Advanced Forms Features, doc.mailForm()

[Sam_Price@adobeforums.com]

Hello all,

I only started creating pdf forms a few days ago, so apologies if my question is silly, naive, etc.

Okay, I have a pdf form that I've created that has a number of fields. All the fields are formatted and verified using JavaScript. Good so far. Down the bottom of the page, I have a "Submit form" button. Ideally when the buttons clicked, I would like the contents of the form to be emailed (as an attachment) to me. It would be great if the contents were in XFDF format, but FDF will suffice.

I'm currently using the doc.mailForm(boolean, String, ...) method, which should send the contents of the PDF as an email with an FDF attachment. Now, this works on my machine (Adobe Acrobat Professional 6.0.0, Windows 2000). But when I try it on any computers running Adobe Reader (both 5.1 and 6.0), it fails without error message.

I have read the JavaScript docs and noted that the method doc.mailForm() requires Advanced Forms Features document rights. I've since browsed the forums and discovered that document rights can only be set by using Adobe Reader Extensions Server. (Very expensive)!

My questions then, are as follows:
1. If the ARE Server is required to modify document rights, how come I can send my own form using Professional?
2. Is it because having Professional waives those rights? So, if all my clients had Professional would they then be able to send the form via email?
3. Finally, I'm after a solution to the problem using Professional with clients having Reader. Does anyone know how to send the contents of a form via email in my situation? IE, what are the alternatives?

Thanks in advance,
Sam.

[W_T_Allen@adobeforums.com]

1. Those rights only apply to Reader

2. Yes. They would be able to submit the form via email if they were properly configured otherwise (correctly configured and operating MAPI client, this excludes AOL, webmail, and Outlook over Web users)

3. Reader can submit form data to a web server, it can also email an FDF file, again assuming that everything else is configured correctly, which is a HUGE "if."

[Sam_Price@adobeforums.com]

Thanks for your reply W T Allen.

I take it then, that it IS possible for me to:
1. Create a PDF using Professional.
2. Send it to users with Reader.
3. Have them email me the FDF file (by pressing a button on the PDF form).

The users must have:
1. Correctly configured MAPI client (shouldn't be a problem).
2. ???

"assuming that everything else is configured" - What else do I need to configure? Is there something else that I'm missing?

Thanks,
Sam.

[W_T_Allen@adobeforums.com]

Reader 6 can submit FDF data on its own but previous versions had to be openeed inside a browser to do so, so that may need to be configured.

But basically, a MAPI client needs to be configured. You set up a regular form (with Acrobat Professional) and tell the submit button to submit to a URL and make that URL "mailto:somebody@somewhere.com"

[Sam_Price@adobeforums.com]

Wonderful!

Thanks for the answer. I was trying to do it via JavaScript as opposed to entering a "mailto:" workaround. I have one further question (sorry to keep bothering you):
Is there anyway (with Reader JavaScript) to see if the default email client is MAPI enabled?

Thanks a lot for your help,
Sam.

[W_T_Allen@adobeforums.com]

Not that I know of.

[W_T_Allen@adobeforums.com]

Even if you can verify that a MAPI client is installed/active, that doesn't put you in the clear.

On my home PC, for example, I have a MAPI client installed (Outlook Express) but it's not set up for anything because I use Outlook Web Services for email. Your form would not work for me and if I was a complete newbie, I might not know that it wasn't working. I might just click "Submit" and assume everything went OK.

[Aandi_Inston@adobeforums.com]

Same here, but different. The PC where I use Acrobat is not set up to
send mail, while the PC where I send (and receive) mail is not set up
to run Acrobat.

Aandi Inston