June 8, 2007

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XML Forms Architecture (XFA) SpecificationVersion 2.5

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Contents

.................................................................................................................................................................................................................i

Preface ....................................................................................................................................... viiiIntellectual Property................................................................................................................................................................... viiiDocument Contents..................................................................................................................................................................... ixIntended Audience ....................................................................................................................................................................... ixPerspective Used in Describing Processing Guidelines................................................................................................... ixAssociated Schemas.......................................................................................................................................................................xRelated Documentation................................................................................................................................................................xWhats New........................................................................................................................................................................................xConventions ......................................................................................................................................................................................x

Part 1: XFA Processing Guidelines

1 Introduction to XML Forms Architecture (XFA) ...................................................................... 15Key Features ...................................................................................................................................................................................15Scenarios for Using a Form Described by XFA...................................................................................................................15Family of XFA Grammars ...........................................................................................................................................................17Major Components of an XFA Form: XFA Template and Data ....................................................................................20Data Binding: Making the Connection Between XFA Template and Data ..............................................................24Lifecycle of an XFA Form ...........................................................................................................................................................25Static versus Dynamic Forms ...................................................................................................................................................27

2 Template Features for Designing Static Forms....................................................................... 29Form Structural Building Blocks..............................................................................................................................................29Basic Composition........................................................................................................................................................................33Content Types ...............................................................................................................................................................................36Formatting Text That Appears as Fixed or Variable Content .......................................................................................39Basic Layout ...................................................................................................................................................................................45Appearance Order (Z-Order) ....................................................................................................................................................57Extending XFA Templates ........................................................................................................................................................58Connecting the PDF to the XFA Template ..........................................................................................................................59

3 Object Models in XFA ................................................................................................................ 62XFA Names......................................................................................................................................................................................62Document Object Models .........................................................................................................................................................63Scripting Object Model ..............................................................................................................................................................73

4 Exchanging Data Between an External Application and a Basic XFA Form ........................108Creating, Updating, and Unloading a Basic XFA Data DOM...................................................................................... 108Localization and Canonicalization ...................................................................................................................................... 138Loading a Template to Produce the XFA Template DOM .......................................................................................... 154Basic Data Binding to Produce the XFA Form DOM ..................................................................................................... 155Form Processing ........................................................................................................................................................................ 187Data Output....................................................................................................................................................................