Form controls and HTML/XHTML output

[Gallaxhar]

Hello, I'm watching every video I can on oxygenXML editor as well as reading as much as I can.

I'm trying to find out if oxygenXML can be used by end-users to enter form data as an alternative to infopath, libreoffice, microsoft word, and similar applications.

Primarily I need the users to be able to Create (insert or duplicate), Read-only, Edit, and/or Delete parts of the form as they fill it out. This is what my users can do in Libreoffice Writer, which is what we ended up using.

The problem is that the data-entry validation is poor, and also the data entered is not structured, so that form-updates are problematic. The primary problem that warrants financial spending on oxygenXML is the lack of data-security in Libreoffice Writer. Users have complete control over the word processor.

This is why I don't want to use oxygenXML author/editor with my end users - it gives them too much control and too much to look at. I am hoping I can export an oxygenXML form with form controls to an HTML input page. The user would visit this page online or locally and uses the form controls to enter/edit data, uses buttons to add/duplicate/delete sections, then hit "submit". All data would get recorded to an XML file that could be reloaded into the HTML page at a later time, and also transformed into a PDF output for printing. Is this feasible in oxygenXML and how much of it requires specialized development?

[alex_jitianu]

Hello,

I guess that your users will work inside the Author mode/page. The layout and formatting of the author mode is based on CSS so you can control how/what the users sees from the XML document just by writing a couple of CSS rules. You can build what you described right on top of the XML file without any need for a transformation to HTML.

The user would visit this page online or locally and uses the form controls to enter/edit data

You can bind form controls that will edit either attribute or element values. These too are added just by writing some CSS rules. You can find additional samples that show what you can do with form controls inside: ${oxygenInstallDir}/samples/form-controls

uses buttons to add/duplicate/delete section

You can create a set of actions specific for your needs. Creating such an action involves only a configuration and some XPath expressions. We have a topic that describes how to create a sample insert section action. These actions can be added or removed from the toolbar or contextual menu. besides that all other actions can be filtered so the user will not have access to them.

then hit "submit"

The user will just have to save the file and the modifications will be stored right inside the XML file.

So the basic idea would be that Oxygen Author can be customized to offer the user only the view and actions that he needs. Another aspect worth mentioning is that along side the Oxygen Author (which is a standalone distribution) there is also the Author can be integrated in other applications or can run in the browser as an applet. Starting with the next release we will also offer an HTML+Javascript browser based editor (a server-side web application with an HTML5 front-end. )

As far as

Best regards,
Alex

[Gallaxhar]

The demo of form controls in the browser here:
https://www.oxygenxml.com/webapp-demo/

Is exactly what I need, I think. I guess I will just have to patiently wait for the next release...

Question:
Will every user have to buy Author to use Author in the browser to fill out the forms?
If so this would be too costly I think. One developer such as myself could have up to 100 end-users that need to fill out the forms...

[alex_jitianu]

Hello,

I just want to add that if form based editing is what you are interested in, that feature is also available in the Author Applet.

As far as licensing is concerned, the Webapp will work on a slightly different licensing model. You will need floating licenses so you wont need to buy a named based license for each user. I'll ask my colleagues from sales to give you more insight on that.

Best regards,
Alex