User manual NUANCE OMNIFORM 2 REFERENCE

OmniForm Reference Version 2 for Windows 95/NT/3.1 CAERE CORPORATION 100 Cooper Court Los Gatos, California 95030 European Offices: Caere GmbH Innere Wiener Strasse 5 81667 Munich Germany Please Note In order to use this program, you should know how to work in the Microsoft Windows environment. Please refer to your Windows documentation if you have questions about how to use menu commands, dialog boxes, scroll bars, edit boxes, and so on. OmniForm Reference Version 2 for Windows 95/NT/3.1 Copyright© 1996 Caere Corporation. All rights reserved. CAERE®, Logical Form Recognition, and OmniForm are trademarks of Caere Corporation. Formonix is a trademark of Formonix, Inc. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Such designations appearing in this manual have been printed in initial caps. Product Serial Number: _______________________________________________ (from Disk #1 label) 2 Chapter 1 Introduction OmniForm is the easy way to convert your paper forms to electronic forms. Use OmniForm to edit, design, and fill forms, manage information databases, and print, fax, and mail forms among other functions. This chapter gives an overview of the form creation and information management capabilities OmniForm provides, as well as an explanation of how to use the documentation. This chapter contains the following sections: · OmniForm Features · Using the Documentation Introduction - 3 OmniForm Features OmniForm Features OmniForm, an easy-to-use environment for working with forms, is more than just form-recognition software. OmniForm includes the following features: Form Input OmniForm uses Logical Form RecognitionTM to convert your scanned paper forms or imported image files into electronic, editable forms. Fill View Use OmniForm's fill view to fill a form with the information you need. Information entered can easily be searched and sorted. Design View Use OmniForm's design view to design your own forms or edit existing forms. A variety of toolbars make formatting easy and convenient. Use the scrapbook to store or copy form objects. OmniForm Database All information you enter into a form is stored as a part of an OmniForm database. You can create, duplicate, sort, and search records, and import and export database information. Field Validation You can set up OmniForm to validate a fillable field automatically. OmniForm displays a prompt if you enter incorrect information. Field Calculations OmniForm's built-in operators and functions let you define calculations that display the correct value as you fill the appropriate field(s) in a form. This automates data entry and reduces the possibility of errors. Form Printing, Faxing, and Mailing You can print or fax forms from OmniForm. You have a choice of printing or faxing just the form, or just the data entered in a form, or both the form and its information. Use electronic mail to send forms to other users if you have Microsoft Exchange/Mail or Lotus cc:Mail/Notes installed. Microsoft Exchange/ Mail users can also add routing slips to mailed forms. Introduction - 4 Using the Documentation Using the Documentation This section explains the various instructional and formatting conventions used in this manual. Screenshots and Instructions Most screenshots in this manual were taken in Windows 95. Your dialog boxes and windows may look slightly different if you are using Windows NT or Windows 3.1. For example, dialog box titles in Windows 95 appear in the top left of the box. Dialog box titles in Windows NT and Windows 3.1 appear in the top middle of the box. Both screenshot versions are displayed when they differ significantly. Instructions appropriate to each version of Windows are given where necessary -- for example, double-clicking an icon in a program group (Windows 3.1 and NT) versus using the Taskbar (Windows 95). Any instruction specific to Windows NT and 3.1 appears immediately after the Windows 95 instruction. Online Help OmniForm has both online help and context-sensitive help. Use the commands in the Help menu to find information on OmniForm topics and on using Help itself. Click the Help button in the OmniForm standard toolbar to turn your cursor into a question mark icon. Click any command, button, or portion of the window to open context-sensitive help for that topic. Formatting Two formatting conventions are used throughout the manual. Italicized Text · Labeled buttons, menu commands, dialog box text, and any text in an onscreen form are italicized; for example, "Choose Open in the File menu." Menu titles, icon names, dialog box names, and unlabeled buttons are not italicized. · A new term may be italicized the first time it is used; for example, "This is a fill text field." These terms and others are defined in the Glossary section of the manual. · Variable entries are italicized; for example, "The entry n must be between 4 and 18." Introduction - 5 Using the Documentation Courier font · The Courier font indicates text that you are supposed to enter; for example, "Type Sample1 in the File Name text box and click OK." · The Courier font is also used to distinguish file paths and file and folder names from the rest of the text; for example, "Locate the Sample form in the OmniForm folder." Symbols Two symbols are used in this manual to highlight text. This symbol means Note. It introduces a tip or an item of note. This symbol means Warning. It introduces cautionary text. Introduction - 6 Chapter 2 Installation and Setup This chapter describes how to install OmniForm and begin using it. It contains the following sections: · Registering OmniForm · System Requirements · Installing OmniForm · Starting OmniForm Installation and Setup - 7 System Requirements System Requirements To install and run OmniForm, you need the following setup: · Computer with an 80386 or higher processor. · VGA or SVGA monitor. · Windows-compatible mouse. · 1.44MB high-density floppy disk drive and internal hard disk. · A minimum of 11MB hard disk space for the US version; 15MB for the International English version. · If you plan to scan forms, you need a Hewlett-Packard (ScanJet Plus or above), Visioneer, or TWAIN-compatible scanner. · Total system memory of at least 8MB RAM for Windows 95 and Windows 3.1; 12MB for Windows NT. · At least a 4MB permanent swap file for Windows 3.1. · MS-DOS 5.0 or above for Windows 3.1. OmniForm 2.01 for Windows 95 and Windows NT will not run on earlier versions of Windows. Registering OmniForm Registering your copy of OmniForm entitles you to technical support, notification of special offers and upgrades, and the lowest price offered on the next OmniForm upgrade. Please complete and send in the registration card included in your OmniForm package. See "Caere Product Support" on page 271 for information on technical support. Installation and Setup - 8 Installing OmniForm Installing OmniForm This section describes how to install OmniForm on Windows 95, and on Windows NT and 3.1. OmniForm automatically decides which version of the program to install. If you are running Windows 3.1, for example, OmniForm installs the 16-bit Windows 3.1 version of OmniForm. Close all applications -- including screen savers and mail applications -- to free up memory before installing OmniForm. Installing on a Windows 95 System 1 2 3 4 5 Start Windows 95. Click Start in the Taskbar and choose Settings Control Panel. The Control Panel appears. Double-click Add/Remove Programs. The Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box appears. Click Install... in the Install/Uninstall tab. Insert OmniForm disk #1 in your computer's floppy drive and follow the instruction in the dialog boxes. Windows fills the Command line for installation program text box automatically and the InstallShield Wizard appears to guide you through the setup process. Follow the instructions in each dialog box that appears, and insert other installation disks as prompted. (Installation may not require all the disks provided.) OmniForm installs by default to the location c:\Program Files. You can select another location if you wish. 6 Installation and Setup - 9 Installing OmniForm Installing on a Windows NT or 3.1 System 1 2 3 4 Start Windows NT or 3.1 and open the Program Manager window. Insert OmniForm disk #1 in drive a: (or b:) of your computer. Choose Run in the Program Manager File menu. The Run dialog box appears. Type a:\setup (or b:\setup) in the Command Line text box and click OK. The InstallShield Wizard appears to guide you through the setup process. Follow the instructions in each dialog box that appears. OmniForm creates a Caere Applications folder if necessary. You can select another folder in the Select Program Folder dialog box if you wish. Insert other installation disks as prompted. (Installation may not require all the disks provided.) An OmniForm icon is added to the Caere Applications program group when installation is complete. 5 6 Installation and Setup - 10 Starting OmniForm Starting OmniForm This section describes how to launch OmniForm after it is installed. Any instruction for Windows NT and 3.1, when different from that for Windows 95, appears immediately after the Windows 95 instruction. Install your scanner and test it in Windows before using it with OmniForm. Consult your scanner documentation or the scanner manufacturer to resolve any scanner problems that occur. To start OmniForm: 1 Click Start in the Taskbar and choose Programs OmniForm. Windows NT and 3.1 users: double-click the OmniForm icon in the Caere Applications folder. Form Assistant appears. It contains six options. Each is a basic OmniForm procedure. 2 Select an option and click Next>. Click Cancel to close Form Assistant if you do not want to choose a particular option. See Chapter 5, OmniForm Procedures, for detailed information on the basic OmniForm procedures. Installation and Setup - 11 Chapter 3 Tutorials These tutorials guide you through some of the main features of OmniForm. There are four sections in this chapter: · Tutorial 1 -- Load and Fill a Form · Tutorial 2 -- Edit and Design a Form · Tutorial 3 -- Design Your Own Form · Tutorial 4 -- The OmniForm Database Perform these exercises in order if you are new to OmniForm. Each new exercise builds upon skills learned in the previous one. Choose the tutorial you want to practice if you already know the basics of scanning, designing, and using forms. The tutorials cross-reference sections in this manual for additional information on each subject. Read the other chapters in the manual to learn about OmniForm features not discussed here. Most screenshots in this chapter were taken in Windows 95. Your dialog boxes and windows may look slightly different if you are using Windows NT or Windows 3.1. Tutorials - 12 Tutorial 1 -- Load and Fill a Form Tutorial 1 -- Load and Fill a Form You will load the Sample form in this exercise in one of three ways: · Scan in the Sample form with a scanner if you have one. The form is supplied inside this manual. · Fax the Sample form to your computer's fax modem if you have no scanner, use your fax software to save it as a PCX or TIFF file, and open it in OmniForm. The form is inside this manual. · Locate and open the Sample.tif file if you have no scanner and no fax modem. It was placed in your OmniForm\Sample Forms folder during installation. Decide which method you want to use. You can try all three methods eventually if you own both a scanner and a fax modem. After you have loaded the form into OmniForm, you will practice various features of the program. Launch OmniForm Click Start in the taskbar and choose Programs OmniForm. Windows NT and 3.1 users: double-click the OmniForm icon in the Caere Applications folder. The Form Assistant dialog box appears. If you accidentally close the Form Assistant dialog box, click the Form Assistant button in the standard toolbar to reopen it. Tutorials - 13 Tutorial 1 -- Load and Fill a Form · See the next section if you have a scanner and want to scan the form. · See "Fax the Sample Form" on page 17 if you have a fax machine and a fax modem and want to fax the form to your computer. · See "Import an Image File" on page 17 if you do not have a scanner or a fax modem, or if you want to use this method instead of the other two methods. Scan the Sample Form 1 2 Select Scan in a form and then click Next>. Select a source for the form in the next window. · Select Hewlett-Packard Scanner if you have an HP scanner and proceed to step 5. · Select TWAIN (all other scanners) if you have a TWAINcompatible scanner that is not an HP scanner. 3 4 Click Next>. Users who selected TWAIN as the source can click Select Source... in the next window to select a TWAIN source. · Select a source in the Select Source dialog box. · Click Select to return to Form Assistant. · Proceed to step 8 on page 15. 5 Click Next> to continue. Tutorials - 14 Tutorial 1 -- Load and Fill a Form 6 Select Letter in the next window if this option is not selected already. The Sample form is a letter-sized page. 7 8 Click Next>. The next window offers two form usage options. Select the second option. You will just fill the form in this exercise, not work on its design. 9 Click Next>. The next window prompts you to place a page in your scanner. 10 Make sure the page is aligned correctly in your scanner, and click Finish. Tutorials - 15 Tutorial 1 -- Load and Fill a Form OmniForm scans the form. The OmniForm window displays scanning, designing, and straightening progress. The Sample form opens as Form1 in fill view. It should look the same as the original copy of the form. 11 Click the Save button or choose Save in the File menu. The Save As dialog box appears. 12 Type Sample1 in the File name text box and click Save. Proceed to the section "Filling in the Form" on page 21 to begin using OmniForm's tools. Tutorials - 16 Tutorial 1 -- Load and Fill a Form Fax the Sample Form To fax the Sample form, you need the following: · a fax modem connected to your computer · fax software that is compatible with your fax modem · access to a regular fax machine To fax the form: 1 Make sure your fax modem is turned on and that your fax software is set up to receive a call. Refer to your fax manual(s) for information. Place the Sample form in the fax machine. Set faxing resolution to Fine or Best. This setting faxes the form at a resolution of 200 x 200 dots per inch (dpi). OmniForm may have trouble recognizing documents faxed at a lower resolution. (Standard resolution is 200 x 100 dpi.) Check your fax machine's manual if you need more information about its settings. Dial your fax modem's number and fax the Sample form as you normally would. Once received, use your fax software to open the Sample form and save it as a PCX or TIFF file. Again, refer to your fax software manual if you do not know how to do this. See the next section, "Import an Image File" for instructions on how to convert your fax file into an electronic form in OmniForm. 2 3 4 5 6 Import an Image File OmniForm can recognize PCX or TIFF image files. An image is an electronic picture of text and/or graphics. This could be a form created in another program or one received as a fax file. See the previous section, "Fax the Sample Form" if you want to create a fax file to import. You will import an image file in this exercise. You can import a fax file if you have one, or import the Sample.tif form that was placed in your OmniForm/Sample Forms folder during installation. Tutorials - 17 Tutorial 1 -- Load and Fill a Form Load the Image File in OmniForm 1 2 Select Scan in a form in Form Assistant and then click Next>. Select Fax or Image in the next window and then click Next>. 3 Click Browse... in the next window. The Browse dialog box appears. Tutorials - 18 Tutorial 1 -- Load and Fill a Form 4 This is how the dialog box looks in Windows 3.1 and NT. 5 This is how the dialog box looks in Windows 95. · Select TIFF Files in the Files of type drop-down list if you want to import the Sample.tif file. Locate and select the Sample file in the OmniForm\Sample Forms (omniform\samples in Windows 3.1) folder. · Locate and select your fax file if you created one in the previous exercise. · Click Open to return to Form Assistant. The file name appears in the File name text box. 6 Click Next>. The next window offers two form usage options. Tutorials - 19 Tutorial 1 -- Load and Fill a Form 7 Select the second option. You will just fill the form in this exercise, not work on its design. 8 Click Finish>. The OmniForm window displays scanning, designing, and straightening progress. The Sample form opens as Form1 in fill view. Tutorials - 20