* Dr. Internet columnist Steve Blass is asked if he has considered Formatta's online form tools
I just read your column about offline forms. Have you considered Formatta’s online form tools or using PDF forms?
I just read your column about offline forms (https://www.nwfusion.com/columnists/2004/0531internet.html). Have you considered Formatta’s online form tools or using PDF forms? The Formatta tools perform all the functions mentioned in the column, and add security features such as locked (password-protected) fields and encrypted data storage. PDF forms are can be created with Open Office (https://www.openoffice.org/) or Adobe tools, and are less likely to become corrupted or infected by viruses or worms.
Formatta’s offerings do provide offline completion, plus online submission capabilities, and the form filler client is free to download and use. These forms are published in a proprietary binary format by using the Formatta Designer application, which is reasonably priced. There is a full-featured trial download at http://www.formatta.com.
PDF forms are another multi-platform option for deploying forms-based content. Typical PDF fill-out forms are published to be completed and printed, rather than posted to the Web, but Adobe’s Acrobat does provide the means to support form submission. OpenOffice Writer provides an open-source alternative for creating PDF forms that can be coerced into creating PDF forms for online submission.
