Overview of Creating/Editing Fillable Forms

Fillable forms combine a source file with a smart "overlay" database layer. The source file's image serves as a background, and the overlay contains fields, checkboxes and other interactive information.

If you purchase fillable forms from Abacus, you probably will not need to create or edit fillable forms. But, if you do design your own fillable forms, it is useful to know how they are structured.

Source Files

The source file is the file that you start with to create a fillable form. After the fillable form exists, the source file is no longer used. But, it is good to keep it in the Source folder in case you want to start over. Source files can be created or they can be downloaded from legal sites.

Source files are stored in \Abacus\v23\data01\Forms\Source.

Overlays

The overlay is the transparent top layer that contains the fields, checkboxes, and database mapping information. The interactive fields and checkboxes behave just as if they are in the underlying background, but by keeping them separated internally, it is possible to completely replace the background while leaving your overlay design intact.

Example

For example, assume you have the following simple source file:

The overlay is added and automatically maps general client information for the selected matter: The overlay gets saved with the source file to create the fillable form.

If the original source were updated by a court to simply change "NAME:" to "Name", you could update the source background and not have to re-design the interactive overlay at all.