How to create PDFs from online forms using a service like Wufoo or Formstack?

Question

I'm developing a site with multipage forms that the client needs to complete. The forms are standard legal agreements with additional fields concerning height, weight, etc. The idea is that once the forms are filled out, they need to be printed out with ALL of the legal information included, not just the fields by themselves.

I've found companies (wufoo, formstack, &c.) that provide secure online form creation, but I'm having trouble finding one that allows the form fields to be parsed to a formatted document (be it HTML, PDF, or what-have-you). Any suggestions?

Answer 1

this is Tim, the Integrations/API developer here at Wufoo. Unfortunately, we don't have a ready-made solution to your problem. However, if you have some programming chops, you could accomplish your goals using the Wufoo API.

The basic requirements are as follows:

1. user fills out form at Wufoo.com

2. web hook integration processes form submission

3. integration sends Wufoo to your callback URL

4. callback URL parses wufoo data, placing it in a PDF template which could be sent to user via email

Answer 2

I suggest you build your forms as a PDF right out of the gate. If you're using digital signatures, make sure you submit the entire PDF, not just the form data.

Once you have the PDF form from a client, you really don't need to parse it into a formatted document. It's already there.

Answer 3

@mark Storer I understand your idea but it would not help if the PDF form needed a photo upload field because the PDF (adobe) would not send the photo without a pricey livecycle management subscription. He needs a way to take form data and place it in line into a template using XML with any uploaded items as (photos, images etc) placed in the document using the url of the image and formatted using html. PDF's are just XML so once he has this he can print it and it will look like a fresh neat document fit for sharing with a customer or whoever.

Answer 4

You can also use WebMerge to automatically generate PDF documents from data collected online. Formstack has a direct integration with WebMerge and you can use web hooks from other services to automatically send data to create your PDFs.