Using OneForm Electronic Forms

Electronic forms are easy to use. The e-form is opened like any other Windows software. The form displays on the screen and the cursor is placed on the first fillable field. The user keys in information and presses the [Tab] key to advance to the next field. When the e-form is filled-out, it can be saved, printed, and/or e-mailed. When finished, the e-form is closed and the user exits the program.

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar for e-forms is similar to most Windows Menu Bars. Menus include: File, Options, Window, Send, and Help.

File Menu

The File menu contains options to open, print and exit the e-form.

Open will open a .fil file and populate the form. If the form is linked to a database, it will bring up three buttons which will aid in searching through records according to the key field. [Previous Record] and [Next Record] will search back and forth through the records. [Find Record] will allow you to input a record ID into the key field and search for that particular record. Once the file or record has been opened, the form may be edited and saved.

Print gives the options to print the [Form and Data], [Form Only], and [Data Only]. [Print Form and Data] will print the form with all current display text. [Print Form] will print only the existing form displayed. [Print Data] will print only the current display text.

Exit will end the Electronic Form session.

Options Menu

The Options Menu has end-user controls for viewing and printing preferences.

Printing Orientation Normally a form is centered on a sheet of paper when it is printed. [No Auto Centering] will cause the form to not center when printed. [Auto Orientation] will determine the correct orientation, whereas [Portrait Orientation] and [Landscape Orientation] will force the orientation on the sheet of paper.

Tabable CheckBoxes enables you to tab through the checkboxes rather than having to click in each checkbox field.

Remove Last Signature allows you to remove the last signature placed on the form. When chosen, the Password dialog box appears, and the password corresponding to the signature must be input in order to remove the signature. Once the signature is removed, the corresponding fill-fields will become unlocked and editable.

Save Settings on Exit This will save the preferred settings for this e-form.

Window Menu

The Window Menu allows the end-user to control the size and position of the e-form as it is displayed. A Focus is a small section of the form that can be displayed on command.

Focus You may choose which focus to view: Next, Previous, First, or Last. To view the entire form use [Window] [Show Form]. If the form has Focus selections, the form is probably too large to be viewed as one image and still be legible. [Next Focus] and [Previous Focus] allow you to reposition the form to show an enlarged section of the form in the window. [First Focus] takes you to the top of the form

Show Form and Data will display the form and fields.

Show Form Only will display only the form without fill-fields.

Refresh will return the screen to normal view.

Normal Focus This displays the e-form with focuses, as intended by its originator.

Fit to Width This displays the form so that the entire width fits the screen.

Fit to Height This displays the form so that the entire height fits the screen.

Zoom 2x This will zoom into the form two times the view.

Send Menu

When one of these options is chosen, the user's mail system is opened. The user may e-mail the .fil file as an attachment.

Send Form This will e-mail the .fil data and when opened by the recipient, a filled-in e-form will be displayed.

Send ASCII This will e-mail the fill data only.

Help Menu

Help This will open any help files included with the file.

About This will bring up the Splash Screen and display the form's name, date, and version.

Starting the E-Form

When you first open an electronic form, your cursor will be placed at the first field in the Tab list. Select the field you want with the mouse or use the [Tab] key. The [Tab] key will take you forward one field at a time, the [Shift]-[Tab] will back up one field.

CheckBoxes are toggled with the mouse. Checkboxes can be made tabable by selecting the Tabable Checkboxes under options. This allows you to use the [Tab] key to move through checkboxes and the [Spacebar] to check them.

The intelligence added to the form determines how the form will be used. Most electronic forms have fields that you can input data into. This data can be saved into a database or saved as an ASCII .fil file depending on the form.

Field Color Identifiers

When using the electronic form, there are fill-fields are displayed in four colors:

Green - Identifies where the cursor is located.

Yellow - Required to be filled-in before the file can be saved.

Gray - Filling is optional.

White - Read-only and cannot be edited by the operator. These fields are computed or filled-in from a database.

User File Extensions

When an e-form is saved, the files being saved will be given a .fil extension. These are Filled-in Form Files which are ASCII text files. The .fil file can either be edited by opening up its form and opening the .fil file, or by editing in a text editor. The .fil file format displays the name of the field with the data input into the field. When a .fil file is double-clicked and the form's .exe is accessable on the computer, the form will open the appropriate Windows executable and populate the form.

Please note that .fil files must first be associated with "elfun" in order for the file to open the appropriate form. Typically an ASCII text file is associated with Notepad; this means when a .fil file is double-clicked, it is opened by Notepad. To associate .fil files with Electronic forms, initially you must click on a .fil file. Shift and right click to bring up the "Open With". Select "elfrun" as the program type.

Once this has been initiated, all .fil files will be opened by its corresponding form and not by Notepad. The header at the beginning of each .fil file associates it with its form.

Opening Existing Forms

E-forms can be started through a Windows shortcut, by double-clicking the Windows executable name from the Windows Explorer, or by double-clicking a .fil file.

Saving a File

[Save] will save the file and allow you to name it after you have filled-in all required (Yellow) fields. [Clear] erases all input assuming you did not want the input saved.

When saving a file you must use the extension .fil.

If a database is linked to the form, save will save the data to the database and not as a .fil file.

Exiting Forms

Exit the e-form by using the [File] and [Exit] menus.