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You can distribute a form you created and published in ABBYY FormDesigner in hard copy or electronic format (as a PDF form). Electronic forms may be sent out by e-mail or published on a website. You can also select a response method (by e-mail or on the website), with the possibility of processing the results on the server. The Form Distribution Wizard will help you select the right sending options. The wizard starts when you click File → Distribute Form… or click on the Standard toolbar. The Form Distribution Wizard will guide you through all the steps required to distribute a form:
  1. Select how you wish to distribute your form. It can be printed or distributed electronically. For printing the form, click the Print Form… button. The wizard will prompt you to print out the form and then will close. If you wish to distribute your form electronically, provide sending and receiving options.
  2. For electronically distributed form, select on of the following options:
    • Send to a group of e-mail recipients - if you select this option, click Finish at the bottom of the wizard window. A new message window will open in your mailing program. The message will have your PDF form attached, so you will only have to specify the addressee and enter the text of the message. After sending the email message, return to ABBYY FormDesigner.
    • Save and send later - if you select this option, specify the folder where to save your PDF form. By default, the form is saved in My Documents, and the file has the name of the form. To specify a different folder and file name, click the ”…” button next to this option and then click Finish at the bottom of the window.
    • Publish to a network location - if you select this option, specify the URL address where you want publish your PDF form. Example: https://www.example.com/form.pdf . Click Finish at the bottom of the wizard window to publish the form.
      Important! You must have write permissions for the website where you want to publish your form.
  3. Select a response method (you can select one or both options or none at all):
    • Send responses by e-mail - specify the e-mail address to which completed forms should be sent
    • Send responses over the Internet - specify the URL address of the website where the completed forms should be submitted and processed
Select the Clear form data option to delete all data from the form. Depending on the option(s) you select, a button (or buttons) will appear in the top left corner of the first page in the form. Clicking this button will send the form to the specified website or e-mail address. For each button, you can specify your own text or use the suggested text. You can also specify the position of the buttons on the form:
  • Top - a button will appear at the top of the first page of the form;
  • Bottom - a button will appear at the bottom of the last page of the form;
  • Top and bottom - a button will appear both at the top of the first page and at the bottom of the last page of the form.
If you choose to receive completed forms on a website, you can set up the website to automatically process submitted forms.