Adobe Developing InfoPath-Like Forms Creation Tool

With drop-and-drag tools, graphic artists, developers and business users will be able to create PDF-based forms that contain XML data fields, use embedded logic to validate data and import and export data via Web services, the company said.

"Everyone's trying to move into XML and many don't know how to get there," said Chuck Myers, senior product manager for Adobe.

The product is similar to Microsoft's InfoPath XML-forms creation tool slated for inclusion in its release of Office 2003. Adobe, however, says PDF-based intelligent documents will be more useful inside and outside the firewall, where maintaining the integrity of forms is important and where access by all users, not just those with the latest version of Office, is important.

"I wouldn't say the product is a response to Microsoft. This is an expected and natural evolution in Adobe's product line," said Tim Hickernell, a Meta Group analyst. "And I would expect other vendors to follow the same evolution of making their forms-creation tools more Web-services enabled with the ability to work with XML schemas."

He said Adobe's form designer tool will be useful not only for organizations that have an existing forms infrastructure but also for stand-alone users. "It doesn't really require a back-office infrastructure for forms management and dynamic forms," Hickernell said.

While Adobe's PDF creation tool, Acrobat 6.0, can add data fields to forms, the new graphical tool will enable users to design forms backgrounds as well as add logic and data fields. The tool will also be able to work with custom XML schemas and Web services.

Adobe is presenting its intelligent documents strategy as a way for users to bridge the gap between paper processes and paperless processes. With intelligent PDF documents, users will be able to fill out forms offline, print them or submit them electronically, allowing data to be automatically extracted for back-office processing.

"That is critical for our customers looking at how they're going to take simple forms they're using and start making them electronic," Myers said.

Adobe plans to put the application into beta testing in the fourth quarter.