Formatta Designer 7.0 is an easy to use WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) design tool for creating freely distributable electronic forms.  This section highlights just a few of the principal features and functions included in Formatta Designer.

Easy to Use

Designed for Windows®, and easily accessible to anyone familiar with the Windows operating environment. The available drop-down menus are modeled on the basic Windows paradigm, and the toolbars incorporate standard Windows buttons and icons.

Extensive on-line help is only a keystroke away and dynamic tutorials cover every tool and function in Formatta Designer.

Action Buttons - linked to pre-programmed functions defined in Formatta Designer and inserted into a form - assist Filler users in filling out and submitting forms.

Formatta Designer also allows form authors to create Bubble-Tips, a feature that displays field-level help in Formatta Filler, providing Filler users with step-by-step instructions for filling out a form.

Complete Forms Design Toolset

Formatta Designer gives the form author a vast array of design tools that are easy to use and comprehensive in scope. The adjustable alignment grid makes it easy to position objects in exactly the right spot. An independent object alignment tool enables the designer to align selected objects with respect to each other or with respect to the form as a whole. Copying objects, layering a form (sending objects to the front or back), grouping and ungrouping selected objects, standard and custom form templates, and point-and-click field and text object creation are just a few of the features that Formatta Designer offers. The catalog combines an object library and style manager together, to simplify the form design. The creation of Action buttons permits the designer to control the movement of the form after it is filled, effectively eliminating the hazards of client controlled reply cycles.

Graphics Handling

Sophisticated graphics handling capabilities are an essential element in a professional forms package, and Formatta Designer is no exception. In addition to the basic drawing tools (box, circle/ellipse, line, diagonal line, and table) and the formatting options that apply to them (shading, border, shadow, color, thickness and style), Formatta Designer includes its own bitmap editor. This allows the user to design a complex logo or other graphic and incorporate it in Formatta PFF (portable form file) forms.

Formatting Text Objects 

Formatta Designer makes it easy to format text objects within forms. When a text object is selected, the currently active formatting characteristics are displayed on the formatting toolbar. Any of these characteristics can be changed at any time with a simple click or two of the mouse. Available options include: justification, font type and size (including numerous common barcode formats), and style effects such as boldface, italic, and underlining.

Managing Data Fields

A well-designed form is not simply a form that is pleasing to the eye. Its role as an effective instrument in the data collection process is crucial to its success. For this reason, Formatta Designer includes advanced XML data field management controls. These controls allow the form author to specify all of the pertinent attributes of the fields in a form, including the order in which those fields are filled.

Formatta PFF forms support text fields, listboxes, checkboxes, radio buttons, and tables (including automatic calculation features). The font, size, color, and style of text used to fill text fields can be specified at the time of form design.

Any field can be designated as mandatory, so that it must be filled in order to submit the form.

Formatta Filler can be instructed to carry out client-side validation of field entries as well as calculate values (the math tool includes fifty standard functions including date/time stamps, mathematical calculations, and logical functions).

Field values can be verified by Formatta Filler using pre-programmed list boxes or simple default values. These defaults can be accepted as is, or replaced by the person filling the form.

Finally, Formatta presents Bubble-Tips: an innovative development in forms processing based on context-sensitive help technologies. Bubble-Tips allow the author to incorporate field-level help into the form itself. Bubble-Tips are then dynamically displayed in Formatta Filler. This feature alone helps to insure the proper filling of a form, especially when the form is complex or ambiguous (e.g., many tax and application forms).

Test Fill Environment

Formatta Designer includes a Test Fill feature which allows the form designer to test the filling properties of a form while the form is being designed -- without having to open a separate Filler application. This feature enables the designer to instantly check the tabbing sequence, data entry, field validation, listbox and radio buttons functionality, and general form appearance.

Form Summary Function 

The Form Summary function allows the form designer to incorporate version control and form management information directly into the form. This information can include the title of the form, its subject matter, a brief description, version number (including point versions) and date, who approved the form, the name and contact information for the designer and/or the organization and other pertinent details.

Attachments and Extended Email Functionality 

Formatta forms are capable of carrying attachments, such as word processing documents or spreadsheets. Thus, if a client needs to attach additional information to an electronic form, this information can be stored in a separate file and attached directly to the Formatta form itself. Attachments, just like the original form and data, can be encrypted using Formatta's powerful encryption engine.

Moreover, Formatta forms can be configured to utilize existing email and HTTP/HTTPS post technologies for form filing. This innovation not only makes it easier for users to submit forms, it also prevents attachments from being accidentally dissociated (and quite possibly lost) from the original file when the form file is stored.

Embedded True-Type Fonts

Formatta Designer permits the designer to embed TrueType fonts into forms. This feature eliminates undesirable font substitutions for Formatta Filler users.