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A Mi-Forms form is an electronic representation of a printed form, including the printed data elements on the page as well as definitions for the behavior of the form in Mi-Forms.

Forms in the Mi-Forms system are composed of a variety of elements. Here is a list of some of the ways data can be captured on a form:

• checkboxes
• handwriting text & number boxes
• freeform entry fields
• hotspots
• bubble groups

These are all pen-on-paper elements designed to be filled in with handwritten ink. The Mi-Forms form template (built with the Forms Designer) defines the dimensions of these elements, their locations on the printed page, and how to represent and store the data contained within.

The following elements are electronic only; they appear in Mi-Forms' on-screen interface and do not represent objects actually on the printed form:

• picklists
• hidden fields
• GPS Data
• Barcodes
• Photos

The Mi-Forms Designer is used to build the forms used by the Mi-Forms client. The designer builds a printable version of the form and adds feedback, business rules, and datapaths.

Business Rules Business rules may be added to a form to enforce quality data collection. Such rules may be used to flag potential errors or even prevent the user from submitting bad data. Mi-Forms business rules are defined using Boolean algebra, which is capable of expressing highly complex interrelationships among form fields. These rules can also be used to assign values to fields based on the values of other fields. And for the ultimate in flexibility, a full API is provided so that business rules can actually trigger code from extension modules.

Feedback The form designer can specify real-time feedback during data collection sessions. This feedback can be visual or audible (any arbitrary WAV file can be added to a form for playback at specific times). The feedback may occur when data is entered (for example, Mi-Forms can "speak" the value of a checkbox that is hit) or when business rules are violated.

Datapaths A Mi-Forms Datapath controls the export of data to an external database. Such exports can be simple file exports, like XML, CSV, or a variety of image file formats. In addition, a datapath can utilize ODBC to connect to a wide variety of DBMSes.