Removing images from ImageFields using JavaScript

When adding an ImageField to a form it's a common requirement to allow a user to remove the image.  By default clicking on the image field will only let the user replace it with another image.  If you want to remove it altogether then this little piece of code attached to a button will help:

imageField.rawValue = null;

Overview of the ADEP Document Services modules

When LiveCycle became ADEP Document Services all of the existing modules were ported over but I thought it would be useful to revisit them all and see what as new.  This post gives a summary of the modules which are available to any Document Services solution (excluding the foundation services which come with all Document Services modules) and should be familiar to those who have worked with LiveCycle ES1/ES2 in the past.

LiveCycle Content Services in the ADEP world

A source of confusion I've come across when explaining the new world of ADEP to those familiar with the LiveCycle days is what has happened to Content Services.  Content Services was essentially the repository for storing files and anything else you needed persisting in your application.  It was built around the Open Source CMS by Alfresco and was used on almost all of the projects I worked on.  In the move to ADEP it's the one module the fate of which I wasn't 100% sure of.

Defining Document Services Custom Components (DSCs)

I've written a few custom components in my time working with ADEP but recently came across an excellent summary of what exactly these little (or in some cases large!) pieces of code actually are.  A recent blog post on the Adobe ADEP blog summarised it nicely:

A DSC is a component that can be installed on a Documents Server and introduces new functionality. It stands for Document Service Component. Most product components are DSCs but customers can write their own DSCs to create new integrations or functionality that require a higher level of sophistication than is appropriate with the use of standard integration options (e.g SOAP) or scripting/process maps. They are basically POJOs with nifty enterprise configurations around them that allow enterprise class life cycle, versioning and configuration (e.g. in an enterprise BPM system you don’t necessarily want a new version of a component to alter the way an inflight process is operating, or how a completed process reports audit data…) or even have to bounce the server to change the implementation of the DSC. It is definitely part of the secrete sauce of LiveCycle/ADEP Document Services.

Source: ADEP Blog

The rarest of things - user friendly customer service

It's a sad state of affairs when I feel compelled to write about a good customer service experience but that's where we are at the moment (and something that I've seen improved hugely with tools such as those Adobe is creating at present but more on that in a later post).  I had a problem with my HTC Desire HD phone (the SIM card cover was a bit wobbly) so decided to set about ordering a replacement.  I logged onto the HTC website dreading what I presumed would be a long and painful process of filling out some long form before waiting days if not weeks for a reply.  What I actually found was an easy to use support system with a variety of different options to go about submitting my query.

Clicking on the "Contact Us" button (note to HTC - this was a little difficult to find as I had to scroll through a long page of images to do with the phone before reaching it) popped out a tabbed window with three options: call (with long office hours), email and chat.  I went straight for the chat option and sure enough was instantly through to a human (thankfully not one of those terrible robots that tries to guess the answer to your question with some hopeless FAQ page).  The agent was helpful and got everything sorted for a free replacement SIM card cover in no time at all.

It's this sort of experience that keeps customers loyal.  I've never had an experience as easy as the one I just had with HTC and have already told colleagues and friends about how good they were in resolving my problem and it will certainly make me more likely to buy one of their phones again.

Now if only my bank provided a service like this I could finally stop giving myself a hernia every time I have to ring up...