This is going to be lengthy, so please be patient. I'm not a database expert or forms designer by trade. I have 3 problems with the same form that I need help with.
1) I'm trying to create a template from which I can query our database and create different order forms for different vendors. In doing so, each form will look the same but the information will be different. All of the information with the exception of the quantity fields, should be read-only. Data capture is not a primary concern at this time because we rely on human intervention to manually key these order forms into our mainframe for processing. We simply want to provide an easy-to-use electronic version of our order forms for the customers to fill in and return to us via email.
The problem that I'm having is that I don't fully understand how my template needs to be designed to accomplish what I'm after. Our current form, which was created in PageMaker, uses a SQL query against our database to create a text file. This SQL query is carried out using a third party proprietary software that is no longer supported.
I would like to be able to use the same query to render this information into the new template. However, I'm not entirely sure if what I'm supposed to be doing is merging this information into just one text field per row in the database or creating a separate field for each piece of information relevant to a specific item in the database. My suspicion is that this all depends on how the query returns the results.
3) It is imperative that I create only one template. I need to make sure that the form is able to "auto-flow". Some forms created from this template may contain only 3 lines of information while others may have 300 lines. Will I be forced to create a 30 page template to accommodate an infinite number of physical pages?
2) Lastly, I am dealing with recto-verso as well as a Page X of Z situation. All recto pages contain graphics and a header. The verso pages do not. The type of information for both pages is the same, however, the layout for the verso pages varies in placement of some row information. All of this is done to accomodate a 2-1/2" perfed stub when the form is printed. I can find no reference to this type of attribute in Help. I also need to be able to number these pages during render because I have no way of knowing how many pages will be generated in advance.
If I have caused more confusion than it's worth, I apologize. This project was thrown at me with a deadline and I'm lost.
