Forms conversion and deployment system for mobile devices
First Claim
1. One or more computing systems for generating a target form definition file designed for execution by a target forms display program on a device of the target device type, the one or more computing systems comprising:
- one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums storing computer-executable instructions for controlling the one or more computing systems to;
provide a generic form definition file generated by a desktop form development tool for execution by the target forms display program on a variety of devices, the generic form definition file including a view file and other forms data, the view file for being applied to data to generate a view of the data and tailored to characteristics of the device of the target device type; and
for each of a plurality of different target forms display programs;
apply a transform to the view file to create a transformed view file that is compatible with that target forms display program by converting elements of the view file that are not supported by that target forms display program to elements supported by that target forms display program, such that whenever a field is changed, controls affected by the change are incrementally updated;
add menu items and items of a drop-down list directly to the transformed view file to avoid overhead of locating and retrieving those items by the device of the target device type;
generate an information file that records information extracted from the other forms data, the information file including mappings of controls to data, web services information, rules information, and custom validation information, the information file being a single repository for storing the extracted information in a format that is different from a format output by the desktop form development tool and allows the device of the target device type to retrieve and process the extracted information more efficiently at runtime; and
package the transformed view file with the information file into a forms package for distribution to a device of the target device type that executes that target forms display program, the forms package not including information not extracted from the other forms data; and
one or more processors for executing the computer-executable instructions stored in the one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for automatically converting forms generated using a desktop forms development tool to be compatible with mobile devices, for deploying the converted forms to the mobile devices, and for running converted forms on the mobile devices is provided. A forms system provides a conversion component, a deployment component, and a device component. A forms file is generated to be processed by a forms display program on a variety of devices. The forms system transforms the forms file to a target form file designed for execution by a target forms display program on a device of the target device type.
22 Citations
12 Claims
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1. One or more computing systems for generating a target form definition file designed for execution by a target forms display program on a device of the target device type, the one or more computing systems comprising:
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one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums storing computer-executable instructions for controlling the one or more computing systems to; provide a generic form definition file generated by a desktop form development tool for execution by the target forms display program on a variety of devices, the generic form definition file including a view file and other forms data, the view file for being applied to data to generate a view of the data and tailored to characteristics of the device of the target device type; and for each of a plurality of different target forms display programs; apply a transform to the view file to create a transformed view file that is compatible with that target forms display program by converting elements of the view file that are not supported by that target forms display program to elements supported by that target forms display program, such that whenever a field is changed, controls affected by the change are incrementally updated; add menu items and items of a drop-down list directly to the transformed view file to avoid overhead of locating and retrieving those items by the device of the target device type; generate an information file that records information extracted from the other forms data, the information file including mappings of controls to data, web services information, rules information, and custom validation information, the information file being a single repository for storing the extracted information in a format that is different from a format output by the desktop form development tool and allows the device of the target device type to retrieve and process the extracted information more efficiently at runtime; and package the transformed view file with the information file into a forms package for distribution to a device of the target device type that executes that target forms display program, the forms package not including information not extracted from the other forms data; and one or more processors for executing the computer-executable instructions stored in the one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage mediums. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method performed by one or more computing systems for converting a form definition file designed for execution by a forms display program on a variety of devices to a target form definition file designed for execution by a target forms display program on a device of the target device type, comprising:
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providing the form definition file generated by a desktop form development tool for execution by the forms display program on a variety of devices, the form definition file including a manifest file, a schema file, and a view file, the view file for being applied to data to generate a view of the data and tailored to characteristics of the device of the target device type; applying a transform to the view file to create a transformed view file that is compatible with the target forms display program, wherein the transform transforms elements of the view file that are not supported by the target forms display program to elements supported by the target forms display program, such that whenever a field is changed, controls affected by the change are incrementally updated; adding menu items and items of a drop-down list directly to the transformed view file to avoid overhead of locating and retrieving those items by the device of the target device type; generating an information file that records information extracted from the manifest file and the schema file, the information file including mappings of controls to data, web services information, rules information, and custom validation information, the information the being a single repository for storing the extracted information in a format that is different from a format output by the desktop form development tool and allows the device of the target device type to retrieve and process the extracted information more efficiently at runtime; and packaging the transformed view file, the schema file, and the information file into a forms package for distribution to a device of the target device type that executes the target forms display program, the forms package not including the manifest file. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification