Quik! Forms Automation

The main purpose of this document is to provide guidance on designing forms that are ideally suited for forms automation processes. The Quik! Forms Automation processes make use of all the features described in forms automation within this reference guide. For your reference, the Quik! Forms Automation solution is discussed below in order to provide a context for how forms are ideally automated and why the Quik! Tips throughout this document are well-founded and suited to a forms automation environment.

Where Automation Occurs

QUIK! TIP: Perform server-side automation whenever possible because programming forms directly is costly and subject to the changing design of the form. When it comes to automating the form, there are at least three areas in which the automation can occur: server-side, document level, and field level. Where the automation occurs depends on the type of automation required.

When it comes to automating the form, there are at least three areas in which the automation can occur: server-side, document level, and field level. Where the automation occurs depends on the type of automation required.

Server Side Automation

Automation that can occur on a back-office server is considered server-side automation. This means that the form and form data is either processed on a server before or after the form is generated. If the data is processed after the form is generated and used by the user, then the user must trigger an event to submit the data to the back-office server in order to start the process. Once the back-office process is run, the data can be sent back to the form (in real-time) to update it with new information (including hiding and displaying new data and document objects).

Document Level Automation

Any automation that is performed globally in the document is considered document-level automation. This type of automation occurs entirely within the document itself and no external systems are involved. Document level automation is typically triggered by the user completing a field or clicking a button.

Field Level Automation

Any automation that is specific to a field and performed when the field is accessed is field level automation. Typical field level automation includes formatting field data or calculating field values based on other field inputs.

Server Side vs. Document Level vs. Field Level Automation

When it comes to deciding where a type of automation should occur it depends on where the automation can be done, the ease of maintaining the automation rules, how long it takes to process the automation and the overall cost of creating the automation process. Generally speaking, all automation should occur at the server-level when possible to avoid having to re-program the process when the form changes (form design typically changes once or twice per year). There are processes that are ideally done at one of the other levels for performance reasons, but most of the types of automation requested can be done at the server level.

The table below shows different types of automation and where the automation can occur. The ideal location for the automation is shown with an x.

Security

QUIK! TIP: PDF forms delivered to Quik! for automation should NOT be secured.

The underlying content of a form should be secured to ensure that users cannot modify the content. Each Quik! Form is secured with 128-bit security on the PDF itself to enable users to only perform the desired actions and to protect the form from being tampered with. In addition, when Quik! distributes the form, additional security is applied at the Quik! server level to allow only subscribed and appropriately registered users to access the form.

For further information about form security, please request the White Paper titled Quik! Forms Security Architecture Overview from a Quik! representative.