Ask HN: Review our PDF/Web form startup - www.doculicious.com

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=401473

by carpo • 18 years ago

7 10 18 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

www.doculicious.com is a web application that lets people design/format a PDF file using a browser based WYSIWYG tool, then embed some code onto their website so that the PDF can be edited directly on their site, similar to a web form, but looking just like the WYSIWYG design. On submitting the form, whoever filled it in can download the completed PDF. The owner of the form can set a range of options to save the entries, style the web form to look different than the resulting PDF, add notifications, download entries as csv and pdf etc.

We just launched after a couple of months private beta testing, and would love to hear your opinions and ideas.

markets1• 18 years ago

I'm not a fan of the name...

carpo5• 18 years ago

I think the name can be a little polarizing. I've had people laugh and say "That's terrible" and others burst out laughing and say "I love it, that's great". I like laughing, so it's all good :)

zacharye3• 18 years ago

I like it, a lot actually. And I don't mind the name at all.

The site is very simple to navigate, the home page explains the service well and the examples pick up the pieces.

I did browse the terms but perhaps you can elaborate quickly - how secure is the data and how long do you store it? I know an NPO (art school) that would likely love a few simple PDF registration forms on its site without having to pay a developer...

carpo5• 18 years ago

Thanks for your comments zacharye. BTW, you wouldn't believe how long I spent coming up with that name ;)

All the forms can use SSL, so the submission of data is secure. On form completion, the data is stored in our database for creating the PDF and to save multi-page forms. If the template owner has not opted to store the entry, this data is deleted after 2 days. If they opt to store the entry, it will stay in the system until deleted by them. If they delete it, the data is removed completely, leaving only stats on when it was downloaded, IP address of downloader etc

Access to stored entries is only available to the template owners account through an entries search facility. All this is behind SSL too.

I should elaborate on this more in the TOS, but is that what you wanted to know?

zacharye3• 18 years ago

That's exactly what I wanted to know, thanks carpo. And yes, despite the other comment I think that the name is creative, memorable and spelled logically. ie: If I pronounced the name to someone suggesting that (s)he should check it out, (s)he will likely have no problem remembering it or getting there.

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to know thanks. And I like the answer as well - I'll be showing this to a few people I know as a possible solution, no question.

Last question(s) - is it possible for the form creator to omit "store" as an option when creating the form? How about an option to have each form submission automatically stored?

cera• 18 years ago

I think it looks great, and there aren't enough good PDF editing tools. It reminds me a little bit of PDFEscape, so you might want to check them out if you haven't already. Best of luck! -Chris

carpo5• 18 years ago

Cheers, thanks Chris. Doculicious could definitely be used just to create PDF's, without using the web form stuff. Especially if what you really need is a template that needs filling out consistently. I have a bunch of templates in my account I use directly from the site that never get embedded.

Yeah, I've seen that site before. Probably time to have a look around the 'net again to see what's out there :)

Ask HN: Review our PDF/Web form startup - www.doculicious.com

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