About offline forms
You can take a form offline (download it), fill it out in Desktop eForms, and later put it back in Workplace. This is useful if you want to work on a form at a time when you can't connect to the server that stores the form policies. Once you've downloaded a form policy, you can create new forms from it and save them locally.
Please note the following:
- The form must be available to take offline. This property is set in the form policy by the policy author.
- If you've saved a form to Workplace, you can't take the saved form offline.
- You can take a workflow form policy offline at the launch step but not if it's in a workflow step (the form is in a Tasks queue).
- Before you can fill out a form offline, Desktop eForms must be installed on your local machine.
Form policies and versions
Each form policy includes information about its version.
- If the form policy you take offline is newer than a version that already exists on your local machine, the older version is moved to an Archives folder. The form is then opened in Desktop eForms with the newer form policy. The Archives folder is created automatically for you.
- If the form policy you take offline is older than a policy that exists on your local machine, the newer version opens and the old one is deleted.
What is different about a form after you have taken it offline?
Some features behave differently when the form is offline than they do when you open the form in Workplace:
- Automatic form numbering is disabled. The form is automatically numbered after you put the form back online and the form opens.
- Lookups can't be done if the form is offline. When you put the form back online, you must enter or change the value in the lookup cell and tab out of the cell. This allows the lookup to get the necessary data and enter it in the appropriate cells on the form. We suggest that you not fill out lookup fields while the form is offline because you'll have to repeat this step when you put the form back online.
- You can't submit form data. For example, if the form has a button that you click to send the data to a central location such as a database, the button isn't available while the form is offline. Remember to click the button when you put the form back online.
- Some fields could be made read-only while the form is offline. For example, if a field has a choice list and the choices reside on a server, you won't be able to make a selection until the form is back online.
- If a field is required or recommended and you haven't filled it in, you will see an alert message, but you can still save the form.
- The Workflow Attachments and Workflow Groups toolbar commands are not available until the form is uploaded.
Feedback