HP (Hewlett-Packard) Electronic Forms User Manual

Electronic

Index

Forms User Guide

Electronic Forms User Guide

Index

Welcome to Electronic Forms User Guide

Welcome to WSDOT Forms Application.

The form files included in this application are the same fillable (Fill and Print Online) used by WSDOT personnel. The package includes a FileMaker Runtime engine that will allow use of the files without any additional software. Some forms are “print only” (Adobe Acrobat) files. If you do not have Acrobat Reader, you need to install it to open those “PDF” files. Go to software.

As more electronic forms become available, they will be added to the system. Please let us know about any desired addtions or any problems with using the system.

If you have a copy of FileMaker Pro version 5.0 from FileMaker Inc., installed on your computer, you may want to review the instructions for use before using the forms. If, however, you do not, you may still use these forms effectively by following the instructions contained in this User Guide. Passwords were used to assure that the standard forms are not altered. If you find errors or have suggestions for improvement, please contact us so that any problems can be corrected.

http://www.adobe.com/ to donwload the free reader

This guide will not make you an ‘expert’ in FileMaker Pro, nor is it designed to provide you with the expertise to create your own forms or databases. The purpose of this tutorial is to assist you in filling out, adding new records, retrieving records, printing, and transferring data.

1998-2001 - Washington State Department of Transportation - All Rights ReservedCopyright c

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Index of Topics

Electronic Forms User GuideIndex of Topics

Basic Instructions for Windows Users Form Buttons Entering Information Text Formatting Browsing Records Finding Records Sorting Records

Menus Printing Layouts

1-1 2-1 3-1 4-1 5-1 6-1 7-1 8-1

9-1 10-1 11-1Importing and Exporting Records 12-1Supported Systems and Printers

Glossary of Terms

Appendix ANotes and Warnings Appendix B

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WSDOT Forms

Index

Electronic Forms User Guide

Windows Runtime Forms

These forms are the same electronic versions that are used at the Washington State Department of Transportation. They are Filemaker Pro Version 5.0 databases and are designed to be used by one person at a time. For your convenience we have supplied a runtime application so you do not need your own copy of Filemaker Pro to use them. However, if you do have your own copy of Filemaker Pro 5.0 or later , you can use it to run these forms if you wish.

To run the forms

1. Open the DOTeForms or DOTeForms0 folder

2. Double click the DOTeForms.exe application or FormMenu.WF9 file.

Notes on Filemaker

All of the forms ship with one blank record. To enter data in a form click on the field you want to enter data into and start typing. You don’t need to do anything special to save a form after you have finished, they are automatically saved.

To fill out another form just click on the New Form button and enter data as described above.

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Buttons

Index

Within each form you will find the following buttons which have different uses and functions.

Electronic Forms User Guide

Form Buttons

New Form

Duplicate

List View

List View Buttons

Print List

Find

Find All

Optional Buttons

Supplement

These ‘Forms Buttons’ will be found on all forms:

Instructions

The ‘Print’ button will call up the Print Dialog Box. Once you check that the record(s) and other information within the dialog box is correct, click on ‘OK’ and the form will print. See section 10 of the User Guide for more information. The keyboard shortcut is “Ctrl+P”.

Main Menu

Sort

ExitMain Menu

Exit

To Form

New Form

Duplicate

List View

The ‘New Form’ button will call up a new record or form in the database and place the cursor within the first field of the form. The keyboard shortcut is “Ctrl+N”.

The ‘Duplicate’ will take the current record and make an exact copy of it. This comes in handy when you have a record that you want to use all of the same information contained in that record but you want to change the date, or the name, or some other small bit of information but leave the original information or record intact. The keyboard shortcut is ‘Ctrl+D’.

The ‘List View’ button will take you to the List View layout. Every form has a generic List View included as an additional layout. There is no keyboard shortcut for this button but you may go to the List View layout using the layout dialog box.

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Buttons

Index

Electronic Forms User Guide

These ‘Forms Buttons’ will be found on all List Views:

The Print button will call up the Print Dialog Box. Click on ‘Records Being

Print List

Browsed’ to print the List View. See section 10 of the User Guide for more information. The keyboard shortcut is “Ctrl+P”.

Find

Find All

Sort

To Form

NOTE: Some buttons may not be included on some forms due to lack of space.

Buttons may also appear smaller than normally shown due to space limitations.

The ‘Find’ button will put you into the Find mode. In the Find mode you may find records that meet criteria defined within a field or fields. See section 7 of the User Guide for more information on Finding Records. The shortcut key is ‘Ctrl+F’.

The ‘Find All’ button will make all records within the database available for browsing and printing. The keyboard shortcut is ‘Ctrl+J’.

The ‘Sort’ button calls up the Sort dialog box. The sort will be accomplished according to the fields selected and order listed. For more information on Sorting Records see Section 8 of this User Guide. The keyboard shortcut is “Ctrl+S’.

The ‘To Form’ will take you to the main form layout. If there are other form layouts in the file those buttons will be shown such as a supplement page. There is no keyboard shortcut.

These ‘Form Buttons’ may also be found on form layouts:

English

Metric

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Entering Information

Index

Filling in information or entering data is perhaps the easiest and most used function of electronic forms. This section describes the various options available in filling in forms using FileMaker Pro.

Electronic Forms User Guide

A New Form

Three options are available to fill in a new form (or record):

1. Click on the button called ‘New Record’. This will create a new record and

New Form

Duplicate

Another option that may be required is to delete records or forms in a file. This option is fairly easy but be very careful in using this feature because the deleted records cannot be recovered. Deleted records are lost forever unless a backup or duplicate file is made.

put the cursor on the first ‘Field’ or fill in blank on the form. The alternate is found in the ‘Edit’ Menu’ under ‘New Record’. The shortcut key is ‘Ctrl+N’.

2. The second option is to duplicate an existing record. Simply ‘Browse’ or ‘Find’ the desired record and click on the ‘Duplicate Record’ button. The alternate is ‘Duplicate Record’ under the ‘Edit’ Menu. The shortcut key is ‘Ctrl+D’.

To delete or erase a record simply ‘Browse’ or ‘Find’ the record(s) then use the ‘Delete Record’ option in the ‘Edit’ menu. The shortcut is ‘Ctrl+E’. A button for this option was intentionally not included in electronic forms to preclude users from inadvertantly erasing files or records.

To navigate through the ‘Fields’ or blanks simply press the ‘Tab’ button. Tabbing moves the cursor to the next field or blank.

To go back to the previous ‘Field’ or blank hold down the ‘Shift’ key while pressing the ‘Tab’ button. ‘Fields’ may also be accessed by simply ‘Clicking’ with the mouse on the desired field.

Altering an Existing Form

Altering an existing form is very similar to entering information in a “New Record’. Simply ‘Find’ or ‘Browse’ to the record desired. Either ‘Tab’ or ‘Click’ on the field and change the required information. If a field is

triple clicked, the entire field is selected for replacement. The field information can also be highlighted using the mouse.

Remember that the record will be permanently changed. To preserve the original information, ‘Duplicate’ the record first, then alter the copy.

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Entering Information

Index

Electronic Forms User Guide

Check Boxes, Pop-up Menus, and Radio Buttons

Most forms include boxes that require a check or ‘X’ in the box to define information. These features are also found in FileMaker Pro.

Three different options of limited information may be included on the form. They are:

Check Boxes - more than one may be checked as needed:

Radio Buttons - only one may be checked at a time:

Pop-up Menus - popular choices show - simply click on selection and it shows - can be overwritten:

To overwrite the preselection, simply highlight the field and enter desired information.

Yes No Unknown

Unknown

Repeating Fields

Another type of field used extensively in FileMaker Pro is a repeating field or a comb. In forms such as the Travel Expense Voucher, (DOT Form 133-103) repeating fields make up the majority of the form. These fields have slightly different properties from the regular single fields.

Repeating field in vertical orientation

Field #1

Repeating field in horizontal orientation

Field #1 Field #2 Field #3 Field #4

Field #2 Field #3

Field #4

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Text Formatting

Index

Users of FileMaker Pro must keep in mind that this program is a database program and not a text processing program. There is some text processing capabilities available in FileMaker Pro, but you won’t find all of the capabilities available that are found in “Word”.

Electronic Forms User Guide

Features that are available:

1. Tabbing: Tabbing is now available. If you have already used a form in FileMaker Pro you have found out that when you Tab your cursor moves from one field to the next. To tab to the default tab stops within a field, use “Control” “Tab”. Default tabs are set to 1/2 inch increments. Tabs can be set by using the text ruler located in the menu bar. To set up custom tabbing, simply click in the text ruler (in the menu bar) where you want a tab. The tabs can be moved with the pointer. You can also set the tabs by double clicking on the text ruler. You can then set all of your tabs.

1. Identing: Limited Identing is now available. When you are in a text field the ruler bar will be shown in the menu bar. Identing is handled by the paragrapg markers in the text ruler.

2. Fonts: All WSDOT electronic forms are designed using two fonts; Ariel (Helvetica for Macintosh systems) for the forms text and Times New Roman (Times Roman for Macintosh systems) for the fill-in text that users enter and for instructions.

You may change fonts and styles within fields just as you can in any text processing program. You can change the font, the size, you can bold, italicize, underline, condense, extend change the color of the text or any combination. You may also change the color of the text. Simply highlight the text you want to change and chooseyour selection from the ‘Format’ menu. If the form is used on another computer that does not have that particular font some unexpected results may occur.

3. Cut and Paste: You may cut and paste text within fields and between fields in electronic forms. If you type data in the wrong field you can cut it from that field and paste it into the correct field. You may also cut and paste from other compatible programs and FileMaker Pro. Microsoft Word is one compatible software program. You can even cut and paste field information (data) between different FileMaker Pro files.

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Text Formatting

Index

Let’s say you have data or text in a ‘Word’ document and you want to paste the data into a form in FileMaker Pro. If your computer has sufficient memory simply; (a) open both applications and (b) cut and paste from one to the other.

If you do not have sufficient memory you would have to (a) open one application (b) highlight and copy the text you want to copy, (c) close the application, (d) open the FileMaker Pro file, (e) click in the appropriate field, and (f) paste the text into that field.

3. Duplicate: You may duplicate text within fields. This is very useful in pasting repeating or duplicated data into several fields of the forms.

With a little trial and error and testing you should be able to manipulate the text within your form to look the way you want it to. Just be patient.

Electronic Forms User Guide

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