Case Study: Processing Forms with webPDF

Forms

Automatic Processing of Attached PDF Documents​

The application areas and functional characteristics of webPDF are best demonstrated using a concrete project example. Some of our customers, for instance, come from the insurance industry. We always work closely with our customers and implement many individual requirements accordingly. This specific case study shows how, as part of a customer project from the insurance sector, we implemented an application for the automatic processing of email attachments in the form of PDF documents.

Extracting Form Values with webPDF: Customer Requirement​

The initial requirements were as follows: each PDF document contains interactive forms, that is, AcroForms. For the automatic, customer-oriented processing of the document and for an automatically generated customer email, the form values had to be extracted. The document intended for the customer email should then contain only selected pages, with the page range determined by values from the interactive forms. In addition, the interactive forms should no longer be editable.

All requirements for processing the PDF document were implemented using webPDF webservices. For the written application, the freely available webPDF-wsclient library was also used for communication with webPDF. The webPDF-wsclient library enables the use of webPDF webservices via REST and SOAP and is written in Java.

webPDF Toolbox Operations: Toolbox forms​

webPDF provides its PDF functions as SOAP or RESTful webservices. In addition, these webservices can be integrated into programming languages in order to use webPDF functions there. Independent of the SOAP or RESTful interface, the webPDF server provides several webservices for accessing its PDF functionality.

All webservices are controlled through parameters defined as XML or JSON structures. In this example, one of the available webPDF Toolbox operations is the forms operation. With the Toolbox operation forms, the contents of AcroForms can be changed, created, or, as in this case, read out. In addition, forms can be flattened, meaning the fields are removed and the content is rendered. The Toolbox operation delete also offers the possibility of deleting selected pages or page ranges from the document.

The detailed code example can be found here:

What Role Does webPDF Play in Form Processing?​

In the insurance industry or in wealth advisory services, forms are frequently completed in day-to-day business. Customers and advisors fill them out individually, for example with contact data and further information relating to assets. Based on our customer's requirements, the following steps then take place:

  • First, the PDFs are read by webPDF for analysis.
  • Relevant pages or selections containing content are identified.
  • webPDF flattens the PDF, that is, it removes all interactive elements.
  • The PDF is then made available to the advisor and the customer for filing and further processing, for example as an email attachment.
  • At this stage, it would also be conceivable to provide the contact information for a CRM or similar system.

Application Possibilities Beyond the Insurance Industry​

Similar scenarios are conceivable in many other areas. Does your company, for example, use forms for employees or customers that always follow a similar structure? By using webPDF, many processes can be automated, which in turn helps accelerate workflows.

Adding Barcodes to PDF Documents​

Another interesting way to pass on data using PDF documents and evaluate it automatically is the Barcode webservice. We also have customers who add barcodes to their PDF documents in order to distribute them internally. In other words, barcodes can be attached to documents. Analogous to manual selection, as described above, processes can then also be defined directly by means of the attached barcode. The task description is stored in the barcode, and the system processes the PDF accordingly. For example, pages can be extracted, split, and so on.

For further information and questions on the topic of form processing or barcodes in general, please contact us at any time via our contact form.