Posted on Jul 11, 2014
Did you know about DA forms going to Adobe fillable 1 October 2014?
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Apparently now that we almost have all the bugs worked out of the IBM Lotus forms we will no longer be using them. 1 October of 2014 the Army will migrate to PDF fillable DA forms
https://www.milsuite.mil/book/docs/DOC-155683
https://www.milsuite.mil/book/docs/DOC-155683
Posted in these groups: 
Military Budget
Military Budget
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
This sounds like a great move. Maybe I'll finally be able to sign and process forms on my Mac.
The rest of the world uses PDFs... it's usually a better idea to use a platform which is modern and well supported. I've never seen Lotus Forums or Pure Edge used by anybody outside the military. Those programs are awful.
The rest of the world uses PDFs... it's usually a better idea to use a platform which is modern and well supported. I've never seen Lotus Forums or Pure Edge used by anybody outside the military. Those programs are awful.
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1SG (Join to see) the OER is already going away from myforms. I believe that the NCOER is supposed to follow that track next year. It is all through a website now. I am not even sure how to submit the evaluation to HRC now or how the S1 can track where each evaluation is in the process. It is a learning curve for all of us. I am just loving the idea of now having a new form type that we now must use for our awards, etc.
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1SG (Join to see)
LTC (Join to see) senior raters delegate to their S1 rights to view their profile to assist in management. IWRS is used to track when annual Evals are due. A good rating scheme and loss roster are used to monitor for when CORs are due.
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LTC (Join to see)
1SG (Join to see) thanks. I agree it should be that easy. However, you know how we have to make it harder and want to know who the evaluation is currently with (rater vs. senior rater vs. reviewer, or at Soldier for signature).
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1SG (Join to see)
LTC (Join to see) I know what you mean. In C&S I'm always asked about the status of Evals cuz my slide just says "w/rater". I keep telling the CDR and CSM, you'll have to ask the rater, I haven't seen it.
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Less Software licenses needed. And we're far from removing all the bugs from IBM Lotus viewer, or pure edge, or any other program we use.
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SFC (Join to see)
Hang on SGM, I have to go run our famous "chinese character" script on yet another computer.
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1SG (Join to see)
Very true SGM Matthew Quick I guess it is the small things like this that we (I) don't think about.
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SGM Matthew Quick
With the advancement of the PDF forms, it makes sense...they've come a long (more accessible/user friendly) way over the past couple years.
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SFC (Join to see)
In the old days, adobe came free with just about every other piece of software I installed on my home PC.
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Fillable forms in general need to go away. It's old tech. You are replicating a paper system on a computer. It's totally in-the-box thinking.
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MSG Sean Milhauser
Spot on, Ma'am. We were hyping the "paperless Army" many years ago. It's 2014 and just several months ago we did SRP (Soldier Readiness Processing for those in other branches) by logging in at the first station with our CAC... only to be handed folders full of papers to carry around and have stamped. The SRP site had PALLETS of printer paper at the ready. Just to go on ordinary leave requires a printed leave form, a LES, and several other pieces of paper of safety counselings,checklists, etc. etc. Seriously.
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When I heard about this I was excited. We have been used software that requires you to have an S6 at your house to get it all working. I am glad we are using a common standard across the gov. It has been long needed. It functions much better than lotus. I welcome the change.
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MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca
Lotus, again? Damn, have I been freeze dried for the last 5 years? When the hell did Lotus enter the Army paper cut arsenal? Well guess I won't be coming for a visit after all.
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CPT (Join to see)
I understand that all programs require a means of digital signature but Adobe forms are much more user friendly. I could get a form emailed to me and view it from my phone or tablet. I know I won't be able to sign it from that but at least you can pull up a form and fill it out on your phone and then email to a gov computer to sign later.
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CW2 (Join to see)
I'm talking about the constant switching costs money. How much have we wasted for the last decade plus with form flow etc
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SFC (Join to see)
From what I saw of form flow, it was garbage to begin with, but i suppose it saved time and money in the long run from ordering the forms through pubs clerk and using a typewriter or handjamming. Progress can be costly sometimes, but not always for naught.
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1SG (Join to see)
SFC (Join to see) form flow was HORRIBLE! I used it and learned to master it (if one ever truly could) but it was an annoying program. I much prefer the PDF!
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SFC (Join to see)
I got in as formflow was on its way out, but the general consensus is people were more worried about the prefilled out forms they'd created with formflow than how the newer system (pure edge) worked.
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Well, SGM Quick, perhaps we are closer to having purely paperless reenlistment / extension documents, with digital or (as recruiting does now) biometric signatures? Or then again, perhaps the soon-to-be released IPPS-A will manage all of that.
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Pure Edge, Form Flow, and PDF... While it is a good sign for the Army to take advantage of the Information Technology advancement, is it cost effective or feasible to keep changing the format standard?
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