I am trying to build a web application that will take an scan paper form and in top of it I will be able to add text boxes using JavaScript like jQuery that later on I can use to fill the form and print it as PDF or email it.
My question is about the JavaScript, is there any existing library that will allow me to to drag and drop text boxes (note I don’t want a text field) and that will remember its location?
The forms will have a lot of fields that and the forms will change a lot from one to another that is why I am not converting the forms into regular HTML forms. For the backend I plan to use Drupal in LAMP, so jQuery is included already.
Thank you.
Note: I still don’t understand why this question was close, but just for reference in case someone has a similar question the solution was to use the jquery annotate image pluging. By using this plugging I was able to click anywhere in the image and add text to it. I also have to make some changes so that it can also show the anotatations without waiting for the mouse over.
Yes, you can use JQuery drag and drop, YUI drag and drop or other libraries to drag around dom elements, including form fields.
But you will still need to write a good amount of software to create a working application.
Depending on your skill level, the amount of work will either be doable or you’ll need to hire a programmer… Good luck.
Added Re: remembering the location of the fields. When you get a “drag ended” event, you can query the library to find out the current location of the field that was dragged. At that point, you’d probably use Ajax to store/update the field’s new location in your database, on your server.
You may also want to check out FormAssembly, Mufoo and other form packages to see if you can use your own background (the scanned image) for the form.