Passing Documents to the Forms Service passing-documents-to-the-formsservice
The AEM Forms service renders interactive PDF forms to client devices, typically web browsers, to collect information from users. An interactive PDF form is based on a form design that is typically saved as an XDP file and created in Designer. As of AEM Forms, you can pass a com.adobe.idp.Document
object that contains the form design to the Forms service. The Forms service then renders the form design located in the com.adobe.idp.Document
object.
An advantage of passing a com.adobe.idp.Document
object to the Forms service is that other service operations return a com.adobe.idp.Document
instance. That is, you can get a com.adobe.idp.Document
instance from another service operation and render it. For example, assume that an XDP file is stored in a Content Services (deprecated) node named /Company Home/Form Designs
, as shown in the following illustration.
You can programmatically retrieve Loan.xdp from Content Services (deprecated) (deprecated) and pass the XDP file to the Forms service within a com.adobe.idp.Document
object.
Summary of steps summary-of-steps
To pass a document obtained from Content Services (deprecated) (deprecated) to the Forms service, perform the following tasks:
- Include project files.
- Create a Forms and a Document Management Client API object.
- Retrieve the form design from Content Services (deprecated).
- Render the interactive PDF form.
- Perform an action with the form data stream.
Include project files
Include the necessary files in your development project. If you are creating a client application by using Java, include the necessary JAR files. If you are using web services, include the proxy files.
Create a Forms and a Document Management Client API object
Before you can programmatically perform a Forms service API operation, create a Forms Client API object. Also, because this workflow retrieves an XDP file from Content Services (deprecated), create a Document Management API object.
Retrieve the form design from Content Services (deprecated)
Retrieve the XDP file from Content Services (deprecated) by using the Java or web service API. The XDP file is returned within a com.adobe.idp.Document
instance (or a BLOB
instance if you are using web services). You can then pass the com.adobe.idp.Document
instance to the Forms service.
Render an interactive PDF form
To render an interactive form, pass the com.adobe.idp.Document
instance that was returned from Content Services (deprecated) to the Forms service.
com.adobe.idp.Document
that contains the form design to the Forms service. Two new methods named renderPDFForm2
and renderHTMLForm2
accept a com.adobe.idp.Document
object that contains a form design.Perform an action with the form data stream
Depending on the type of client application, you can write the form to a client web browser or save the form as a PDF file. A web-based application typically writes the form to web browser. However, a desktop application typically saves the form as a PDF file.
See also
Including AEM Forms Java library files
Forms Service API Quick Starts
Pass documents to the Forms Service using the Java API pass-documents-to-the-forms-service-using-the-java-api
Pass a document obtained from Content Services (deprecated) by using the Forms service and Content Services (deprecated) API (Java):
-
Include project files
Include client JAR files, such as adobe-forms-client.jar and adobe-contentservices-client.jar, in your Java project’s class path.
-
Create a Forms and a Document Management Client API object
- Create a
ServiceClientFactory
object that contains connection properties. (See Setting connection properties.) - Create an
FormsServiceClient
object by using its constructor and passing theServiceClientFactory
object. - Create a
DocumentManagementServiceClientImpl
object by using its constructor and passing theServiceClientFactory
object.
- Create a
-
Retrieve the form design from Content Services (deprecated)
Invoke the
DocumentManagementServiceClientImpl
object’sretrieveContent
method and pass the following values:- A string value that specifies the store where the content is added. The default store is
SpacesStore
. This value is a mandatory parameter. - A string value that specifies the fully qualified path of the content to retrieve (for example,
/Company Home/Form Designs/Loan.xdp
). This value is a mandatory parameter. - A string value that specifies the version. This value is an optional parameter, and you can pass an empty string. In this situation, the latest version is retrieved.
The
retrieveContent
method returns aCRCResult
object that contains the XDP file. Obtain acom.adobe.idp.Document
instance by invoking theCRCResult
object’sgetDocument
method. - A string value that specifies the store where the content is added. The default store is
-
Render an interactive PDF form
Invoke the
FormsServiceClient
object’srenderPDFForm2
method and pass the following values:- A
com.adobe.idp.Document
object that contains the form design retrieved from Content Services (deprecated). - A
com.adobe.idp.Document
object that contains data to merge with the form. If you do not want to merge data, pass an emptycom.adobe.idp.Document
object. - A
PDFFormRenderSpec
object that stores run-time options. This value is an optional parameter, and you can specifynull
if you do not want to specify run-time options. - A
URLSpec
object that contains URI values. This value is an optional parameter, and you can specifynull
. - A
java.util.HashMap
object that stores file attachments. This value is an optional parameter, and you can specifynull
if you do not want to attach files to the form.
The
renderPDFForm
method returns aFormsResult
object that contains a form data stream that must be written to the client web browser. - A
-
Perform an action with the form data stream
- Create a
com.adobe.idp.Document
object by invoking theFormsResult
object ‘sgetOutputContent
method. - Get the content type of the
com.adobe.idp.Document
object by invoking itsgetContentType
method. - Set the
javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse
object’s content type by invoking itssetContentType
method and passing the content type of thecom.adobe.idp.Document
object. - Create a
javax.servlet.ServletOutputStream
object used to write the form data stream to the client web browser by invoking thejavax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse
object’sgetOutputStream
method. - Create a
java.io.InputStream
object by invoking thecom.adobe.idp.Document
object’sgetInputStream
method. - Create a byte array and populate it with the form data stream by invoking the
InputStream
object’sread
method. Pass the byte array as an argument. - Invoke the
javax.servlet.ServletOutputStream
object’swrite
method to send the form data stream to the client web browser. Pass the byte array to thewrite
method.
- Create a
See also
Quick Start (SOAP mode): Passing documents to the Forms Service using the Java API
Including AEM Forms Java library files
Pass documents to the Forms Service using the web service API pass-documents-to-the-forms-service-using-the-web-service-api
Pass a document obtained from Content Services (deprecated) by using the Forms service and Content Services (deprecated) API (web service):
-
Include project files
Create a Microsoft .NET project that uses MTOM. Because this client application invokes two AEM Forms services, create two service references. Use the following WSDL definition for the service reference associated with the Forms service:
http://localhost:8080/soap/services/FormsService?WSDL&lc_version=9.0.1
.Use the following WSDL definition for the service reference associated with the Document Management service:
http://localhost:8080/soap/services/DocumentManagementService?WSDL&lc_version=9.0.1
.Because the
BLOB
data type is common to both service references, fully qualify theBLOB
data type when using it. In the corresponding web service quick start, allBLOB
instances are fully qualified.note note NOTE Replace localhost
* with the IP address of the server hosting AEM Forms. * -
Create a Forms and a Document Management Client API object
-
Create a
FormsServiceClient
object by using its default constructor. -
Create a
FormsServiceClient.Endpoint.Address
object by using theSystem.ServiceModel.EndpointAddress
constructor. Pass a string value that specifies the WSDL to the AEM Forms service (for example,http://localhost:8080/soap/services/FormsService?WSDL
). You do not need to use thelc_version
attribute. This attribute is used when you create a service reference.) -
Create a
System.ServiceModel.BasicHttpBinding
object by getting the value of theFormsServiceClient.Endpoint.Binding
field. Cast the return value toBasicHttpBinding
. -
Set the
System.ServiceModel.BasicHttpBinding
object’sMessageEncoding
field toWSMessageEncoding.Mtom
. This value ensures that MTOM is used. -
Enable basic HTTP authentication by performing the following tasks:
- Assign the AEM forms user name to the field
FormsServiceClient.ClientCredentials.UserName.UserName
. - Assign the corresponding password value to the field
FormsServiceClient.ClientCredentials.UserName.Password
. - Assign the constant value
HttpClientCredentialType.Basic
to the fieldBasicHttpBindingSecurity.Transport.ClientCredentialType
.
- Assign the AEM forms user name to the field
-
Assign the constant value
BasicHttpSecurityMode.TransportCredentialOnly
to the fieldBasicHttpBindingSecurity.Security.Mode
.
note note NOTE Repeat these steps for the DocumentManagementServiceClient
* service client. * -
-
Retrieve the form design from Content Services (deprecated)
Retrieve content by invoking the
DocumentManagementServiceClient
object’sretrieveContent
method and passing the following values:- A string value that specifies the store where the content is added. The default store is
SpacesStore
. This value is a mandatory parameter. - A string value that specifies the fully qualified path of the content to retrieve (for example,
/Company Home/Form Designs/Loan.xdp
). This value is a mandatory parameter. - A string value that specifies the version. This value is an optional parameter, and you can pass an empty string. In this situation, the latest version is retrieved.
- A string output parameter that stores the browse link value.
- A
BLOB
output parameter that stores the content. You can use this output parameter to retrieve the content. - A
ServiceReference1.MyMapOf_xsd_string_To_xsd_anyType
output parameter that stores content attributes. - A
CRCResult
output parameter. Instead of using this object, you can use theBLOB
output parameter to obtain the content.
- A string value that specifies the store where the content is added. The default store is
-
Render an interactive PDF form
Invoke the
FormsServiceClient
object’srenderPDFForm2
method and pass the following values:- A
BLOB
object that contains the form design retrieved from Content Services (deprecated). - A
BLOB
object that contains data to merge with the form. If you do not want to merge data, pass an emptyBLOB
object. - A
PDFFormRenderSpec
object that stores run-time options. This value is an optional parameter, and you can specifynull
if you do not want to specify run-time options. - A
URLSpec
object that contains URI values. This value is an optional parameter, and you can specifynull
. - A
Map
object that stores file attachments. This value is an optional parameter, and you can specifynull
if you do not want to attach files to the form. - A long output parameter that is used to store the page count.
- A string output parameter that is used to store the locale value.
- A
FormsResult
output parameter that is used to store the interactrive PDF form.
The
renderPDFForm2
method returns aFormsResult
object that contains the interactive PDF form. - A
-
Perform an action with the form data stream
- Create a
BLOB
object that contains form data by getting the value of theFormsResult
object’soutputContent
field. - Create a
System.IO.FileStream
object by invoking its constructor. Pass a string value that represents the file location of the interactive PDF document and the mode in which to open the file. - Create a byte array that stores the content of the
BLOB
object retrieved from theFormsResult
object. Populate the byte array by getting the value of theBLOB
object’sMTOM
data member. - Create a
System.IO.BinaryWriter
object by invoking its constructor and passing theSystem.IO.FileStream
object. - Write the contents of the byte array to a PDF file by invoking the
System.IO.BinaryWriter
object’sWrite
method and passing the byte array.
- Create a
See also