Contents
Introduction
The Forms Editor Screen
Menu Bar Items
File
Graphics
Paragraphs
Edit
Options
Object menu
Shapes
Text Objects
Graphics Objects
Zoom
Usage Examples

Introduction

Oasis has its own forms editor which can be used to create a range of graphics files to be used with Oasis financial statements, or letterheads for documents etc. The forms editor is a modified version of the Oasis Presentation Manager. It does not offer the ability to store patient-centric documents in the same way as the Presentation Manager.
Graphic files generated with the Forms Editor are usually exported as either .WMF or .EMF files. The native format of files created with the Forms Editor is .VPD and generally these files cannot be opened or manipulated with any other graphics application.

The Forms Editor Screen

To access the Forms Editor, from the System Manager menu, select Editors, Forms Editor and the following window will open.

At the top of the window, there is a Menu Bar with the following options:

• File
• Graphics
• Paragraphs
• Edit
• Options
• Exit

Below the Menu Bar is an object menu with icons representing the various objects that can be dragged to the form. We will go through all of these in detail in this manual.

Menu Bar Items

File

The File menu (when selected) displays the following:
New Form - Used to create a new Forms Editor form.
Print - Used to print the current form
Exit - Exits the current form.

Graphics

Open Oasis Graphics Form - Used to open an existing form
Insert Graphics Form (this page) - Used to insert the contents of an existing form into the current form.
Save Oasis Graphics Form - Used to save the form to hard drive
Export to EMF File - Used to export the current file to EMF format
Export to WMF File - Used to export the current file to WMF format

Paragraphs

The Paragraphs menu option opens the paragraph editor. Paragraphs created with the Paragraph Editor can be saved and used in any graphics form if required.

Edit

Undo Will undo the last action
Copy Objects - Used to copy a highlighted object within the form
Paste Objects  - Used to paste highlighted objects
Delete Objects - Used to delete a selected object (or objects)
Select All - Used to select all objects on the form
Bring to Front - Used to force an object to the front of the form
Send to Back - Used to force an object to the back of the form
Align Objects - Used to align objects on the form (Left, Right, Top, Bottom or Centred Across the page).

Options

Show/Hide Grid - Used to switch grid display on/off
Page Settings - Used to define page size of the form (e.g. A4 or A5)
Define Twain Source - Used to define a TWAIN acquisition source for scanned objects

Object menu

The Object Menu can be dissected into three main sections. Shapes, Text and graphics.

Shapes

The shapes objects are made up of vertical and horizontal lines, rectangle and circle shapes. The last object in this group is an "Object Eraser". It is used to drag over objects on the form to erase them.

Text Objects

The text objects are as follows:
Single Line Text Box - The single line text box permits a single line of text all in the same font
Multi-Line Text Box - The multi-line text box permits multiple lines of text all in the same font
Rich Text Box - The Rich Text Box permits multiple lines of text with multiple text formatting options – font size, bolding, underline etc.
Standard Paragraph  - This permits you to drop a standard paragraph into the form
Word Template  - This permits you to drag a Word template document into the form
Abbreviation  - This allows you to drag an abbreviation code into the form.

Graphics Objects

The graphics objects are as follows:
Data Entry Object - Used to insert a Diagnostic Worksheet table value into the form
Picture Graphic - Used to drop a graphic file onto the form
Icon Graphic - Used to drop an Oasis icon graphic onto the form
Clipboard Picture - Used to drop a clipboard image onto the form
Acquire Twain Form - Used to scan an image to the form (or capture an image from an imaging device)

Zoom

The Zoom option allows you to resize the display of the form. It does not manipulate the actual form.

Usage Examples

One of the primary uses of the Forms Editor is the creation of letterheads for use on Oasis financial statements.
Here are the steps involved:
Open the Forms Editor

First we want to determine what page size we want for this letterhead. Select the Options, Page Settings option and select the page size you want. 

Now we want an object with the practice name, address and contact details at the top left (or right) with different text formatting. To do this, click the R text option and drag it to the form.

Now double left-mouse click in the "Your RTF text here" box.

This opens an "Edit Object" (rtfobject1) page.

Delete the "Your RTF text here" and enter whatever text you want to appear in the form. You can use different fonts and character settings in a rich text box, as per the example below.

When you are happy with your entry, select File, Save Object Text and you will be returned to your form as shown below.

You can now re-size the rich text box by positioning your mouse pointer over the right block marker (until you see the double right/left arrow) and dragging the marker to the right. Once the display is correct, you can move the whole text box by positioning your mouse pointer over the box until it displays a four pointed icon and then dragging the box to your desired position.

You can now incorporate an image file if required by dragging the "Picture Graphic" icon onto the form. This will open a Windows Explorer allowing you to locate an image file that you may want to include on your form. Images can be re-sized accordingly by clicking a corner of the image and dragging it to the necessary size.

Once you have created your form, you then can save it by selecting the Graphics, Save Oasis Graphics Form option. You will need to provide a filename for the form. It will be saved as an "Oasis Form File" (.VPD).

To use the form with Oasis, you will now need to export it to a different format.

From the Graphics menu, select the "Export to EMF file" option to create an EMF (Enhanced Metafile -32 bit) file, or select the "Export to WMF file" to create a WMF (Windows Metafile Format – 16 bit) file. These exported files can be used in Oasis forms, or Word for Windows documents.
See the System Manager V12 manual for details of how to insert graphic files into Oasis forms.
If using with Word for Windows, it is suggested you create a dynamic link between the graphic file and your Word document – this will ensure any changes made to the graphic file are automatically reflected in new documents.