Livecycle dropdown and fill

[String_Thing]

I have a form designed with Livecycle ES.  This form has an area at the bottom where users can fill in some information pertaining to a membership card and it has worked well in this state for several months now. 
I would like to add some functionality to the form.  There are two seperate text boxes for address block info.  Since this address info now resides in a SQL database, I'd like to have the user click on a drop down list, select a branch code form the list, then have it automatically fill the address block with the address info from the database for the selected branch..

I have been able to get it as far as showing the 85 branch codes in the dropdown populated by the SQL database, but I need it to go one step further and actually populate the text box after selection.  (see attached screenshot)

I appreciate any info or pointers on this.

Steve

[Former Community Member]

Before you go down this path there are a few things that you will need to know. For you to connect to that DB you have to create a DSN on your windows machine. This is how Acrobat uses a DB driver to communicate with the DB. The process of creating the DSN cannot be scripted or automated through Adobe technology. Each physical machine that will use this form has to create this DSN. The machines must be on the same network as the databse or the DSN cannot be setup. Lastly if your community is using Reader and not Acrobat they will not be able to do access the DB by default. The ability to communicate with a DB is controlled by Reader Extensions (the full LiveCycle version not the one in Acrobat).

Are you sure you still want to proceed with this?

Paul

[Niall_O_Donovan]

Hi,

If you don't...

You could script in all of the address info for the 85 branches into the form and populate the address block from the exit event of the dropdown. Not as clean; messy to update branch info, etc....

But may work,

N.

[String_Thing]

Hi,

Thanks for the input.  As far as a DSN for each client, it wouldn't be a problem since it would be for <5 workstations.  But, the problem of Adobe Reader not being able to use the form is very real.  All of these workstations have just Reader, not the Pro version of Acrobat.

Is there another interim step I can take?   Perhaps there is some sort of SQL->XML step that I could implement before hand to allow the Reader clients to use the form?

Steve

[String_Thing]

Hi,

I appreciate the reply.  The underlying data in the SQL table changes very frequently.  So adding another data source would be too much logistically to maintain.

Steve

[Former Community Member]

The way to get data into a form dynamically like that would be via a web service call. Having SQLServer give you back XML is a start but getting it served back to the form is the issue. A web service call can do that.

Paul

[String_Thing]

Is a web service call something I can research in Livecycle?

[Former Community Member · Accepted solution]

Most web platforms will allow you to support web services you do not need LiveCycle Server specifically to do that.....but to answer your question yes LiveCycle server can genreate web service calls. That software is server based software not client based like the LiveCycle Designer that you have.

Paul

[String_Thing]

Thanks Paul,

We have a Cold Fusion 8 server onsite so I will look into using that for the rest of the solution OR the complete solution.

Cheers,

Steve