Adobe Customer FAQ Barcoded Forms CUSTOMER FAQ Topics 1 About Barcoded Forms 2 Choosing the paper-to-digital solution that is right for you 4 Implementing Barcoded Forms About Barcoded Forms Q: What is Barcoded Forms? A: Barcoded Forms software uses proven two-dimensional (2D) barcode technology to automate the extraction of data from paper forms, helping reduce the costs, errors, and time associated with other processes. Using Adobe LiveCycle Barcoded Forms, you can add 2D barcodes to interactive Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) forms that are distributed to customers via the Web, e-mail, or CD-ROM. Using free Adobe Reader software, the end user simply fills in the form, prints it out, and mails or faxes it back to the organization. Upon receipt, your organization scans the paper form to capture data from the 2D barcode and deliver it to back-end systems for processing. Barcoded Forms bridges the gap between paper and digital processes by enabling your organization to realize the benefits of electronic forms and workflows even when a digital process breaks and reverts to paper. As a result, Barcoded Forms helps you accelerate the flow of critical business information, enabling you to provide better and faster customer service. Q: What is a 2D barcode? A: A 2D barcode is a machine-readable symbol that stores information along the height as well as the width of the symbol. With Barcoded Forms, the 2D barcode encodes user-supplied form information in real time while the user fills in the form. When the form is printed and faxed or mailed back to you, Adobe LiveCycle Barcoded Forms is used to efficiently and automatically decode the barcode and send the extracted user-supplied form data to the next step of your organization s processing system. When successfully scanned, data extracted from 2D barcodes is 100% accurate, and no human intervention is required other than mail handling. The Adobe solution currently employs the industry-standard PDF 417 barcode format, which is a widely accepted 2D barcode format within government, financial services, and other forms-intensive markets. (The PDF here refers not to Adobe PDF but to a barcode standard called Portable Data File 417.)
Q: How is the Adobe solution better than my current forms-processing system? A: Most organizations today either manually enter user-supplied information or they employ forms-processing methods based on optical character recognition (OCR). Both of these approaches can be costly and error prone, requiring frequent data validation and human intervention. The Adobe solution can replace these less efficient forms-processing alternatives for organizations that need to process high volumes of fill-and-print paper forms. Barcoded Forms can increase your forms-processing efficiency if your organization: Processes large volumes of paper-based forms Participates in a government or heavily regulated industry, such as financial services, where signature requirements force form end users to submit information via paper Seeks to eliminate manual rekeying of data to reduce costs and data errors Needs to get form data into your systems quickly and wants to avoid the time to rekey data from paper forms Wants to use a free, ubiquitous, cross-platform form fill-in client Needs to move paper form data between legacy systems Requires paper forms that include an ink signature, notarized signature, or multiple signatures Choosing the paper-to-digital solution that is right for you Q: Is there more than one version of Barcoded Forms available? A: Yes. Barcoded Forms is available in two versions, one intended to run as a stand-alone application ( Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST) and one intended to interoperate with other technologies ( Barcoded Forms 7.0). Although both can be integrated with third-party systems, these two versions are intended for organizations with different requirements, as described below. Q: Why is there more than one version of Barcoded Forms available? A: Adobe has created two different versions to meet the needs of different customers. Adobe LiveCycle Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST is intended for organizations with an existing paper-based business process that wants to implement an automated paper processing solution quickly. They may already have existing electronic workflow or business processes in place. Barcoded Forms 7.0 is intended for organizations looking to build an infrastructure around several capabilities, including Barcoded Forms and Workflow. They may have existing infrastructure they wish to integrate. Q: What if I have multiple kinds of forms to process? Can either of the versions of Adobe LiveCycle Barcoded Forms help me manage multiple processes for multiple forms? A: Yes, Barcoded Forms 7.0 specifically integrates Barcoded Forms with Workflow to uniquely identify the type of form and its appropriate workflow. Although this kind of functionality can be implemented in Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST, that version does not have any out-of-the-box capabilities to differentiate between different forms. Q: What are the advantages of deploying Barcoded Forms? A: Barcoded Forms offers many efficiencies and benefits over traditional manual data rekeying or OCR solutions. These include the following: 2
1. Because they are automatic and reliable, 2D barcodes eliminate the need for manual data entry and can lower the costs associated with processing fill-and-print paper forms. And because 2D barcodes should never deliver a false positive, they eliminate the need to validate the extracted data. In addition, the Adobe solution is designed to successfully decode consumer fill-and-print paper forms 99.9% of the time. An end user simply fills out a 2D barcode-enabled PDF form with his or her free Adobe Reader, prints it out, and mails or faxes it back to the organization. 2. Barcoded Forms can use the same data representation for both paper forms and electronic forms. As a result, you can easily integrate data from your electronic and paper forms processes into the same back-end system using one data integration model. 3. Barcoded Forms is forward compatible with Adobe forms technology in the sense that you can support fill-and-print paper forms and PDF-based electronic forms with a unified environment. On the front end, Adobe Reader lets form end users complete the same fillable PDF form to deliver information to your organization, whether they choose to submit their form electronically or to fax or mail you a printed version. On the back end, the extracted form data arrives at your legacy processing system in the same exact format, whether you receive the form electronically or as a paper document. As a result, the Adobe solution can be viewed as a bridge technology that will help you and your customers, constituents, employees, and partners gradually move to electronic forms processes. 4. Barcoded Forms is also backward compatible. If the barcode cannot be read automatically for example, the barcode is torn or badly marred or all parties in the workflow are not enabled with the Adobe solution, the data can still be read from the form in the traditional method and manually keyed. 5. With Barcoded Forms, you can provide better, faster service to your customers and constituents. Forms can be filled out electronically, reducing data-entry errors. And because the form data can be extracted more quickly and with greater accuracy, you can access that data and respond to customer or citizen requests more quickly, thereby improving services and taking advantage of additional revenue opportunities. In addition, printed Adobe PDF forms with 2D barcodes support physical signatures (when required) and conventional methods of form delivery, such as mail and fax. You can extract and route data faster, and you provide a consistent user interface regardless of electronic or paper forms submission methods. 6. Because Barcoded Forms 7.0 provides the means to process different types of forms with a single automated workflow, organizations can realize greater flexibility in exception handling, while accelerating their ability to process varied forms. This also helps increase customer satisfaction through greater responsiveness, based on your ability to process multiple kinds of requests and applications with a unified workflow. Q: Which Adobe products enable 2D barcodes? A: Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST has four key components: form authoring, form fill-in, form processing, and barcode decoding usage rights. Form authoring: Designer 7.0 or Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0 or higher with the Barcoded Forms 7.0 authoring tool enables users to design and add 2D barcodes to interactive PDF forms. Form fill-in client: Adobe Reader 7.0 or higher or Adobe Acrobat 7.0 or higher, enables realtime encoding of user-supplied information into the 2D barcode on the form. Form processing: The Adobe barcode decoder or a third-party 2D barcode decoding solution analyzes scanned form images, detects and decodes 2D barcodes, extracts user-supplied information, and provides data to the next step in the enterprise workflow. Barcode decoding usage rights: To decode a barcoded form using a third-party solution, the organization must assign a 2D barcode decoding usage right to the PDF form using Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions 6.1 or higher with the 2D barcode decoding certificate enabled. This functionality is included in Barcoded Forms, Forms-in-Use license.
Similar to Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST, Barcoded Forms 7.0 has the same four key components just described. In addition, Barcoded Forms 7.0 adds this optional step after Form authoring: Workflow definition: Using Workflow, customers can use an intuitive graphical user interface to define business processes that will route the user-supplied information once it is returned. Each workflow description can include any combination of the ten kinds of business processes specifically intended for use with Barcoded Forms 7.0. These processes include the ability to easily discover, handle, and decode data, as well as the ability to route data on a form-by-form basis. Please note that since Barcoded Forms 7.0 requires the use of the Adobe barcode decoder, you cannot enable a third-party decoder using the barcode decoding usage right with Reader Extensions. Q: Which additional Adobe products work with Barcoded Forms? A: Aside from the Adobe products and use cases already mentioned that work with Adobe LiveCycle Barcoded Forms, customers can use Reader Extensions to apply additional usage rights such as local save, offline form fill-in, annotations, and digital signatures to barcoded forms. You must purchase a separate Reader Extensions license to apply these usage rights. Q: Are any other Adobe products required to work with Barcoded Forms? A: Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST works with other technologies as described above but does not require other products. Barcoded Forms 7.0 is designed to work with other products and requires the use of Workflow for decoding and forms processing. Barcoded Forms Solution 1 2 3 4 Create Intreactive Adobe PDF form Add barcode Optionally create workflow definition Distribute to users 11 Integrate the data with applications, databases, workflows, and message queues Adobe Decoder and optional forms workflow OPTION B: Electronic submission XML or non-xml form data 10 Decodes the barcode and extracts user-supplied data End User 6b Submit the form electronically 5 End users fill the form using Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat OPTION A: Paper submission 6a Print the form 7 Sign the form Figure 1. 12 Archive 9 Scan the form (document scanner or fax server) 8 Return the form by mail or fax Implementing Barcoded Forms Q: How does Barcoded Forms work? A: Barcoded Forms allows organizations to add 2D barcodes to interactive PDF forms and then efficiently process data extracted from those barcodes after the forms have been filled, printed, and returned. Figure 1 illustrates how Barcoded Forms enables an organization to create a unified system that can support both paper and electronic forms processing with high efficiency. 1. A form designer creates an interactive Adobe PDF form using Designer 7.0 or the Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0.
2. The designer adds one or more 2D barcodes to the form using Designer 7.0 or Barcoded Forms 7.0 authoring tool for Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0. A 2D barcode is a machine-readable symbol that stores information along the height and width of the symbol, capturing significantly more data than traditional one-dimensional barcodes. 3. At this point, for Barcoded Forms 7.0 customers, a workflow designer can optionally create a workflow definition that will be used by Workflow once the paper-based form is returned with user-supplied information. For Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST customers, the forms designer can optionally assign a 2D barcode decoding usage right to the form using Reader Extensions 6.1 or higher. The usage right allows the barcoded form to be decoded by a third-party barcode decoding solution. Customers will receive a copy of Reader Extensions and certificate as part of a Forms-in-Use license. Both LiveCycle Barcoded Forms 7.0 and LiveCycle Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST customers have the option of assigning additional LiveCycle Reader Extensions usage rights (such as local save, offline fill-in, annotations, or digital signatures) to a barcoded form. Customers must purchase a full Reader Extensions license to be able to apply these usage rights. 4. The form designer distributes the barcoded form to end users via a Web site, CD-ROM, or e-mail. 5. An end user fills the interactive form using Adobe Reader 7.0 or higher or Adobe Acrobat 7.0 or higher. As the end user fills the form, the 2D barcode automatically encodes usersupplied information in real time. 6. Upon completion, the end user can submit the form electronically or print the form. 7. An end user can sign and attach supplemental papers to the printed form. 8. An end user returns the barcoded form by mail or fax. 9. Upon receipt, the form processing center scans the paper form to create an electronic image. 10. The Barcoded Forms Decoder analyzes the scanned image, locates the barcode, decodes the 2D barcode, and extracts data in the specified format (extensible Markup Language [XML] or non-xml). When successfully scanned, data extracted from a 2D barcode is 100% accurate. Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST provides a licensing model that allows a third-party 2D barcode decoder to extract data from the 2D barcode. When using Barcoded Forms 7.0 with Workflow, specific process components may be optionally incorporated to support workflows that need to identify more than one kind of paper-based form. 11. Extracted data from paper or electronic forms can be integrated with back-end systems, such as an enterprise application, database, or workflow. 12. In addition, the scanned form can be archived in a document management system. Q: I have no barcode-reading capabilities in house. What components do I need? A: Because Barcoded Forms 7.0 includes the Adobe barcode decoder, this scenario only applies to Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST customers. These customers would need the following: 1. Form authoring: Designer 7.0 or Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0 with the Barcoded Forms 7.0 barcode authoring tool 2. Form fill-in: Adobe Reader 7.0 or Adobe Acrobat 7.0 3. Form processing: Barcoded Forms Decoder with a document scanner or fax server
Q: I have already implemented 2D barcode processing for certain functions, but I want to extend those capabilities to PDF forms. What components do I need? A: Barcoded Forms 7.0 includes the Adobe barcode decoder, so this scenario only applies to Barcoded Forms 7.0 ST customers. They would need the following: 1. Form authoring: Designer 7.0 or Adobe Acrobat Professional 7.0 with the Barcoded Forms 7.0 barcode authoring tool 2. Barcode decoding usage right: Reader Extensions 6.1 or higher with the 2D barcode decoding certificate (included as part of the Forms-in-Use license for Barcoded Forms) 3. Form fill-in: Adobe Reader 7.0 or Adobe Acrobat 7.0 4. Form processing: An existing third-party 2D barcode decoding solution Q: Can I use existing paper forms scanning technology, including fax servers, document scanners, and imaging systems? A: Yes, both versions can take advantage of existing imaging and scanning technology. Q: How can I ensure that my customers, constituents, employees, and partners have the appropriate version of Adobe Reader to enable them to update the barcode? A: To ensure that your customers and constituents are using the appropriate version of Adobe Reader, you can direct them to the Adobe Web site, where they can download the proper version of Adobe Reader for free. Q: What happens if an end user doesn t have the right version of Adobe Reader? A: If an end user opens an Adobe PDF form that incorporates a 2D barcode, Adobe Reader will automatically ask the user if he or she wants to download Adobe Reader 7.0. If the end user accepts, the Adobe Reader update mechanism will point the user s browser to the appropriate download location for the free update. If the end user declines, he or she can still complete and print the form, but the 2D barcode will be grayed out. The form will then be processed in your exceptions-handling workflow using your traditional forms processing methods. Q: Regulations require us to maintain auditable archives of completed forms. If just the 2D barcode data is archived in a back-end application, how can I tie that data to the form it was entered into? A: Many organizations will choose to use a document scanner that allows them to extract the form data as well as to archive the image of the signed document. This image can be stored in a document management system for regulatory or compliance purposes. In addition, Barcoded Forms can incorporate XML-based form field data; the extracted data can be reconnected with the original form template and presented at a later date. Q: What languages are supported? Adobe helps people create, manage and deliver the highest quality digital content in the world. Better by Adobe. Adobe Systems Incorporated 345 Park Avenue, San Jose, CA 95110-2704 USA www.adobe.com Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, LiveCycle, Reader, and Better by Adobe are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2005 Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. 95005414 06/05 A: The following languages are supported for barcode decoding: English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. For supported languages for form authoring and fillin, see the documentation for Designer 7.0, Adobe Acrobat 7.0, or Adobe Reader 7.0. Q: How do I purchase this solution? How much does it cost? A: For pricing and other details, contact your Adobe sales representative or one of our authorized systems integrators. Q: How can I acquire compatible 2D scanning hardware? A: Your Adobe sales representative or one of our authorized systems integrators can provide you with recommended solutions.