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Letter Editor for Forms

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    #16
    Re: Letter Editor for Forms

    Originally posted by Keith Hubert View Post
    Hi Bill,

    I'm pleased that you have seen the light at the end of the tunnel, may I remind you what I said in an earlier post.

    Yup, you sure did. Not sure how I read it, but it didn't sink into this rather thick skull. I somehow got it into my head that I HAD to work within the RTF's boundaries. Your suggestion is in fact the solution, although I "shrank" the RTF all the way into oblivion!!

    I've actually taken a part of what Peter said as well, that is converted the PDF to bit map, and placed in the letter as a whole page. Now I line up the fields to arrange them properly, then delete the bit map.

    There are 63 of these subpoena forms that I can do, but I've only been offering 4-5 of the basic ones because of the enormous pain it was recreating them and keeping up with them as they change.

    This now opens a whole new avenue for me, because I can sell the "subpoena filler" product as a stand alone. It will also act as an entree to new customers to buy my entire package later once they get a peek at this.

    Thanks guys

    Comment


      #17
      Re: Letter Editor for Forms

      Originally posted by Peter.Greulich View Post
      ...I've been completely recreating them in "MS Word" as merge documents, then ...

      What Keith said. Use the report writer rather than the letter writer. Build you form using copy & paste, put fields where needed. Everything lines up first time, last time...
      Peter,
      What is the advantage of using the report writer rather than the letter writer?

      I have done things this complex by creating a letter by scratch. It is time consuming but very doable.

      However, after seeing your scanned example, I will be rethinking this process next time.

      See attached sample...

      Comment


        #18
        Re: Letter Editor for Forms

        Originally posted by Tim Sutherland View Post
        What is the advantage of using the report writer rather than the letter writer?
        If you're going to use a scanned image only, there probably is no difference between using one or the other. It's just that the reporter has more features so I never bothered much w. the letter writer.
        Peter
        AlphaBase Solutions, LLC

        [email protected]
        https://www.alphabasesolutions.com


        Comment


          #19
          Re: Letter Editor for Forms

          Hi Tim,

          I hope you checked the spelling and grammar on your document.

          TO PROCESS SERVER: You are to serve this affidavit and claim mo later than 7 days before the hearing date.
          Regards
          Keith Hubert
          Alpha Guild Member
          London.
          KHDB Management Systems
          Skype = keith.hubert


          For your day-to-day Needs, you Need an Alpha Database!

          Comment


            #20
            Re: Letter Editor for Forms

            Originally posted by Keith Hubert View Post
            Hi Tim,

            I hope you checked the spelling and grammar on your document.
            Good catch Keith. Would you believe that passed by three people who proofread all the forms for errors and it has been in the production database for several years without being discovered.

            Tim

            Comment


              #21
              Re: Letter Editor for Forms

              Originally posted by Tim Sutherland View Post
              Peter,
              What is the advantage of using the report writer rather than the letter writer?

              I have done things this complex by creating a letter by scratch. It is time consuming but very doable.

              However, after seeing your scanned example, I will be rethinking this process next time.

              See attached sample...
              Hi Tim,

              You seem to be doing something similar to me; i.e legal doc's.

              Your form looks great. For me, the ability to combine the power of the "letter" function with the pdfMerge() function is absolutely dynamite.

              I've been reproducing these by hand in a similar fashion to what you've been doing. The real bear of it, for my subpoena documents, is the crowded page and the "mixed" fonts, particularly the sub-6point type at the end. (which, if not there, I've had attorneys refuse to accept their legitimacy.)

              Take a peek at the form I've attached, which is a combination of the officially sanctioned form and a "data only" letter component, both in pdf. This form could take a half day to recreate or more, especially when dealing with the small type and getting all of it to fit on a page without triggering page feeds, etc.

              I've done 10 of these this afternoon. the main issue was getting the type to line up exactly, but once I got that done for one, mos tof them are similar, in terms of open data fields - but very different in terms of the actual form content. This is a huge time saver. More than that, though, I can whack any persnickety attorney that wants to critique the form because its not THE form, downloaded directly from the Judicial Council.

              One of those little things that just keeps me on the Alpha reservation. The main thing I'm finding as I get more into V10 is that I am able to abandon many of the ancillary tools and development environments I've needed in the past.

              Examples, I can't see a need for using Word "Merge" docs any longer. Also, I'm not planning on doing much more development in PHP. And most importantly, my DB's have all moved to MySql

              To the folks at Alpha - a double thumbs Up.

              To Peter: I think my determination is that this is an under utilized feature. I think the important thing to remember in this case is that these legal documents are freely distributed by the agencies and organizations involved. Whether scanned or used in their original PDF format, it is a powerful Alpha feature that allows it to be used this way. Kudos for blazing the trail!

              Keith: good catch - just another reason to use the form as distributed and not "reinventing the wheel' so to speak

              Comment


                #22
                Re: Letter Editor for Forms

                Hey Guys,

                I'm not trying to be smart here but, I did say to check the grammar too.
                You must and file your return with the court clerk.
                This surely cant be from an original Government supply, can it?

                I would not say this re-inventing the wheel, rather making sure it is perfectly round.
                Regards
                Keith Hubert
                Alpha Guild Member
                London.
                KHDB Management Systems
                Skype = keith.hubert


                For your day-to-day Needs, you Need an Alpha Database!

                Comment


                  #23
                  Re: Letter Editor for Forms

                  I'm not trying to be smart here but, I did say to check the grammar too.
                  Me neither

                  This surely can't be from an original Government supply, can it?

                  I would not say this is re-inventing the wheel, rather making sure it is perfectly round.
                  Just kidding Keith. If we start trying to correct grammar and spelling on the board I would be in big trouble. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that government forms have poor grammar and spelling. They are generated by people and if they are anything like my local council then proof reading seems to be one of things that was cut years ago.

                  Comment


                    #24
                    Re: Letter Editor for Forms

                    Originally posted by Keith Hubert View Post
                    Hey Guys,

                    I'm not trying to be smart here but, I did say to check the grammar too.This surely cant be from an original Government supply, can it?

                    I would not say this re-inventing the wheel, rather making sure it is perfectly round.
                    Yes. It is a gov't form - issued from the "Judicial Council", which is the governing body for such materials. So, in this case, I am thus absolved of responsibility for that type of issue - it's a "read only" PDF and can't be changed. Thus, their form, their responsibility. Welcome to the once great State of California.

                    The minute I take over that form, I'm either a) responsible for correcting that error or b) in "dutch" for having changed the form, at their pleasure.

                    Comment


                      #25
                      Re: Letter Editor for Forms

                      Originally posted by gmeredith17 View Post
                      Me neither

                      Just kidding Keith. If we start trying to correct grammar and spelling on the board I would be in big trouble. It's not beyond the realms of possibility that government forms have poor grammar and spelling. They are generated by people and if they are anything like my local council then proof reading seems to be one of things that was cut years ago.
                      Hi Geoff,

                      At first I thought Keith was discussing my form, but I couldn't find the error, so I looked at yours and found it there. I got the impression from your references to your "local council" that you did as well.

                      It appears that it isn't so much a problem with the grammar as it is that your form is "running off the page". The 1st and 2nd lines of the instructions to the process server appear to be "wrapping" at a place further to the right than the page allows to be printed.

                      See how the last "e" on the 2nd line is cut off just a tad? The context also implies that there's an "s" somewhere to the right that we can't see. I'd bet that the missing "and" that Keith pointed out is actually there and visible in your development screen. (You can see a similar issue in the "Dav. Date and Time" area.)

                      So, I don't see the problem as spelling as much as just needing to draw the box(es) to the left a wee bit.

                      Anyway, not nitpicking, just lending a hand.

                      Comment


                        #26
                        Re: Letter Editor for Forms

                        At first I thought Keith was discussing my form, but I couldn't find the error, so I looked at yours and found it there.
                        My form?

                        Maybe you mean Tim's form.

                        Comment


                          #27
                          Re: Letter Editor for Forms

                          Originally posted by gmeredith17 View Post
                          My form?

                          Maybe you mean Tim's form.
                          oops! I'm so confused!!

                          Yes, I did. Sorry.

                          Comment


                            #28
                            Re: Letter Editor for Forms

                            Hi Geoff,

                            So you spotted my deliberate mistake!!!! If you believe that, then you will believe anything!
                            I would not say this is re-inventing the wheel, rather making sure it is perfectly round.
                            I guess there are a number of words that have been cut off for this to make proper sense then.
                            You must ?????? and file your return with the court clerk.
                            Regards
                            Keith Hubert
                            Alpha Guild Member
                            London.
                            KHDB Management Systems
                            Skype = keith.hubert


                            For your day-to-day Needs, you Need an Alpha Database!

                            Comment

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