sample data was not entered prior to creating the barcode there

will be a warning letting you that there could be a problem with the barcode size. Entering

sample data is actually an important step as Adobe Acrobat will t ry to estimate the

barcode size required to hold all o the orm data. In act, the barcode rendered may not be

exactly the size you designed.

Barcode Properties

In the General tab you simply need to provide a name or the Barcode i the one that was

automatically generated is not suitable.

Te Options tab lets you decide which barcode symbology will be used. Each symbology

has unique properties although the choice is requently dened by region. For example,

PDF417 is the de acto standard or North America and QRCode is more popular in

countries using double-byte character set languages, like Japan. Te compression option

should only be turned on i you plan on using Adobes decoder. With compression on, the

data is FLAE compressed beore being rendered in the barcode, so hand-scanners and

third-party barcode readers may not be able to decode the data.

Te Decode Condition is probably one o the most important congurations o the Barcode.

I you plan on receiving the lled-in and printed documents physically, and then scanning

them with a document scanner, select Document Scanner. I the documents are going to be

axed to a ax server then you must select Fax Server as the decode condition. Tis setting

automatically changes the sizing and error correction properties o the barcode to allowit to be decoded even i it is damaged. Tere is a Custom button available that al lows

you to change sizing and error correction o the barcode but I would not advise changing

these values unless you are ami liar with the barcode symbology and have to make specic

changes to support your orm workow. For example, you may discover that by reducing

the error correction level to 2 allows you to put signicantly more data into the Barcode.

However, you would more than likely have a barcode that could not be decoded, or the read

rates would be extremely low.

Te Value tab allows you to select the items to include in the barcode as well as how the

data should be encoded. Selecting Encode using... will encode data automatical ly. You

may also write your own script by choosing Custom calculat ion script. I you take the

automated route, select the Tab Delimited ormat and then which elds to include by

clicking on the Pick button. You will notice that XML is available as an encoding method

but compared to a delimited ormat it will take up much more space in the barcode.

XML Encoding

John

Smith

Tab Delimited Encoding

FirstName LastName

John Smith


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I you do select ab Delimited you have the option to include the eld names along with

the data. Tis may acilitate easy conversion to other ormats when the orms are decoded.

I you opt or custom coding in the barcode then you can encode the elds in the order and

ormat that you chose.

Custom Calculation Script

event.value = this.getField(FirstName).value + ,

+ this.getField(LastName).value + ,

+ this.getField(Init).value;

Te Reerence to published orm: is simply a label placed at the bottom o the barcode.

You can either reerence the orm location or provide other inormation such as the orm

type, page number and barcode number.

Sizing and Capacity

I at any point you notice that the barcode turns into a gray box, this is an indication that

you have put more data into the barcode than it can handle. You may want to try reducing

the number o elds included in the Barcode or increase the size o the barcode itsel. Keep

in mind that there is no limit to the number o barcodes you can use in a PDF or their

location. For example, in a 4 page document, a barcode on page 4 can capture data rom

pages 1 and 2 while a second barcode on page 4 captures the remaining data rom pages 3

and 4.

Te capacity o a barcode is based on a number o actors including error correction, size,

and content. A 3 wide by 1 high PDF417 barcode with ax based error correct ion will be

able to hold approximately 300 upper-case characters. A 7 wide by 1 high PDF417 barcode

with document scanner based error correction will be able to hold approximately 1,688

upper-case characters. Without having to understand all o the concepts o 2D barcodes, try

to be sure that you create maximum lengths or all o your orm elds and test the orm with

diferent data types to ensure that the barcode never grays out. You may want to restrict

the type o data t hat is entered into elds by using regular expressions. A good capacity test

is to ll al l elds to their maximum length with the repeating characters HeLlO1Y3!. Tis

will orce the barcode encoder to switch back and orth between diferent encoding methods

and in-turn thoroughly testing your barcode capacity. It will however, encode more data

than a user would actual ly enter.

An Adobe Acrobat Standard or Proessional Workow

I the orms you create are going to be flled in and printed using Adobe Acrobat

Standard or Proessional, then no additional licensing is required. When printed rom

Standard or Proessional, the 2D barcodes are in a plain text ormat. As long as you do not

turn on data compression in the barcode properties, you will be able to read the barcode

using any decoder capable o reading 2D symbologies including hand-held scanners.

I you already have a high speed document scanner, it more than likely has 2D barcode

reading capability built in. I you do not have a decoder you can acquire the Adobe

LiveCycle Barcoded Forms Decoder. In anAdobe Acrobat Standard or Proessional

based workow, you need only the decoder. You will not need to license any orms unless

you wish to publish orms and have them lled in and printed using the ree Adobe

Reader.

An Adobe Reader Workow

A license is required i the 2D barcoded PDF orms you create are going to be lled in

and printed using the ree Adobe Reader. I the orm is unlicensed, when the ll and

print orm is printed or saved, the barcode is encrypted and can not be decoded. I the 2D

barcode is scanned with a hand-scanner, it would produce a positive read but the result

would be garbled data. Te same result would be true o a soware-based decoder such as

those built into some high-speed scanners.


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When licensed, as long as you do not turn on data compression in the barcode properties,

you will be able to read the barcode using any decoder capable o reading 2D symbologies

including hand-held scanners.

Te encryption o the barcode is not a eature that can be turned on or of by the orm

designer, it is simply a licensing mechanism.

Form Deployment or An Adobe Reader Workow

Licensed Fill-and-print barcoded PDF orms are prepared or deployment by using Adobe

LiveCycle Reader Extensions to enable the 2D capabilit y o the orm. Te le that needs

the 2D right is selected and uploaded using the easy-to-use web-based interace. Te

rights you wish to enable are selected and Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions creates the

extendedbarcoded PDF orm or you to distribute to your customers or constituent base.

I you do not already own Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions and are not ordering it with

your Adobe LiveCycle Barcoded Forms license, a bundled version o Adobe LiveCycle

Reader Extensions is provided to you at no additional charge. Tis bundled version

provides you with the soware rights to enable the 2D unctionality on PDF orms. Tis

does not include other Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions rights such as save-of-line.

I you already own Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions or are ordering it with your

Adobes LiveCycle Barcoded Forms license, you will be provided with the soware

rights to not only enable 2D unctionality on PDF orms but all o the eatures o AdobeLiveCycle Reader Extensions such as save-of-line, commenting, as well as many others.

What about electronic submission?

I you have the option or your orm to be submitted electronically instead o the end-user

printing it, by all means, save a tree. LiveCycle Barcoded Forms is meant to be applied

to orms that have to be printed. Tis can be or any number o reasons including ink or

multiple ink signature legal requirements, supplemental attachments, or even a customer or

internal workow preerence.

2D barcoded PDF orms make a great stepping-stone or bridge technology. I you have a

paper based orm and you would like to move it into an electronic ormat but that change

may be too radical or your organization, start of by eliminating data entry with 2Dand then move to electronic submission once your inrastructure is ready or it. You wil l

be respecting the existing paper-based workow while eliminating the costly manual data

entry.

What about OCR?

Te accuracy o OCR or ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition) can be good in some cases

but it is not 100% reliable. In a AWPI study it was ound that in the best case OCR would

capture orm data with 90% accuracy and again, this was a best case. Tis means that at

least 10% o the data coming into the organization was incorrect and needed to be manually

processed. ypically this is cal led the Verication or Validation step. As a 2D barcode does

not give any alse positives, i you can read the barcode you can be certain that you have100% o the data with 100% accuracy completely eliminating any manual verication or

validation steps.

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Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Adobe LiveCycle,Reader, Acrobat are either registeredtrademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/orother countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

2006AdobeSystemsIncorporated.Allrightsreserved.

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