Create a Spreadsheet from Form Data

[#1]

I am not that great when it comes to spreadsheets!



I have created a simple "conference registration" form and added a "submit by email" button. Form works perfectly and emails perfectly.



Data arrives at my email address. I save the file to desktop and then open Acrobat Professional 7.



I select the FILE >> FORM DATA >> CREATE A SPREADSHEET FROM DATA FILES menu.



The spreadsheet data is created. The CSV file is created.



Opening the Excel spreadsheet produces undesirable results (remember, I am not very good with spreadsheets!!)



I end up with one row of illegible data with text added to field names (e..g F[0] 1[0] etc.



>>>>> What I can't see is the answers/responses to each of the fields in the form that was emailed?



I am assuming this is a format thing in Excel and I've no idea what to do.



Any help is very much appreciated. THANKS!!

[#2]

I 've just tried what you discribe in this post. What you actually get in your spreadsheet is the name of the document and the field names in XFA conventional notation.



You could have saved the data with the form after you import the data that you received in your email and export it to the spreadsheet. This way, besides the field names and document names, you will have all the values (that are answers/responses) in your spreadsheet.

[#3]

Thanks for your reply Jimmy ..



When you say: "I could have saved the data with the form after you import the data ... from the email and export it in the spreadsheet"



===> Can you tell me how I do this?



Thanks again!

[#4]

1) Save the xml data file you receive from the email on your system.

2) Open the pdf form in Acrobat.

3) Go to File>Form Data>Import Data to Form.

4) Select the xml data file that you saved in step 1.

At this point, the data will flow into your pdf form.

5) Save the pdf file with the data shown.

6) Now you can export the new pdf file save in step 5 into an spreadsheet as describe in your post.

[#5]

Thanks again ...



Steps 1-5 of your reply are fine - done.



Step 6, however doesn't appear to work.



Are you suggesting that I try and import the PDF file (with the shown data) into an Excel spreadsheet??



Ultimately what I want is the responses which are sent to me as XML files in an email can be added to a spreadsheet with all the information needed rather than creating a PDF (form) of all the files as they come in.



Thanks for your patience!

[#6]

Any other thoughts ... anyone?



Thanks,

Josh

[#7]

josh



I am going through a similar exercise with an association survey.



1. Create a folder to store the xml files.

2. As each eamil is viewed, save the attached xml file - add prefixes to the file names as you do so e.g. 01-, 02-,.... It is best for the receiving folder to be sorted by name.

3. Open Acrobat Pro 7 and repeat the 'create spreadsheet' - select add - navigate to the folder where the xml files are stored - select the xml files you want to extract data from.



For the key to the gibberish in the column headers, see my message in the 'CVS format issues' topic.

[GregKess]

I too, would like to receive submitted forms uploaded (sent to an URL) to our website and have the data flow into a spreadsheet for easy review on our website.  I need this to be automatic, without handeling each form as they come in - there will just be way too many forms for this to be practical.

CLICK "SUBMIT" AND ALL DATA SHOWS UP ON OUR WEBPAGE.  DONE.   It seems so basic, there should be cut-and-paste code by now.  Anyone?

[mmsmithfamily]

My wife is new to this program at her job and she is trying to use

the "Create a spreadsheet from Form Data

" function. She is using a trial version of this product and

she does not have "FORM DATA

" under the "FILE" menu. Can anywone explain

what she should do quickly? She is trying to get this program to work for her

bosses and needs to get it figured out by today. An

y help is very much appreciated.

Thanks.

[HarrisFR]

Which version is she using?

If she is in Adobe Professional 9, she needs to go to the FORMS menu and Choose Compile Returned Forms.

She does not create the spreadsheet from within LiveCycle Designer, but in Adobe PRO.  LiveCycle is for designing forms.  Tell her good luck, we all started at somepoint.

[mmsmithfamily]

Correct, that is where the problem is. In Adobe PRO there is no "FORM DATA"

under the "FILE" menu. I apologize for not being clearer. What is she

missing or doing wrong?

Thanks.

[HarrisFR]

It appears she is looking at the wrong menu.  She wants to go to the FORMS menu, not the FILE menu and from there she will choose Compile Returned Forms.  She will also find the Manage Form Data submenu which gives her 3 options: Import Data, Export Data or Merge Data Files into Spreadsheet.

Hope that helps.