Re: [flexcoders] LiveCycle Data Services PDF
I am interested in finding out more about the PDF capabilities with LiveCycle Data Services. Is there anyone who has dug deeper into this and can help? Specifically, I would like to know: 1) Can LCDS take XDP files made in LiveCycle Designer and intelligently merge them with XML to create PDFs? (I notice in the java code in the LCDS sample, the pdf is hard coded as a '.pdf' file.) 2) Is there any other way to make the PDF/XDP templates other than LiveCycle Designer? 3) Does the client need Acrobat Reader to open the generated PDF's or will Mac Preview open them? (I had trouble opening them with Preview)/ Has anyone done more extensive demo apps with PDF generation other than the one shipped with LCDS? I have called a number of reps at Adobe and nobody seems to know much about the capabilities of this new addition to Data Services. Thanks for any additional info on this. - Kevin On Apr 20, 2007, at 5:19 PM, David Mendels wrote: Hi, for (1), suggest the iFrame approach that many have used for integrating with HTML. for (2), this surprises me and it doesn't sound right. I'll defer to others on that team to answer, but it is late on a Friday and not sure if someone will see this before the weekend (the FDS team is largely on Eastern Daylight Time). -David From: flexcoders@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kevin Sent: Friday, April 20, 2007 3:09 PM To: flexcoders@yahoogroups.com Subject: [flexcoders] LiveCycle Data Services PDF I have been looking at the LCDS PDF creation capabilities and I have found that the PDF's created, 1) Cannot be previewed in the flex app, which means that the user has to deal with annoying popups etc... 2) Cannot be viewed in OSX Preview. Unfortunately, in my case, over 50% of my end users are running OS X and thus do not have Reader installed AND furthermore expect to be able to open PDF's in Preview. Does anyone know of a server-side conversion to make the PDF's compatible with Preview. Is this something that we would have to purchase LiveCycle Forms to accomplish? I love the integration of PDF in to Flex DS, I am just hoping that it can go further since right now it seems like there are still significant limitations. Has anyone else run into these problems and found workarounds? - Kevin
RE: [flexcoders] LiveCycle Data Services PDF
1) Can LCDS take XDP files made in LiveCycle Designer and intelligently merge them with XML to create PDFs? (I notice in the java code in the LCDS sample, the pdf is hard coded as a '.pdf' file.) [Pete] You need a valid LCDS license to do PDF generation in general, however, in the final release you will be able to use raw XDP files as inputs too (a new API was added after Beta 2 to allow this). So, to summarize, you have to options: A. Use LiveCycle Designer to create a PDF shell document (containing XDP + XFA template), import XFA dataset and generate a PDF that can target Acrobat Reader 7 and later. B. Use LiveCycle Designer OR your own method to create a raw XDP document that contains an XFA template. You import the XFA dataset and generate a PDF that can target Acrobat Reader 8 (and later). The restrictions are that you cannot use PDF chunk elements in your XDP and you must specify the dynamicRender option in your XFA. 2) Is there any other way to make the PDF/XDP templates other than LiveCycle Designer? [Pete] You could construct these yourself, depending on how good your XFA knowledge is. Wrapping an XFA inside an XDP is simple enough. 3) Does the client need Acrobat Reader to open the generated PDF's or will Mac Preview open them? (I had trouble opening them with Preview) [Pete] It depends on whether the non-Acrobat reader can support XFA templates + dynamic datasets.
Re: [flexcoders] LiveCycle Data Services PDF
thanks for the info! That really helps. A couple more questions: You need a valid LCDS license to do PDF generation in general does that mean the LCDS Express version will not include the PDF Generation? It depends on whether the non-Acrobat reader can support XFA templates + dynamic datasets. Is there a way to merge the XPD / XFA / PDF on the server and then deliver a more compatible PDF format (does LiveCycle Forms do this?). On a side note, is there a way to get more detailed info (from a human) about LiveCycle Products. I have called Adobe a number of times and they refer me to people who either don't call back or don't have the knowledge to know which solution to recommend. It seems like a mystery product line! I am not opposed to paying for a solution, but before we invest we have to know what to buy. - Kevin On Apr 24, 2007, at 4:25 PM, Peter Farland wrote: 1) Can LCDS take XDP files made in LiveCycle Designer and intelligently merge them with XML to create PDFs? (I notice in the java code in the LCDS sample, the pdf is hard coded as a '.pdf' file.) [Pete] You need a valid LCDS license to do PDF generation in general, however, in the final release you will be able to use raw XDP files as inputs too (a new API was added after Beta 2 to allow this). So, to summarize, you have to options: A. Use LiveCycle Designer to create a PDF shell document (containing XDP + XFA template), import XFA dataset and generate a PDF that can target Acrobat Reader 7 and later. B. Use LiveCycle Designer OR your own method to create a raw XDP document that contains an XFA template. You import the XFA dataset and generate a PDF that can target Acrobat Reader 8 (and later). The restrictions are that you cannot use PDF chunk elements in your XDP and you must specify the dynamicRender option in your XFA. 2) Is there any other way to make the PDF/XDP templates other than LiveCycle Designer? [Pete] You could construct these yourself, depending on how good your XFA knowledge is. Wrapping an XFA inside an XDP is simple enough. 3) Does the client need Acrobat Reader to open the generated PDF's or will Mac Preview open them? (I had trouble opening them with Preview) [Pete] It depends on whether the non-Acrobat reader can support XFA templates + dynamic datasets.
RE: [flexcoders] LiveCycle Data Services PDF
Hi, for (1), suggest the iFrame approach that many have used for integrating with HTML. for (2), this surprises me and it doesn't sound right. I'll defer to others on that team to answer, but it is late on a Friday and not sure if someone will see this before the weekend (the FDS team is largely on Eastern Daylight Time). -David From: flexcoders@yahoogroups.com [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kevin Sent: Friday, April 20, 2007 3:09 PM To: flexcoders@yahoogroups.com Subject: [flexcoders] LiveCycle Data Services PDF I have been looking at the LCDS PDF creation capabilities and I have found that the PDF's created, 1) Cannot be previewed in the flex app, which means that the user has to deal with annoying popups etc... 2) Cannot be viewed in OSX Preview. Unfortunately, in my case, over 50% of my end users are running OS X and thus do not have Reader installed AND furthermore expect to be able to open PDF's in Preview. Does anyone know of a server-side conversion to make the PDF's compatible with Preview. Is this something that we would have to purchase LiveCycle Forms to accomplish? I love the integration of PDF in to Flex DS, I am just hoping that it can go further since right now it seems like there are still significant limitations. Has anyone else run into these problems and found workarounds? - Kevin
