n.a printed document with clearly defined areas left blank that are to be completed laterthe materials and structure of an item; format1Levy 2001, 69The birth of the form2 nicely illustrates how documents were streamlined and tailored in the service of ever greater efficiency. . . . [Workers' documentation of their activities] could be standardized and speeded up by printing forms, sheets of paper whose printed material indicated exactly what information was needed to be filled in, and where. This meant the worker had less to write; the familiarity of a standard layout also increased his speed. This standardization also facilitated reading and summarizing as the report traveled up the hierarchy.the overall appearance, configuration, or shape, independent of its intellectual content; a document typea model1 or pattern; something that gives shape; a mold2, 3Duranti 1998, 134Diplomatics defines form4 as the complex of the rules of representation used to convey a message, that is, as the characteristics of a document which can be separated from the determination of the particular subjects, or places it concerns. Documentary form is both physical and intellectual.InterPARES 2020a[documentary form] The rules of representation according to which the content of a record, its administrative and documentary context, and its authority are communicated. Documentary form possesses both extrinsic and intrinsic elements. Syn.: documentary presentation.a style or convention for expressing ideas in a literary work or document; documentary form, including extrinsic and intrinsic elementsRobek, Brown, and Stephens 1996, 38Business forms5 serve as the primary means of communicating information in a methodical, standardized, and repetitive way. A well-designed form constitutes the equivalent of a flowchart which describes and standardizes a process. The form serves as a catalyst in providing information in an organized fashion so that it is possible to determine if a task has been completed or to reach a decision about the course of action.InterPARES 2020a[form] Rules of representation that determine the appearance of an entity and convey its meaning.type, spacers, and other materials assembled in a chase for printing
Notes
Form2 is synonymous with format1, although this equivalence is a fairly recent shift in the language. Form is often used to distinguish between versions of an item in different media; for example, a document may be described as being in its original form, a microform, or a duplicate form.
