Nuance OmniForm 4.0 Operating instructions

OmniForm

User’s Manual

CAERE CORPORATION

100 Cooper Court

Los Gatos, California

95032-3321 USA

ii

Caere GmbH

Innere Wiener Strasse 5

81667 München, Germany

Caere UK Information Centre

3 Catherine Place

Westminster, London SW1E 6DX

Centre d’informations Caere

72, rue Baratte-Cholet

94100 Saint-Maur, France

Please Note

In order to use this application, you should know how to work in the Microsoft Windows environment.

Please refer to Windows documentation if you have questions about how to use menu commands,

dialog boxes, scroll bars, edit boxes, and so on.

OmniForm

Version 4.0 for Windows 95, 98 and NT

OmniForm are registered trademarks of Caere Corporation.

Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed

as trademarks. Such designations appearing in this manual have been printed in initial caps.

800-1310-030B

iii

Table of Contents

Welcome

Getting Online Help..............................................................................................................2

Help menu.......................................................................................................................3

OmniForm Tutorials ......................................................................................................3

Context-Sensitive Help..................................................................................................4

Product Support ....................................................................................................................4

Chapter 1

Installation and Setup

System Requirements ...........................................................................................................8

Installing OmniForm and OmniForm Filler......................................................................8

Registering OmniForm.........................................................................................................9

Starting OmniForm .............................................................................................................10

Chapter 2

Form Usage

Using Form Assistant..........................................................................................................14

Opening Form Assistant .............................................................................................14

Form Assistant Options...............................................................................................15

Form Usage Options ...........................................................................................................16

Choosing a Form Usage Option.................................................................................16

Where to Select Form Usage Options........................................................................17

Changing Form Usage.................................................................................................18

International Settings..........................................................................................................19

To Select a Language for Your Form:........................................................................19

How OmniForm Uses Language Selections.............................................................20

The

Allow Multiple Languages

Option ........................................................................22

Chapter 3

OmniForm Procedures

Scanning a Paper Form.......................................................................................................26

Importing an Image File .....................................................................................................30

Proofing a Form...................................................................................................................32

The Proofing Toolbar...................................................................................................33

Filling a Form.......................................................................................................................34

iv

Printing a Form....................................................................................................................34

Before you Print Your Form .......................................................................................34

Importing an Existing Electronic Form.....................................................................36

Printing Your Form as a Macro..................................................................................37

Searching a Form.................................................................................................................38

Creating a New Form .........................................................................................................39

Opening a Form...................................................................................................................39

Mailing a Form ....................................................................................................................40

Adding a Routing Slip.................................................................................................43

Saving a Form ......................................................................................................................43

Publishing a Form to the Web ...........................................................................................49

The Web Toolbar..........................................................................................................52

OmniForm Internet Filler............................................................................................52

Chapter 4

Designing a Form

The Design Process .............................................................................................................56

The Design View Window.................................................................................................57

The Design View Toolbars.................................................................................................58

Customizing Toolbars .................................................................................................58

The Design Toolbar......................................................................................................61

The Font/Text Toolbar................................................................................................62

The Drawing Toolbar ..................................................................................................62

The Arrange Toolbar ...................................................................................................63

Creating Objects on a Form ...............................................................................................64

General Creation Guidelines......................................................................................64

Creating a Text Object .................................................................................................65

Creating a Line Object .................................................................................................65

Creating an Oval Object..............................................................................................65

Creating a Rectangle Object........................................................................................66

Adding Graphics to Your Form.................................................................................66

Creating a Fill Text Object ..........................................................................................69

Creating a Comb Object..............................................................................................70

Creating a Check Box Object ......................................................................................70

Creating a Circle Text Object......................................................................................71

Creating a Table Object ...............................................................................................71

Creating a Fill Graphic Object....................................................................................72

Defining Objects on a Form ...............................................................................................72

Defining a Graphic Object ..........................................................................................73

Defining a Fill Text Object ..........................................................................................73

Defining a Comb Object..............................................................................................78

Defining a Comb Element Object ..............................................................................80

Defining a Check Box Object......................................................................................81

Defining a Circle Text Object .....................................................................................82

Defining a Table Object...............................................................................................83

Defining a Table Cell ...................................................................................................84

v

Defining a Fill Graphic Object....................................................................................84

Setting Serial Numbers................................................................................................85

Changing Object Appearance on a Form.........................................................................86

Adding Color to a Form .....................................................................................................92

Adjusting Colors..................................................................................................................94

Editing a Form .....................................................................................................................95

Selecting an Object .......................................................................................................95

Moving an Object .........................................................................................................96

Resizing an Object........................................................................................................96

Deleting an Object........................................................................................................97

Formatting Text ............................................................................................................97

Merging Text.................................................................................................................99

Formatting a Table .......................................................................................................99

Breaking a Table Apart..............................................................................................100

Aligning Objects on a Form......................................................................................101

Sending Objects Front or Back .................................................................................102

Changing Tab Order on a Form...............................................................................103

Placing Objects in Table Cells...................................................................................106

Converting an Object to Another Type of Object..................................................107

Chapter 5

Advanced Features

Setting up a Form for Automated Data Entry...............................................................110

Creating a New AutoFill List ...................................................................................110

Create or Use an AutoFill List From Another Source...........................................113

Automatically Fill Fields on a Form........................................................................119

Creating an AutoFill List and Automatically Fill Fields ......................................126

Replacing Data Entered in a Field With New Data...............................................131

Creating AutoFills for Tables ...................................................................................132

Setting Attributes for a Form...........................................................................................134

Setting Up a Shared Form.........................................................................................134

Setting Summary Information..................................................................................135

Setting Submission Information...............................................................................136

Adding Security to Your Forms ......................................................................................137

Creating a User Database..........................................................................................137

Creating Signature Fields..........................................................................................140

Filling/Signing Signature Fields..............................................................................141

Verifying Signature Fields ........................................................................................142

Adding Hyperlinks to Your Forms.................................................................................143

Using the Scrapbook .........................................................................................................144

What Is the Scrapbook? .............................................................................................144

Inserting OLE Objects in a Form .....................................................................................148

Linking and Embedding ...........................................................................................148

How to Insert OLE Objects .......................................................................................149

Creating a New OLE Object .....................................................................................150

Creating an OLE Object From a File........................................................................151

vi

Pasting a Linked OLE Object....................................................................................151

Setting Up Linking Options......................................................................................152

Using the

Object

Commands ....................................................................................153

Chapter 6

Filling a Form

The Fill View Window......................................................................................................158

The Fill Toolbar ..........................................................................................................159

Moving Through Fields....................................................................................................160

Filling Fields.......................................................................................................................161

Type Ahead.................................................................................................................161

Shrink Text to Fit Fields ............................................................................................162

Fill Text........................................................................................................................162

Comb............................................................................................................................162

Check Box....................................................................................................................162

Circle Text ...................................................................................................................163

Table.............................................................................................................................163

Fill Graphic .................................................................................................................164

List Fields ....................................................................................................................167

Fields Defined by a Calculation...............................................................................167

Field Validation..........................................................................................................168

Spell Checking ...................................................................................................................168

To Check the

Current Form

Language Selection: ...................................................168

Spell Checking Multiple Languages .......................................................................169

Dictionaries for Spell Checking ...............................................................................169

Spell Checking Your Form........................................................................................170

Saving in Fill View ............................................................................................................171

Chapter 7

Managing an

OmniForm Database

What Is a Database? ..........................................................................................................174

Managing Database Records ...........................................................................................175

Creating New Records ..............................................................................................175

Duplicating Records ..................................................................................................177

Moving Through a Database....................................................................................178

Searching Records for Information .........................................................................179

Sorting Records ..........................................................................................................183

Recalculating Records ...............................................................................................184

Deleting Records ........................................................................................................186

Refreshing Records....................................................................................................187

Saving Records ...........................................................................................................187

Exporting Information...............................................................................................188

Using OmniForm Data Files.....................................................................................192

Importing Information ..............................................................................................193

vii

Protecting Your Database.................................................................................................197

Protecting Data ...........................................................................................................197

Protecting the Form ...................................................................................................198

OmniForm Filler.........................................................................................................199

Chapter 8

Using Calculations

Calculation Overview.......................................................................................................202

Creating a Calculation...............................................................................................202

Using the

Recalculate...

Command ...........................................................................207

Calculation Guidelines ..............................................................................................207

Usage Conventions ....................................................................................................209

Operators ............................................................................................................................209

Operator Buttons........................................................................................................210

Operators — Quick Reference..................................................................................211

Functions ............................................................................................................................212

Functions — Quick Reference ..................................................................................213

Functions Sorted by Type .........................................................................................216

Chapter 9

Technical Information

General Troubleshooting Solutions ................................................................................218

Solutions to Try First .................................................................................................218

OmniForm Setup Issues ...................................................................................................219

Memory and Installation...........................................................................................219

Installing OmniForm 4.0 over Older Versions.......................................................219

Uninstalling OmniForm ...................................................................................................219

Scanning and Recognition................................................................................................220

System Hang During Scan........................................................................................220

System Hang During Auto Form Design ...............................................................220

Scanner Compatibility ...............................................................................................221

Operation............................................................................................................................221

OmniForm Limits.......................................................................................................221

Low Memory ..............................................................................................................222

Low Disk Space ..........................................................................................................223

Right Mouse Button Functions.................................................................................223

Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) Automation Support .............................223

Improving Performance ...................................................................................................224

Document Quality......................................................................................................224

Scanning Angle...........................................................................................................224

Scanner Glass Clarity.................................................................................................224

Paper Transparency ...................................................................................................225

OmniForm Compatibility.................................................................................................225

Glossary

viii

1

Welcome

Welcome to OmniForm, and thank you for using our software!

OmniForm is the easiest way to convert your paper forms to electronic

forms. Use OmniForm to edit, design, and fill forms, manage

information databases, and print and mail forms among other functions.

The following documentation has been provided to help you learn

about OmniForm.

This User’s Manual

This manual introduces you to the basics of using OmniForm. It

includes installation and setup instructions, an introduction to

OmniForm, ways to help you design and fill in forms, how to manage

databases and use calculations, and technical information.

OmniForm Online Help

OmniForm’s online help contains information on features, settings, and

procedures. The online help conforms to Windows online help

conventions and has been designed for quick and easy information

retrieval. Please see page 2 for information on using the online help.

Readme File

The

Readme

file contains last-minute information about the software.

Please read it before using OmniForm. To open this text file, click

Start

in the Windows taskbar and choose

Programs

Caere

Applications

OmniForm Readme

after OmniForm has been installed.

Scanner Setup Notes

The

Scanner Setup Notes

contains information about supported scanners

and related issues. To open this PDF file, click Start in the Windows

taskbar and choose

Programs

Caere Applications Caere

Documents

Scanner Setup Notes

after OmniForm has been installed.

Getting Online Help

2

Using This Manual

This manual is written with the assumption that you know how to work

in the Windows environment. Please refer to your Windows

documentation if you have questions about how to use dialog boxes,

menu commands, scroll bars, drag and drop functionality, shortcut

menus, and so on.

The following conventions are used in this manual.

Getting Online Help

In addition to using this manual, you can use OmniForm’s online help

topics to learn about features and procedures. Online help is available

after you install OmniForm.

OmniForm’s online help follows the conventions of Microsoft Windows

95 Help. Choose

How to Use Help

in OmniForm’s Help menu to get

information on using Help.

Convention Purpose

Italicized text

• Emphasizes menu commands,

dialog box options, and

labeled buttons

For example:

“Choose

Open...

in the File

menu.”

• Emphasizes new terms the

first time they are used

• Emphasizes important words

in a sentence

Note symbol Introduces a tip or an item of

note

Warning symbol Introduces important

information

Getting Online Help

Welcome 3

Help menu

Use the commands in the Help menu to find information about

OmniForm topics.

Select

OmniForm Help

to obtain OmniForm’s main Help topics. Select

Getting Started

to begin OmniForm’s tutorials

.

Select

How to Use Help

to

get Microsoft Windows Help topics that explain how to use and

customize Help. Select

Product Support

to find out how to get product

support services for OmniForm. Select

Tip of the Day... (

if a form is open)

to obtain tips to help you use OmniForm. Select

About OmniForm

to get

information about your version of OmniForm.

OmniForm Tutorials

OmniForm has four online tutorials to step you through the basics. If

you have never used OmniForm before or you need to review some of

the procedures, please go through these tutorials.

• In the first tutorial,

Load and Fill a Form

, you will scan (or import)

and fill a Sample form (included in the OmniForm package) by

using the Form Assistant.

• In the second tutorial,

Edit and Design a Form

, you will scan or

import the Sample form into OmniForm again and learn to use

the basic buttons and menu commands, verify and correct OCR,

and modify the form.

• In the third tutorial,

Design Your Own Form

, you will create a form

and learn how to create objects, define calculations, customize the

form, set the tab order, and add a graphic.

• In the fourth tutorial,

The OmniForm Database

, you will use the

form that you created in the third tutorial and learn some basics

about OmniForm’s database as well as how to create and

manipulate database records.

OmniForm Help is the first

command in the Help menu.

Use it to get contents and index

listings for all Help topics.

Product Support

4

Context-Sensitive Help

You can get on-the spot information about a particular OmniForm

command, toolbar button, or dialog box option in the following ways:

• Click the Help button in the OmniForm design/fill toolbar to

turn your cursor into a question mark icon. Click any command,

button, or portion of the window to open context-sensitive help

for that topic.

• Click the question-mark button in the upper-right corner of a

dialog box and then click an item in the dialog box to get a pop-

up explanation for that item.

• Some dialog boxes have a

Help

button. Click

Help

to get

information about that dialog box.

Product Support

For the fastest and easiest way to get help, please look for solutions in

this manual or in the online Help. See “General Troubleshooting

Solutions” on page 218 for troubleshooting tips.

If you need additional help, please use the following resources:

• Caere’s World Wide Web site

Go to Caere’s World Wide Web site for common questions and

answers, updates, patches, troubleshooting procedures, and

product information. Caere’s Web site address:

Alternatively, you can go directly to Caere’s product support Web

site:

http://support.caere.com

• OmniForm Readme file

Read the

OmniForm Readme

file for last-minute information about

the software. This is available after installing OmniForm. To open

the file, click

Start

in the Windows taskbar and choose

Programs

Caere Applications Caere Documents OmniForm

Readme

.

• Scanner Setup Notes

Read the

Scanner Setup Notes

document to learn about supported

scanners and related issues. This document has been provided to

you as an electronic document in PDF format. To open this

document, click

Start

in the Windows taskbar and choose

Programs

Caere Applications Caere Documents

Scanner Setup

Notes

.

http://www.caere.com

Product Support

Welcome 5

• Caere Product Support document

Read the

Caere Product Support

document to get a list of support

telephone numbers, including ones for international product

support. This document has been provided to you as an

electronic document in PDF format. To open this document, click

Start

in the Windows taskbar and choose

Programs

Caere

Applications

Caere Documents Product Support

.

You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.01 or greater installed if

you want to read the

Caere Product Support

and

Scanner Setup Notes

PDF

documents. To install the Reader, click

Start

in the Windows

taskbar and choose

Programs

Caere Applications Caere Documents

Acrobat Reader.

Product Support

6

7

Chapter 1

Installation and Setup

This chapter describes how to install OmniForm and begin using it.

For technical and troubleshooting information, please see Chapter 9,

“Technical Information.”

This chapter contains the following sections:

• System Requirements

• Installing OmniForm and OmniForm Filler

• Registering OmniForm

•Starting OmniForm

System Requirements

8 Chapter 1

System Requirements

To install and run OmniForm, you need the following setup:

• Computer with an 80486 or higher processor

• VGA or SVGA monitor (24-bit display adapter recommended

for color forms)

• Windows-compatible mouse

•CD-ROM drive

• A minimum of 25MB hard disk space for OmniForm and up to

a maximum of 45MB

• A minimum of 10MB hard disk space for OmniForm Filler and

up to a maximum of 20MB

• A compatible scanner if you plan to scan documents

Please see

Scanner Setup Notes

, which are included on your

OmniForm CD-ROM, for a list of tested scanners

• Total system memory of at least 16MB RAM (32MB

recommended) for Windows 95 or 98, and Windows NT 4.0.

OmniForm 4.0 for Windows 95 or 98 and Windows NT 4.0 is a 32-bit

application and will not run on earlier versions of Windows.

Installing OmniForm and OmniForm Filler

This section describes how to install OmniForm and OmniForm Filler on

Windows 95 or 98 and on Windows NT 4.0. If you have an older version

of OmniForm, you might want to uninstall it before you install the latest

version.

Close all applications — including screen savers, virus checkers, and

mail applications — before installing OmniForm.

To install OmniForm and OmniForm Filler:

1 Start Windows.

2 Insert OmniForm’s CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive.

The Setup program should start automatically. If it does not,

click

Start

in the Taskbar and choose

Settings

Control Panel

.

The Control Panel appears.

Registering OmniForm

Installation and Setup 9

• Double-click

Add/Remove Programs.

The Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box appears.

• Click

Install...

in the

Install/Uninstall

tab.

• Click

Next>

and then

Finish

.

The OmniForm install screen appears.

3 Select

OmniForm 4.0

.

4 Follow all the instructions in the dialog boxes that appear.

During installation, you will be prompted to enter a serial

number. You can find the serial number on the label of the CD-

ROM.

OmniForm installs by default to the location c:\Program

Files\Caere\OmniForm. You can select another location if

you wish.

5 To install OmniForm Filler, repeat the preceding instructions,

but select

OmniForm Filler

when the install screen appears

instead of

OmniForm 4.0

.

Registering OmniForm

Register your copy of OmniForm with Caere Corporation to receive

notification of special offers and the best prices on product upgrades.

Some versions of OmniForm will only launch 25 times if you do not

register it.

If you purchased your product directly from Caere or if you were

previously registered, you may not need to register again. If your

version of OmniForm does not display a

Register

menu, then you do not

need to register.

To register OmniForm:

1 Click the

Register

menu to open the Register dialog box.

2 Click

Register Now

.

3 Fill out the information requested on the screen and then click

Next>

.

Starting OmniForm

10 Chapter 1

4 Follow the instructions on the screen.

OmniForm will decide on the best method of registration

according to your country and computer system. It may try

using modem, FTP, or HTTP (Internet) connections to transmit

your registration information directly. Or, it may prompt you to

call a phone number or print out and mail in your registration

information.

After registration is complete, you will be given a registration number.

Be sure to write that number down and keep it handy in case you need

to use it for reinstallation. If you reinstall OmniForm using your

registration number on the same computer, you will not have to go

through the entire registration process again to reregister it.

To reregister OmniForm after reinstallation:

1Click the

Register

menu to open the Register dialog box.

2Click

Reregister

.

Starting OmniForm

This section describes how to launch OmniForm after it is installed.

Install your scanner and test it in Windows

before

using it with

OmniForm. Consult your scanner documentation or the scanner

manufacturer to resolve any scanner problems that may occur.

To start OmniForm:

1Click

Start

in the taskbar and choose

Programs

Caere

Applications

OmniForm 4.0

.

Starting OmniForm

Installation and Setup 11

The Form Assistant dialog box appears. It contains six options.

Each is a basic OmniForm procedure.

2 Select an option and click

Next>.

Proceed to Chapter 3, “OmniForm Procedures,” for detailed

information on the basic OmniForm procedures. Or, if you are

new to OmniForm try the online tutorials. Click

Getting Started

in the Help menu to access the tutorials.

Click

Cancel

to close Form Assistant if you do not want to choose

a particular option.

Starting OmniForm

12 Chapter 1

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Nuance OmniForm 4.0 Operating instructions

Nuance OmniForm 4.0 Operating instructions

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