TransForm E-Forms Manager includes both a database and web server, so no other software is required in order to start designing and publishing forms. While the built-in database is automatically configured by TransForm E-Forms Manager during installation, there are a few settings you'll need to provide in order to publish forms on your network or the Internet.
Select Form Publication from the Administration tab to define the protocol, server name, and port number for publishing forms on a network or Internet.
As detailed below, the application requires the protocol, host name, and port for your web server.
The Form Publication Settings screen allows the Form Administrator to define server-based settings based on your system environment:
Server Protocol: Usually the server protocol is HTTP; however, you can also specify HTTPS if your web server is set up to handle HTTPS transactions. HTTP is the standard web protocol for most transactions; however, a number of sites use HTTPS for secure transactions for Internet commerce. All TransForm software includes built-in encryption for form data and remote connectivity so you may decide that HTTPS is unnecessary. In any event, both protocols are supported.
Host Name: A host name is usually the name of your server or domain. Check with your web master to determine the correct name since this will affect whether or not users can download your forms.
Port: TransForm E-Forms Manager uses a standard port of 8080, but this can be set according to your security provisions.
The above items are not used to change the protocol, host name, or port of your TransForm E-Forms Manager application; rather, they are only used within TransForm E-Forms Manager to reflect the configuration of your server environment so that outside users can access, sign, and/or submit published forms. Settings such as port and protocol may depend upon whether or not your server running TransForm E-Forms Manager sits behind a firewall or reverse proxy.
TransForm E-Forms Manager includes the ability to publish a dynamic listing of all your authorized and available forms. As your forms are updated, changed, or retired, TransForm E-Forms Manager will generate a new page with your current forms library each time someone comes to your website. Furthermore, TransForm E-Forms Manager generates the appropriate metatags for search engines such as Google, MSN, and Yahoo to find and categorize your forms - making it easier for users to quickly find the form they need.
To enable this feature, select the checkbox in the Published Forms List.
TransForm E-Forms Manager lists a hyperlink for dynamic form publishing capability based on your server settings. Just copy this link to an existing web page on your site and TransForm E-Forms Manager will automatically manage form availability and dynamic publishing. (See section "Viewing Published Forms" below, for more information.)
Custom branding allows you to customize the Published Forms screen with your own logo, banner, and window title. When end users go to this page to download forms, they'll view your brand instead of the default TransForm branding. Several options are available:
URL to Company Logo: Enter the hyperlink to a logo displayed on your site. Logos with a white background display best, and should have a size of approximately 118 pixels wide by 54 pixels high. An easy way to determine the URL of your company's logo is to right-click on a web page displaying the logo, and then select Properties. The URL will display as Address information (in Windows) and include the dimensions of the graphic. If this field is blank, TransForm's logo will display by default.
Banner Title: Enter a name for the page. Examples include "XYZ Company Forms," or "Published Forms." If this field is blank, "TransForm E-Forms Manager" will display by default.
Window Title: Enter a name for the page, such as "My Forms" or "XYZ Company." This information is displayed on the title bar of the web browser. If blank, "TransForm E-Forms Manager" will display.
Enable Filler Download: As a courtesy to end users, you may want to include a "Get TransForm Filler" button at the bottom of the Published Forms screen. End users who don't have Filler installed on their system can click this button to freely download it from TransForm's website. Select the checkbox to have this button automatically displayed.
URL to Co-Branded Filler: TransForm Filler can be customized with your corporate logo and other settings, and made available from your website. See "Customizing TransForm Filler" for more information on co-branding Filler for your users. If you have a co-branded Filler, enter the URL where it is available for download from your web site.
TransForm E-Forms Manager also includes a default page for users who try to access a form that is no longer published. TransForm E-Forms Manager can automatically generate an "Unavailable Form Page" or you can specify your own URL.
Sometimes users attach large files or large numbers of file to forms then attempt to submit or sign them. In cases where the attachment sizes are excessive, this can cause the transaction to take a long time, at the same time resulting in heavy processing and/or bandwidth usage on the server. To restrict the size of incoming transactions from the form to reasonable levels, use this section to specify a maximum request size.
Input fields in this area include:
Max Submission Size: The value here specifies the maximum allowed size, in kilobytes (KB) of an incoming Remote request from a form. Setting this value to 0 specifies no limit, allowing the server to accept and attempt processing of requests of any size.
Size Exceeded Message: This field allows you to customize the error message that will be displayed to form users when attempting a Remote request from a form that exceeds the size you specified. Since the message appears in an HTML dialog, you may use HTML markup in order to format the message. The maximum length of the message you can specify is 250 characters.
Based on your specifications, TransForm E-Forms Manager can dynamically generate a page listing all of the currently published forms in your library. This list is automatically updated each time a form is changed. If you specified custom branding, the page will display with your logo and other information instead of TransForm branding.
For example, if you update a Request For Leave form from Version 5 to Version 6, TransForm E-Forms Manager will automatically update the Published Forms page to reflect your change. If users attempt to submit an older version of a form, TransForm E-Forms Manager will intercept this request, automatically upgrade the form, and move their data to the new form.
To enable this feature, select the Published Forms List checkbox in the Form Publication screen (Published Forms List).
Using the Published Forms menu, end users also have the ability to view form information (meta tag information) before downloading by just clicking on a form. The form meta data (accessible by search engines) includes the following:
Form Title: The official title of a form determined by your Form Administrator.
Form Number: The form number, if any.
Description: A useful description of a form, determined by Form Summary information when a new form is uploaded to TransForm E-Forms Manager.
File Name: The file name of the form determined when the form author creates a form using TransForm Designer.
Version Number: The version of the form published to users. Form versions can be obsoleted and updated dynamically.
Expiration Date: The expected expiration date, if any. Form versions can also be obsoleted and updated dynamically.
Date Published: The date the form was published. The information is automatically tracked by TransForm E-Forms Manager.
Approval: The user or organization who approved form publication and distribution.
Department: The department of the organization responsible for managing the form.
All of the above information is made available to search engines, and allows end users to quickly find the forms they need, when they need them.
To download and fill out a form, end users select the form icon to display the form in TransForm Filler.
