Create!Forms vs BI Publisher

We are currently using Optio and are wanting to change to something else. Has anybody used both Create!Forms and BI Publisher, can you shed some light on the pros and cons of using either?

What E1 version you are on?.

I have not used either but if you want to consider other options besides these two I'd be happy to tell you about DocPath. You can check us out at www.docpath.com or contact me directly at [email protected].

sorry Im on E1 8.12

Nadine, I'll be right up front and indicate that we are a Create!form partner, and have been for about 7 years. We have had a number of customers evaluate Create!form (CRF)and BI Publisher in the last couple of years and none that we have worked with have chosen BIP over CRF. Having said that, there really is a role for both. CRF has it hands down in terms of business document processing for format and sophistication, in particular if you have batch runs and also if you want to deliver documents electronically. I have always suggested getting a real view of both by having one of your documents like a PO or invoice created on the fly in front of your eyes, including things that you might need like variable logos, bar codes, conditional output, calculations, possibly MICR code on a cheque (that changes based on the bank account); and to script a PO or invoice processes that does print and email and more. There are a lot of "moving parts" in BIP, and it does make use of things like templates created in MS Word or Excel ... and the ability to condition output or have variable based output requires programming like language skills .. not the same as in CRF.

On the other side, creating a management report with charts and such is much better handled in BIP. I would suggest to determine your requirements and look at each tool with the requirements in mind.

Just my two cents worth ...

Also, for what it is worth ... have you looked through the posts on the BI Publisher forum here? THe level of technical understanding to do things (multiple page output, suppress blank lines, do bar codes) is a lot more complex ... on the Create!form side you typically do not see those types of questions ... because they are not an issue ...

Again I am biased, but have also been in consulting for over 25 years and always want the client to choose the right solution for their needs.

Thanks