Joined on 03-22-2007
TechSoup Member
Hi Everyone - I have a form I am trying to convert to pdf. I want people to be able to fill out the pdf and send it back it back to me. What software will do this? I have tried cutepdf and I can't seem to figure it out. Thanks!
I don't know if you can do it with cudepdf, but with Acrobat you can fill out a form and then save the data in a text file. Then you can send the text file to someone who can load it into a copy of the PDF that was used to collect it. You can then print out the form.
I don't know if any want to get the data to stay in the form.
If you can describe more about what you are trying to do we may have some other suggestions.
OpenOffice.org can create PDFs where the results can be submitted as a web form (to a web server). There's a chance you could also get it to submit via the user's e-mail client, but I don't recommend it.
(However, OOo does not seem to be able to create forms where the user can save the data in the PDF file.)
Also check out Scribus.
Joined on 03-22-2007
TechSoup Member
At my previous job we had a bunch of pdf forms. We were able to type in the forms and print them. What I want to do is create an application form, in pdf format, that I can email to volunteers. They would then fill it in and send it back. Thanks!
Do you mean fill in on paper or on the computer? Do you mean send back electronically or through snail mail?
Shihtzustaff means to send and return electronically via email.
Shihtzustaff: You cannot do what you want with a PDF form in the manner that you want. You cannot enter in information into a PDF and have it stay in the form using the Acrobat reader.
You CAN save the data from the form in a file as I mentioned. If you export the form data it will save it in a file with an "fdf" extension. If you can get your client to export the data to a file and then send that to you, you can import it into your copy of the form and print it.
It is also possible to use a PDF as a web submission form (I think), but a real web form may be easier to create and maintain.
Oh, there are also utilities that you can set up on your web server and it will take the input from a form and use that to create the PDF that you want. Depending on what you need at the end, that might be the way to go...
Joined on 03-22-2007
TechSoup Member
Thanks everyone. I was really hoping it would be possible!!!
Joined on 09-21-2006
TechSoup Member
You should check out Adobe Designer. You can import an existing form from Microsoft Word, and some other adobe applications. You can then save the form as a PDF file.
However, you'll still have the problem for users being able to fill out the form and saving the changes for you. Only users with Adobe Acrobat will be able to save changes directly to the PDF file without doing some other routes already mentioned in this thread.
Joined on 12-15-2003
TechSoup Member
You should indeed be able to do this. I only know because my health insurance company claim forms are in .pdf, which I can download, fill in the relevant spaces, and then save as a .pdf. In fact, I've taken their general form, made my own "templates" for each member of my family and can go in and modify those files as needed for each claim, and save them as yet a different file name. I do all this from my end only with Adobe Reader 7, so on their end, they must have done it with the full Adobe software. Sorry I can't tell you how it's done, but at least you know it's possible and can keep looking for the solution.
Joined on 03-22-2007
TechSoup Member
You are right!! I can do that too. I wonder how this is done? Anyone??
Joined on 09-02-2003
TechSoup Member
As I understand it, you need Adobe Acrobat Pro (not Reader, not Elements, not Standard) in order to create fill-in PDF forms that can be filled in, saved, emailed back, etc. by recipients with just the Reader. Omniform seems to be another way to go, but users claim a higher learning curve and a long list of features left out.
Joined on 12-15-2003
TechSoup Member
Looks like it, and fortunately for you, Adobe Pro 8.0 is available through TechStock. $45.
Description says: Create fillable forms from scanned paper, PDF documents, Microsoft Word documents, or Excel spreadsheets; combine collected forms into a searchable, sortable, PDF package; and export collected data into a spreadsheet.
Sounds perfect.
Joined on 03-28-2007
Mass Audubon
TechSoup Member
You can build a form that can be filled in online and then printed using Adobe Acrobat Pro, but I am pretty sure you cannot save or e-mail the completed form. If someone can tell us how, we'd be forever grateful!
Joined on 05-13-2003
TechSoup Member
WE have been using CutePDF to do this for several months. Adobe Reader will not let you save the filled in form with another name while CutePDF will. We have installed CutePDF on all of our workstations, and use it complete the form after it has been created with Adobe. We are then able to save the form with the appropriate descriptive name in the client's folder while leaving the original pdf form un-disturbed. Adobe does sell a plugin for Adobe Reader to let you do this, but I was told it costs $120.00 per seat with a minimum purchase of 100 seats. Or it may have been $100.00 with a 120 minimum. Either way, I wasn't going to spend $120,000 to do this for 25 workstations.
Joined on 03-28-2007
Mass Audubon
TechSoup Member
You are using CutePDF Form Filler? If so, at $21 per seat for volume discount, that is still out of our price range. We have 200+ seats. Good to know about, though! Thank you.
Has anyone had any experience with services like http://www.fillablepdfforms.com/index.html? I think they work by sending data to a server and recreating the filled in form when the PDF is opened again, but am not positive.
Update...make that http://www.fillablepdfforms.com/?referred_by_techfinder.