Electronic form generation from electronic documents

Abstract

In some aspects, a method for converting legacy electronic forms and static electronic documents to web-fillable electronic forms includes receiving data corresponding to an electronic document. The electronic document has an input file format. The method includes detecting one or more elements of the electronic document from the data based on a predetermined element interpretation rule set. The method includes generating an intermediate file representing an electronic form based on the data. The intermediate file includes metadata indicating the one or more elements and has an intermediate file format. The method includes displaying a user interface configured to enable user selection of a target output file format. The method also includes converting the intermediate file to an output file having the target output file format. The output file represents the electronic form configured to support user entry of information. The method further includes outputting the output file.

1 . A method for converting legacy electronic forms and static electronic documents to web-fillable electronic forms, the method comprising:
 detecting one or more elements of an electronic document from based on a predetermined element interpretation rule set, the electronic document lacking metadata indicating any predefined elements of the electronic document, the predetermined element interpretation rule set including at least visual indicator detection rules for detection of graphical indicators of the one or more elements in the electronic document, the one or more elements including one or more labels, one or more fields, or one or more elements corresponding to user-configurable or interactive elements;   generating an intermediate file representing an electronic form based on the electronic document, the intermediate file including metadata indicating the one or more elements, the intermediate file having an intermediate file format, wherein generating the intermediate file includes converting a first text element of the one or more elements of the electronic document to a first user-configurable or interactive element within the electronic form; and   displaying a form editing interface configured to enable user configuration of the electronic form represented by the intermediate file, the form editing interface configured to enable editing of properties of content of the electronic form based on user input indicating selection or manipulation of the content within the form editing interface.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the properties of the content include color, font size, shading, rotation, alignment, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the properties of the content include formatting properties, dimensions of the content, an input type corresponding to the content, an external link associated with the content, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the properties of the content include a type of the content selected from text, a check box, a button, a dropdown menu, a pop-up clock, a pop-up calendar, a digital signature field, a table, or a repeating table. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein converting the first text element to the first user-configurable or interactive element within the electronic form comprises converting the first text element to a checkbox, a button, a dropdown menu, a pop-up clock, a pop-up calendar, or a digital signature field. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more elements further include one or more text blocks, one or more date fields, one or more time fields, one or more currency fields, one or more signature fields, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined element interpretation rule set further includes element dimension or size rules for interpreting dimensions or sizes as indicative of the one or more elements in the electronic document and label threshold rules for detecting labels and applying the labels to fields in the electronic document based on distances between the labels and the fields. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, prior to detecting the one or more elements of the electronic document, displaying a second user interface configured to enable user selection of one or more parameters associated with automatic detection of the graphical indicators of the one or more elements within the electronic document, wherein the one or more parameters include one or more label thresholds associated with detection of labels of input fields and types of graphical indicators associated with detection of the input fields. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein detecting the one or more elements based on the predetermined element interpretation rule set comprises detecting a particular type of input field based on one or more indicators in the electronic document corresponding to an input field and a label associated with the one or more indicators, the label located within a threshold distance of the one or more indicators in the electronic document. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein detecting the one or more elements in the electronic document comprises performing optical character recognition (OCR) on the electronic document and detecting one or more objects or shapes in electronic document. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 converting the intermediate file to an output file having a target output file format, the output file representing the electronic form configured to support user entry of information and including the first user-configurable or interactive element; and   outputting the output file.   
     
     
         12 . An apparatus for converting legacy electronic forms and static electronic documents to web-fillable electronic forms, the apparatus comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory coupled to the processor and storing instructions executable by the processor to cause the processor to:
 detect one or more elements of an electronic document based on a predetermined element interpretation rule set, the electronic document lacking metadata indicating any predefined elements of the electronic document, the predetermined element interpretation rule set including at least visual indicator detection rules for detection of graphical indicators of the one or more elements in the electronic document, the one or more elements including one or more labels, one or more fields, or one or more elements corresponding to user-configurable or interactive elements; 
 generate an intermediate file representing an electronic form based on the electronic document, the intermediate file including metadata indicating the one or more elements, the intermediate file having an intermediate file format, wherein the processor is configured to generate the intermediate file by converting a first text element of the one or more elements of the electronic document to a first user-configurable or interactive element within the electronic form; and 
 initiate display of a form editing interface configured to enable user configuration of the electronic form represented by the intermediate file, the form editing interface configured to enable editing of properties of content of the electronic form based on user input indicating selection of manipulation of the content within the form editing interface. 
   
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a database coupled to the processor, the database configured to store intermediate files, output files, input files, the predetermined element interpretation rule set, or a combination thereof.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 an interface coupled to the processor and configured to enable communication with a data source that stores the electronic document, an electronic device, or a combination thereof.   
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to cause the processor to:
 initiate display of a user interface configured to enable user selection of a target output file format;   convert the intermediate file to an output file having the target output file format, the output file representing the electronic form configured to support user entry of information and including the first user-configurable or interactive element; and   output the output file.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein an input file format of the electronic document comprises an image file format or a word processing document file format, and wherein the target output file format comprises a smart form application file format that supports electronic completion of the electronic form, user interaction with the electronic form, and electronic submission functionality. 
     
     
         17 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 detecting one or more elements of an electronic document based on a predetermined element interpretation rule set, the electronic document lacking metadata indicating any predefined elements of the electronic document, the predetermined element interpretation rule set including at least visual indicator detection rules for detection of graphical indicators of the one or more elements in the electronic document, the one or more elements including one or more labels, one or more fields, or one or more elements corresponding to user-configurable or interactive elements;   generating an intermediate file representing an electronic form based on the electronic document, the intermediate file including metadata indicating the one or more elements, the intermediate file having an intermediate file format, wherein generating the intermediate file includes converting a first text element of the one or more elements of the electronic document to a first user-configurable or interactive element within the electronic form; and   initiating display of a form editing interface configured to enable user configuration of the electronic form represented by the intermediate file, the form editing interface configured to enable editing of properties of content of the electronic form based on user input indicating selection or manipulation of the content within the form editing interface.   
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise:
 initiating display of a user interface configured to enable user selection of a target output file format;   converting the intermediate file to an output file having the target output file format, the output file representing the electronic form configured to support user entry of information and including the first user-configurable or interactive element; and   outputting the output file.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the operations further comprise initiating display of a fourth user interface configured to display measured results associated with generation of the intermediate file, the measured results including a total number of detected fields in the electronic document that are successfully included in the electronic form, a percentage of rules applied to generate the electronic form from the electronic document, a percentage of data sources linked to the electronic form, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer readable medium of  claim 17 , wherein the properties of the content include a data format, a requirement property, a read-only property, a visibility property, or a combination thereof.