Documentation/AOO4 User Guides/Writer Guide/Using Forms in Writer/XForms

Apache OpenOffice 4.1 Writer Guide

Chapter 15: Using Forms in Writer

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• Introduction to Forms
• When to Use Forms
  • Alternatives to Using Forms in Writer
• Creating a Simple Form
  • Create a Document
  • Open the Form Toolbars
  • Activate Design Mode
  • Insert Form Controls
  • Configure Controls
  • Use the Form
• Form Controls Reference
• Example: a Simple Form
  • Create the Document
  • Add Form Controls
  • Configure Form Controls
  • Finishing Touches
  • Accessing Data Sources
  • Creating a Database
  • Accessing an Existing Data Source
  • Creating a Form for Data Entry
  • Entering Data into a Form
• Advanced Form Customization
  • Linking a Macro to a Form Control
  • Read-Only Documents
  • Fine-Tuning Database Access Permissions
  • Form Control Formatting Options
• XForms

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XForms

XForms are a type of web form, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). OpenOffice supports the XForms 1.0 open standard for creating web forms with XML.

In OpenOffice, an XForms document is a special type of Writer document. XForms use the same controls as the ordinary forms described in this chapter. After you create and save an XForms document, you can open the document, fill out the form, and submit the changes to a server.

A detailed discussion of XForms is beyond the scope of this chapter, as it is related more to databases than word processing. A good tutorial introduction is J. David Eisenberg’s XForms and OpenDocument in OpenOffice.org, available from http://opendocument.xml.org/files/xforms_ooo_06_10_25.pdf. Another good resource is Valden Longhurst’s Using XForms and the OpenDocument format in OpenOffice.org and StarOffice ([[1]]).