Testing PDF production
Last updated
Last updated
[SINCE Orbeon Forms 2021.1]
There are two ways to access the "Test PDF" function:
directly from the Form Builder's main window's "Test" menu
from the "Test Form" window
When accessed directly, "Test PDF" shows the following dialog:
When accessed from the "Test Form" window, "Test PDF" shows the following dialog:
You have access to the following options:
Use entered form data
This option only shows when accessed from the "Test Form" window.
When selected, any data currently entered in the form will be used to produce the PDF.
Disable the evaluation of "Initial Values" formulas
If "Use entered form data" is selected, this option is disabled as the form data takes precedence.
When selected, all "Initial Value" formulas are disabled, as if they were not present.
Disable the evaluation of "Initial Values" formulas
When selected, all "Initial Value" formulas are disabled, as if they were not present.
Disable the evaluation of "Calculated Values" formulas
When selected, all "Calculated Value" formulas are disabled, as if they were not present.
Show controls, grids, and sections with dynamic visibility
When selected, all controls, grids, and sections that can be dynamically shown are shown.
This means that those with visibility "Yes" or "Formula" are always shown. Controls with visibility "No" remain not visible.
Use cases include:
Verifying that every control, grid, or section that can appear in the PDF appears correctly.
Exporting the PDF file for printing and manual filling.
Use PDF template
This only shows if the form has attached PDF templates.
See below for details.
Selecting "Continue" opens the resulting PDF, which will show in your browser window.
The "Test PDF" dialog lets you choose between the automatic PDF or one of the available PDF templates when testing.
Two options allow you to show controls hints and alerts in the resulting PDF:
This is an example of the resulting PDF with hints and alerts:
See also The open-rendered-format() action.
Blog post: Testing PDF production in Form Builder
