Sorting and Grouping and Sub-totalling

[EricES]

Hello,

I'm looking for some generic advice here, not necessarily a specific technical recommendation.

We have a requirement for about 15 different reports/forms. The reports would be the same layout using the same datasets, with the exception that they would be sorted, grouped, and sub-totalled differently.

Using Adobe Livecycle, can we design one form, and then control its sorting, grouping, and sub-totalling behavior somehow (maybe via parameters passed to its interface)? We do not need to allow user control over these various differences.

I know something like this is fairly straightforward in tools like Crystal Reports, but is it possible and practical using Adobe Livecycle? We would probably want to avoid a solution that uses overly complex and abundant Javascript.

Are we trying to use Adobe for something it's not really designed for?

Thanks!

[Srini_Dhulipall · Accepted solution]

You can render the PDF forms at runtime using XML as input. If you want to avoid the JavaScript coding in the form, then you can do all those calculations before generating the XML. In this scenario, I am assuming you have the Server software to render PDF with the dynamic XML data at runtime.

Other option would be writing the Java Script in the Calculate event of the fields to sort/ group/ totalling the values. Since all of your reports use the same layout, it would not be that difficult to write the code. Propably if you check the PurchaseOrder.xdp form that comes with your Designer samples along with installation, you get some basic idea on how to calculate the values as you add more rows to the form.

If you still have issues, you can always contact me or the team on this forum.

Thanks

Srini

[EricES]

Srini,

Thanks for the helpful tips! We'll check into those.

Thanks,

Eric