Form to Exe

Question

Hi

What is the easiest way to convert a simple form into an exe file?

I have an offline paper based form. I need to convert it into a software that people can use on their computers to fill and submit information. Since the form (it is a tax return) requires considerable time in filling, it is not convenient to have it online. I would much rather have a simple exe which gathers information, applies validation rules and then uploads a structured data file (like an XML file) containing the filled info.

Thanks

Answer 1

What do you mean, exactly? When you build a project containing a form, it will already build an executable if the project type is "Windows Forms Application".

If you've got one project with several forms and you need one executable per form, you should split your project out - one project per form. (You could make the code display a different form based on executable name - or have several entry points and build the same code with different /main flags, but that would be pretty nasty.)

Answer 2

True, you get an exe during compile of a Windows.Forms application, only check the bin folder of the project.

You can check the output in Project/Properties/Application/Output type in Visual Studio.

This is a little bit offtopic: you cound create to a native image, with NGen (a Microsoft Utility), with some limitations. This means that the code will be compiled to a native image, placed to the cache directly and run from there, without using the JIT every time. This can improve performance, but it is not a real native exe, as Jon pointed out.

Answer 3

I mean that I have an offline paper based form. I need to convert it into a software that people can use on their computers to fill and submit information. Since the form (it is a tax return) requires considerable time in filling, it is not convenient to have it online only. I would much rather have a simple exe which gathers information, applies validation rules and then uploads a structured data file (like an XML file) containing the filled info.

Answer 4

Why must you have a .exe? Acrobat can create PDF forms that can be filled out and queried offline. If your users are online, why not create a web front-end that users fill out and which submits the data directly to your database or whatever? There is no need to create executables, download or upload anything.

Answer 5

There are many Windows programs that can take paper forms and convert them to electronic forms people can fill out, including Acrobat, Form Pilot, and OmniForm.

OmniForm may be good for you, as it allows things like calculated fields, and can output the data in structured formats like XML.