Web Publishing in Smartforms

You might say, "In the Internet Age, it does not make sense to talk about printing." This is true. We will no longer print forms in the traditional sense, and Web browsers will become the standard output medium. Nevertheless, we still want to display the same content.

We meet this new challenge by offering a generated XML output of forms for Web publishing. Of course we have to design the form first, which will only take minimal effort. This requires a completely graphical user interface, without the need for script language or programming skills.      In short, in this article I will give you an overview of the mySAP.com solution for all these needs - SAP Smart Forms.

Web Publishing Based on Generated XML Output

Consider the following typical scenario:

In the automobile industry, producers and vendors exchange forms - 8D Report (see Figure 2). These days, different communication techniques and media are used during such complex processes - e.g., the producer sends a printed report to the vendor, the vendor fills out the report manually and sends it back via fax, and the producer has to type it again and often sends it back once more because of new questions. And this process might happen several times. But is this a cost-efficient and modern solution?

Figure 2

An Automotive 8D Report

     With SAP Smart Forms and the Internet Age, the scenario will look like this:

The producer creates an SAP Smart Form for the 8D report, using the generated XML output and the SAP Business Connector for Web publishing; the vendor fills out the report in a Web browser and sends it back. So, communication is practiced via the Internet, any Web browser can be chosen as an output and input medium, the exchange format is standardized (XML), and the vendor is absolutely independent of the producer's system. The whole communication process is faster and much more cost-efficient.

     SAP Smart Forms deliver this generated XML output with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) supporting the style display of processed form in the Web browser (see Figure 3), and input fields for text and data will be implemented by eXtensible Stylesheet Language, or XSL (see Figure 4). In Figure 4, the price field can accept input, which means you could make changes to it directly in the Web browser. Designing the form, you will be able to define input fields simply by choosing attributes. For example, in the Smart Form you could mark the price field as accepting input. The system would then generate the relevant XML data stream, and the field would be ready for input in the Web browser.

Figure 3

The Web Browser As Output Media on Forms

Figure 4

Offline Data Entry in a Web Browser

     From a technical point of view, a Document Type Definition (DTD) that describes the structure of the forms is defined for the generated XML output (see Figure 5). This DTD complies with the general XML specification of SAP. The XML data flow is generated and output is based on the form logic in the tree structure (I'll discuss this in more detail later) and the DTD.

Figure 5

Example of Generated XML Output of a Processed Form