Re: PDF Documents

Having read through the rest of this thread, and learning that the document needs to include customer-specific data related to orders, Rob's suggestion of a Word form sounds like a workable solution.

1. Design Word mail-merge form, get data from IBM i into form for each customer.

2. Include Word form fields in the doc for the data you want the customer to enter.

3. Use Word "print to email" feature to send each generated doc to the customer, using their email address as supplied from the mail-merge step.

4. Customer can open the Word doc (which can be protected), they can only enter fields that you allow (text boxes, check boxes, drop-down list items). Customer saves Word doc, sends it back to you.

PDF forms would be OK if you want to go to the work of putting together the process on your i to generate them. But if most/all of your customers have Word, that might work. Word forms / mail-merge have been around for a long time, it will work with Word 2003.

Craig Pelkie


----- Original Message ----- From: <rob@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "Midrange Systems Technical Discussion" <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 5:30 AM
Subject: RE: PDF Documents

Len,

The problem is editing PDF documents. Adobe gives away a free PDF reader.
Getting to edit it costs $. Heck, I can't even do that. So all your
customers would need a PDF editor. A better choice might be to create
Word documents. The odds of users being able to edit that increases
dramatically. I wouldn't go with the latest version of Word. A lot of
installations are still running XP so some version of Word running on that
might be better. The problem is that everybody and their brother as a PDF
generator from the i. A nice fill in Word document isn't quite so common.

Another option is just send them a link to a website. And have them enter
the data there.


Rob Berendt
--
Group Dekko
Dept 1600
Mail to: 2505 Dekko Drive
Garrett, IN 46738
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From: "Len Grieco" <l_grieco@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Midrange Systems Technical Discussion" <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: 11/17/2010 08:24 AM
Subject: RE: PDF Documents
Sent by: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx



I would need to have this on my end before I send the documents. Many
many customers!

>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx
>>[mailto:midrange-l-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jack Kingsley
>>Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2010 8:02 AM
>>To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
>>Subject: Re: PDF Documents
>>
>>Are you talking on your end before you send it or after you
>>have sent it to your customer.
>>
>>On Wed, Nov 17, 2010 at 7:35 AM, Len Grieco
>><l_grieco@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> Greetings,
>>>
>>> We have a couple of applications that generate spooled
>>files on a 520
>>> box
>>> w/v6r1 and a 3rd party solution that will email/fax the
>>documents to
>>> our customers in PDF format. Our customers want to be
>>able to edit
>>> the PDF and send it back to us without having to print
>>the document
>>> out. Can anyone offer any suggestions and/or point me
>>towards the
>>> right direction as how I may do this using our existing process.
>>>
>>> Thank you
>>>
>>> ***************************************
>>> Len Grieco
>>> iSeries/LANSA Programmer
>>>
>>> William S. Hein & Co., Inc.
>>> 1285 Main Street
>>> Buffalo, NY 14209
>>> Phone (716) 882-2600 Ext. 131
>>> Fax (716) 883-8100
>>> l_grieco@xxxxxxxxxx
>>>
>>> ***************************************
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> This is the Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
>>(MIDRANGE-L) mailing
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