Web Application Design Handbook

CHAPTER 8

Data Output: Printed Forms

If the output is one printed (or printable sheet) per record, the result is called a form. Examples include bills, statements, shipping labels, medical insurance claim forms, bank checks, and form letters.

Unlike the ad hoc queries and management-style reports covered in Chapter 7, each form is associated with only a single record in the database. ¹

For example, in Figure 8-1, from the Open University, the student’s name and address, personal ID, region, reservation number, and course information are either directly from or keyed off the student’s record. The rest is text. (For more about the design of this form, see Jarrett 2001.)

FIGURE 8-1 Sample form—in this case, a generated letter.²

In addition to ...