Create a custom Submit Action for Adaptive Forms writing-custom-submit-action-for-adaptive-forms

An Adaptive Form provides multiple Submit Actions out-of-the-box (OOTB). A Submit Action specifies details of the actions to be performed on the data collected via the Adaptive Form. For example, sending data on an email.

You can create a custom Submit Action to add functionality not included in out-of-the-box Submit Actions or not supported via a single OOTB Submit Action. For example, submitting data to a workflow, saving the data on a data store, sending email notification to the person submitting the form, and sending an email to person responsible for processing the submitted form for approvals and rejections through a single Submit Action.

XML data format xml-data-format

The XML data is sent to the servlet using the jcr:data request parameter. Submit Actions can access the parameter to process the data. The following code describes the format of the XML data. The fields that are bound to the Form model appear in the afBoundData section. Unbound fields appear in the afUnoundDatasection.

<?xml ?>
<afData>
<afUnboundData>
<data>
<field1>value</field2>
<repeatablePanel>
    <field2>value</field2>
</repeatablePanel>
<repeatablePanel>
    <field2>value</field2>
</repeatablePanel>
</data>
</afUnboundData>
<afBoundData>
<!-- xml corresponding to the Form Model /XML Schema -->
</afBoundData>
</afData>

Action fields action-fields

A Submit Action can add hidden input fields (using the HTML input tag) to the rendered form HTML. These hidden fields can contain values that it needs while processing form submission. When submitting the form, these field values are posted back as request parameters that the Submit Action can use during submission handling. The input fields are called action fields.

For example, a Submit Action that also captures the time taken to fill a form can add the hidden input fields startTime and endTime.

A script can supply the values of the startTime and endTime fields when the form renders and before form submission, respectively. The Submit Action script post.jsp can then access these fields using request parameters and compute the total time required to fill the form.

File attachments file-attachments

Submit Actions can also use the file attachments you upload using the File Attachment component. Submit Action scripts can access these files using the sling RequestParameter API. The isFormField method of the API helps identify whether the request parameter is a file or a form field. You can iterate over the Request parameters in a Submit Action to identify File Attachment parameters.

The following sample code identifies the file attachments in the request. Next, it reads the data into the file using the Get API. Finally, it creates a Document object using the data and appends it to a list.

RequestParameterMap requestParameterMap = slingRequest.getRequestParameterMap();
for (Map.Entry<String, RequestParameter[]> param : requestParameterMap.entrySet()) {
    RequestParameter rpm = param.getValue()[0];
    if(!rpm.isFormField()) {
        fileAttachments.add(new Document(rpm.get()));
    }
}

When you attach files to the Adaptive Form, the server validates the file attachments after Adaptive Form submission and returns an error message if:

Forward path and Redirect URL forward-path-and-redirect-url

After performing the required action, the Submit servlet forwards the request to the forward path. An action uses the setForwardPath API to set the forward path in the Guide Submit servlet.

If the action does not provide a forward path, the Submit servlet redirects the browser using the Redirect URL. The author configures the Redirect URL using the Thank You Page configuration in the Adaptive Form Edit dialog. You can also configure the Redirect URL through the Submit Action or the setRedirectUrl API in the Guide Submit servlet. You can also configure the Request parameters sent to the Redirect URL using the setRedirectParameters API in the Guide Submit servlet.

Submit Action submit-action

A Submit Action is a sling:Folder that includes the following:

Creating a custom Submit Action creating-a-custom-submit-action

Perform the following steps to create a custom Submit Action that saves the data in the CRX repository and then sends you an email. The Adaptive Form contains the OOTB Submit Action Store Content (deprecated) that saves the data in the CRX repository. In addition, AEM provides a Mail API that can be used to send emails. Before using the Mail API, configure the Day CQ Mail service through the system console. You can reuse the Store Content (deprecated) action to store the data in the repository. The Store Content (deprecated) action is available at the location /libs/fd/af/components/guidesubmittype/store in the CRX repository.

Use submitService property for custom Submit Actions submitservice-property

When you set the custom Submit Action, which includes the submitService property, the form triggers the FormSubmitActionService on submission. The FormSubmitActionService uses the getServiceName method to retrieve the value for the submitService property. Based on the value of the submitService property, the service invokes the appropriate submit method. Include the FormSubmitActionService to the custom bundle that you upload to the AEM Forms server.

Add the submitService property of type string to the sling:Folder of your custom Submit Action to enable Adobe Sign for the Adaptive Form. You can select the Enable Adobe Sign option in the Electronic Signature section of the Adaptive Form container properties only after setting the value for the submitService property of your custom Submit Action.