Being a (intermediate) Coldfusion developer - addressing SQl and CF queries to an ODBC database (Access) and using Livecycle Designer ES for the first time (Acrobat 9 Pro)... I'm trying to plan the best way to fuse these programs together for a project I'm working on. I'm not fluent with Javascript but can somewhat 'backwards engineer' a script. Not being fluent in Javascript makes me a bit hesitant to even use Livecycle forms in the first place - I'm more used to doing all this with CF and SQL on an internet server...
A couple of the main reasons I'd like to use Livecycle are - the ability to set up some of the forms to run client-side and using a security (ID) key for form submissions back to the server (as well as the capability to 'hash' the data back to the server with encryption). Security features within the PDF invironment are what attracts me to Livecycle forms as well as user interactivity in building the form client-side, as in expanding forms and fields or buttons being visible or hidden depending on the user's choice.
Since Access (2007) can export a table's fields as an XML schema file (from what I've found, needing to re-save this file as an XSD file) for insertion in the Livecycle form - This makes it handy to set up the form to run client-side and not have to address the server-side database everytime a user choice is made on the form, before form submission back to the server.
So... Providing that I don't have to become a JavaScript guru, the following is the 'meat' of this posting - a scenario in (wondering how to get) Livecycle, Coldfusion, SQL, XML and Access all working together:
Livecycle forms set up with an XSD schema provided from Access (the schema within the saved form as a PDF Dynamic XML form) / On validated form completion by the user (client-side) the submit button, after user Key entered, submits to a Cold Fusion (hidden) action page on the server containing CF and/or SQL database insertions, updates, etc. that, after the queries run, 'bounces' the user to another client-side PDF.
Would this scenario work? Am I thinking right on this in mixing Livecycle data with Coldfusion and SQL in this way?
I'm not sure how a CF action page would deal with the data coming into it encrypted (maybe with setting variables) or if the CF action page retains the security set by the PDF page before it bounces the user back to his/her client-side Acrobat Reader... as well as running queries from a CF action page that pulls data from the database and sends back to the user's next PDF as encrypted data.
Also, I'm not sure how the Access generated XML schema treats fields in the database that have a space in the field name, as in a field named "First Name". Some of my table fields are to be updated with an uploaded delimited text file coming from (admin permitted) users - my table fields Have to be set up in Access to match the user's field names. Field names that are merged together in the XML schema wouldn't match up when sent back to the database although I guess you could set variables for this as well on a CF action page.
Should I just forget using Coldfusion and try to do this all through direct database insertion and form filling through the Livecycle PDF forms? (And purchase a JavaScript book to learn yet another language before deadline time?)
In not knowing JavaSript, I'm having a bit of a mental block in learning Livecycle. I had hoped that the JavaScript would be written as you set up button properties, assigned on-click events, structered the subform heirarchy and so on and then, in Livecycle's scriptwriter assign an 'initialize' or 'click' and a function from the "fn" button (that only offers a few choices). I really need to know how to write Javascript myself, don't I? (This is probably obvious to all - "yes, dummy, you need to know how to write JavaScript for Livecycle.) I guess I'm missing something in the help files and tutorials... You can sure tell I'm self taught, huh...
I would do this all with just CF anyhow with application files and session management with cookies and so on but with security concerns it seems PDFs can easily enough be set up in a pretty secure environment. The PDF security as well as client-side user interaction with dynamic PDFs are what attracts me to Livecycle PDFs. There's not too much of a learning curve for building Livecycle PDF forms except for having to learn JavaScript with a deadlined current project maybe being too much for me.
Livecycle or Coldfusion or both programs together? Especially for the security concerns. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of info on CF and Livecycle running together - at Adobe or with googling - at least not on a novice or intermediate level.
Anyone's thoughts or comments on this? I'll post this in the Coldfusion forum as well if y'all think it may benefit forum users there as well.
Thanks for input on this...
- es
ramzilla@ramzilla.com
