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ABBYY FormDesigner can print both blank forms and forms that already contain data in some fields. For example, you can print forms with the name field already filled out so that each form is addressed to a particular individual. The values can come from a file or a database. Partially filled-out forms can be printed or saved as a PDF file.

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Source data requirements

  • The field names in the file or database must match the field names in the form and the document structure.
  • You can use an element’s identifier (ID) instead of its name. This is useful for specifying the values of elements that are not represented in the document structure, such as barcode fields.
  • A field or a mark from a group can be indicated by an identifier or by its full name, formatted as <Group>|<Element>.
  • Values can be imported from CSV and TXT files encoded in Unicode. The top line is the header and must contain the field names. Separators can be a comma (,), a semicolon (;), or the tab character.
  • When adding data to a table, specify the full name in the data form, formatted as <Table>|<Col>|<Row#>, where <Table> is the table name, <Col> is the column name, and <Row#> is the cell (numbering starts at 0).
  • When partially filled-out forms are printed, data types are converted. For example, a checkmark field can be filled from a database field with the values True/False, 1/0, or yes/no.
  • The printed data uses the font of the tip specified in the Element Properties window (the Tip tab).
If the list separator is also used as a decimal symbol or a digit grouping symbol in the file, enclose any numbers that use this symbol in quotes.
1

Open the dialog box

On the File menu, select Print Filled-Out Forms….
2

Choose the data connection

In the Select Data Connection dialog box, select a previously connected database, or click Add… to create a new connection.
3

Select the database

Select Database and click Select… to specify the database connection parameters.
You can also fill out blank forms with data from a database and print them from the command line:
For example:
1

Open the dialog box

On the File menu, select Print Filled-Out Forms….
2

Choose the data connection

In the Select Data Connection dialog box, select a previously added file, or click Add… to add a new file.
3

Select the file

Select File and click Browse… to specify the path to the file.
You can also fill out blank forms with data from a file and print them from the command line:
For example:

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Export filled-out forms

Use the following command to export a partially filled-out form:

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Required arguments

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Optional arguments

Use these arguments to describe the button for sending the form:
Enclose any spaces in button names in quotation marks.
Example of a command that exports a partially filled-out form with values from a database:
Example of a command that exports a partially filled-out form with values from a file:
The Filter:<FieldName>=<Value1>[,<Value2>[…]] argument filters records in the database by field identifiers. Separate values with commas, and specify the parameter multiple times for different fields.
Fields that are filled out in advance cannot be edited. If the output file was not published, check that the command arguments were specified correctly.

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Command argument checks

When a /printDatabase or /exportDatabase command runs, the following arguments are checked automatically:
  • The path to the FDD file
  • The connection string, or the path to the database or file with values
  • The path to the destination folder
  • The name of the output file
  • Whether the necessary fields are present in the source
Check notifications are logged in the event log (Control Panel → Administrative Tools → Event Viewer). To view the log in the Event Viewer, set the EventMessageFile subkey of the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\EventLog\Application\ABBYY FormDesigner 12 registry key to C:\Program Files (x86)\ABBYY FlexiCapture 12 Stations\FObjEventSrc.dll. If the command line was started by the administrator, the value is set automatically. To duplicate the check notifications in a separate file, use the LogFile:<filename> command. To disable logging in the event log, use the /noSystemLog key. Example of a command that disables system-log logging and enables logging in a separate file: