Filling in PDF forms

darcy · Post by **darcy** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:45 pm

i have quite a few forms that need filling in. i have d/l-ed and saved the .pdf files.
i would like to fill them in using my keyboard vs. handwriting in the info.

i have checked the Help section [ Adobe Reader 8 ].
it does not appear the forms are "interactive".

i see where it says, "Noninteractive PDF forms can be printed and filled in by hand. Or, you can choose Tools > Typewriter > Typewriter and use the Typewriter tool to type information over the blank form fields and then print a copy of the completed form.", ~ but i do not see the option "Typewriter" under "Tools".

am i out of luck?

thank you : )

eGoCeNTRoNiX · Post by **eGoCeNTRoNiX** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:27 pm

You have to have "Adobe Professional" not just reader for that function to work.. There may be some freeware apps available or FP might know something better.. He'll chime in maybe?

GL!

eGo

Invisible Evil · Post by **Invisible Evil** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 5:45 pm

http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/reader_2/addons.htm

That is a link for the Awesome Foxit reader. You can DL the add on function "fox it pro pack. it costs 39.99 but it is awesome. the initial program foxit reader is free. You can get the pro pack for free, but you have to sign up for netfilx or something.

I use it for work and it does everything that I would need Acrobat professional for at a very small fraction of the cost.

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:25 pm

Another vote for FoxIt.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 9:15 pm

No Adobe for me after finding Foxit

Walleye · Post by **Walleye** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:15 am

i do love and use foxit.

but my school has the new adobe reader there...

and my god, it fixes some things i hate about foxit.

Executioner · Post by **Executioner** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:46 am

Walleye wrote:i do love and use foxit.

but my school has the new adobe reader there...

and my god, it fixes some things i hate about foxit.

Such as?

for a simple reader, Foxit is great. I have never used any other options except for a reader, so I can't comment on Foxit ability to perform those advance functions.

Key Keeper · Post by **Key Keeper** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:42 pm

Darcy, YGPM

darcy · Post by **darcy** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:38 pm

well now i feel like an idiot,, i did not realize i needed Pro version.

thank you, everyone, and also for the info and links.

there will not be a conflict 'twixt the 2, will there? { Adobe Reader and FoxIt }

Post by **FlyingPenguin** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 4:15 pm

Well you can install them both, but only one will be your default reader, and there's certainly no need to have both installed. Kind of redundant. Foxit does everything Acrobat does, but without the bloat.

Now also keep in mind you do NOT need the pro version to fill out a form that someone else created that was made fillable. The free reader (Acrobat or Foxit) will do that. For instance if you go to IRS.GOV and download a form in PDF format, it will be fillable with any free PDF reader because the IRS made it that way using the pro version.

If the document was not made fillable, then yes you'll need the pro version to edit it to add fillable fields or (if this is a one time thing) to add the text where you want it.

normalicy · Post by **normalicy** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:00 pm

Yeah, it was the bloat that finally got me to switch to Foxit. Couldn't stand having to do "updates" every time I started the program. It's a friggen reader for crying out loud. I used Acrobat 5.0 for the longest time till I found Foxit for just that reason.

darcy · Post by **darcy** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 3:17 pm

the forms are mainly medical claim forms { not the 1 in my screenshot },,

thank you for clarification, FP; i see what u mean now.