Question

Create fillable PDF forms with Acrobat and Freeware

Answer 1

Is it possible to create a PDF to fill with MS Word?
Free solution: create a fillable PDF with OpenOffice
Conclusion: free software also allows good results

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Create fillable PDF forms with Acrobat and Freeware

PDF (short for Portable Document Format) is one of the most widely used file formats in most offices, thanks to its obvious advantages: it can contain pages of text and dozens of images, while keeping the file size relatively small. This allows you to quickly and easily send PDF files by email or upload them to the cloud. Furthermore, PDFs ensure that documents are faithfully reproduced on any device without compromising presentation or format..

Forms are also an integral part of everyday work life; be it simple conference participant lists, application and registration forms or complex invoices. The forms regulate the processes, record the information and allow us to make a summary.

Joining a form and the PDF format can significantly reduce the amount of paper used in businesses, as they can be filled out directly on the PC. This is much faster and less prone to errors than if we entered the information manually. In addition, it is easier to share, evaluate and archive digital documents with clients or colleagues..

We explain how you can create an interactive PDF form.

Index

1. Is it possible to create a PDF to fill with MS Word?
2. Free solution: create a fillable PDF with OpenOffice
3. Conclusion: free software also allows good results

Is it possible to create a PDF to fill with MS Word?

The answer is simple: no. With MS Word you cannot create a fillable PDF, at least it is not the right program to do it..

Although some sources on the Internet claim the opposite, with the well-known Microsoft Office application it is possible to create both static forms for printing and interactive forms to fill directly on the computer (by the way, this is also possible with other Office applications such as Excel). By activating the developer tools hidden in the options, you can access a wide range of design features and options. With these you can easily add text input fields, calendar pop-ups, and drop-down lists to your document, protect it from third-party editing, share it with the relevant people, and statistically evaluate your form (assuming you have the necessary knowledge). Word also offers you several templates to download. For example, forms for feedback or calendars that can be used to organize the weekly distribution of tasks within your company.

Hidden functions: in the Word options under the option? Customize Ribbon? you can activate the tab? Developer ?.

Microsoft Word offers a wide range of free form templates that you can download and use immediately.

You can adapt and modify all the form templates in MS Word according to your needs.

However, the result is always a .doc file that can be used for many tasks, but does not offer the benefits of a PDF (for example, faithful and unmodified reproduction on other devices).

Now it is also possible in Word to save documents directly as PDF files. The only problem is that, during the save process, all the interactive elements of your form are lost, so that it can no longer be filled. The same thing happens if you use a PDF creator like PDF24 as a driver for a virtual printer.

Saved as a PDF file, your form created in MS Word and originally fillable loses all interactive elements.

The reason why Word cannot be used to create fillable PDF forms is simply that Microsoft and Adobe internal file formats are not fully supported, and it is unlikely that these two companies will solve this anytime soon. Therefore, forms and surveys designed with the Microsoft application and saved in PDF format can only be printed on paper and filled out by hand. In these circumstances, however, you can easily do without interactive input fields and create a table with empty cells. For simple attendance lists this would be sufficient, but for more complex projects this solution is not the most practical.

Free solution: create a fillable PDF with OpenOffice

One possible solution is the free OpenOffice and LibreOffice application packages. The forms created with these programs retain their interactive elements even after they have been saved in PDF format. Anyone who has already worked with MS Office will quickly be faced with competing products: the creation of forms works almost the same way in the different programs.

We will explain exactly what you need to do to create a PDF form with OpenOffice Writer, the free equivalent to MS Word, as an example (in principle, these forms can also be created in all other OpenOffice applications, including Calc):

1. Open OpenOffice.
2. Click on? File? >? New? >? XML form document ?.
3. Now click on? Toolbar? >? Form controls? in the menu item? View? to display the forms toolbar. It appears as a separate window, but can also be attached to the menu bar at the top of the window.
4. To start designing your form, all you have to do now is activate the? Draft Mode? on the toolbar.

From now on, are you free to design your form with all the means and tools that OpenOffice puts at your disposal? text, images, objects, forms, tables, etc. ? and you can use them freely. You can insert the interactive elements of your form anywhere in the document with the mouse.

The following items are available on the toolbar:

• Checkbox: an empty box, which the user of the finished form can check with a mouse click (or other symbol) or leave empty. This can be used, for example, to check the correct gender on an application form.
• Text field : a free space in which the user can write a certain amount of text, for example, for additional comments or as feedback on the form.
• Formatted field : here the user can enter a numeric value, which is subject to rules predefined by the creator. For example, the selection of possible numbers can be limited to the digits 1 to 10.
• Button : This function creates a button that can be linked to a macro. Macros are more or less complex scripts, which can be called with a button of this type, without the user having to redo all the inputs. For example, you can have your address automatically entered into a form with the push of a button. Macros are primarily used in Open Office Calc and work similarly in Microsoft Excel.
• Choice Field - A special form of the marking field that is particularly useful for multiple choice quizzes. If multiple fields of this type are grouped together, only one can be selected at a time.
• List field : this function creates a drop-down menu with a selection of options previously established by the creator of the form. The list box can also connect to an existing data source.
• Combo Box - Works like a list box, but allows the form user to enter additional information if they do not want to select any of the preset options.
• Labeling field : used to add a description text (label) to all interactive elements. This way, you can, for example, label checkboxes and arrange them with the corresponding text in the document.
• Additional controls : depending on the version of OpenOffice, other useful functions are offered. This includes, for example, a slider with which the user of the form can scroll through a fixed list of numbers (for example, years of birth). The date field adds a pre-formatted date input field to your form.

OpenOffice offers various tools for creating PDF forms (red frame), which you can configure according to your needs by double-clicking on them.

By double clicking on any interactive element, you can adjust the properties down to the last detail. This includes the height and width of an input field, as well as its frame, title, and display style (flat or "3D effect"). To simplify work on your form, you can also copy elements and all their settings and paste them elsewhere. Turn off design mode from time to time to test your interactive elements.

Once you're done, click on? File? and? Export as PDF? to convert your OpenOffice document into a fillable PDF. Users can open, fill, and print or save the documents with almost any PDF reader and send them directly to you.

PDF forms created with OpenOffice can be read, filled in, printed, and saved with most PDF viewing applications.

Professional and paid method: create a fillable PDF with Adobe Acrobat

Although it is possible to create a PDF to fill in completely free of charge, some users still go for the professional standard solution that is, in turn, the most expensive: Adobe Acrobat.

This may be due to the fact that not all your clients or colleagues have an MS Office license or do not want to use OpenOffice or LibreOffice. Also, Adobe offers some special features where the free competition is not up to scratch. The most prominent feature is the automatic and reliable recognition of form fields in digital files and even scanned paper documents. With Adobe software, you can even convert your MS Word form into a fillable PDF.

This works as follows:

1. Click on? Start Form Wizard? in the toolbar (the names of the procedures and menus can vary greatly from version to version; our instructions refer to Adobe Acrobat 9).
2. In the window that opens, select the source of your form. Acrobat can open existing electronic forms (PDF, Word, or Excel files, and many other formats), as well as convert scanned paper documents into a form (you can also create a completely new form using templates).
3. The form wizard automatically recognizes all static fields on the form and names them based on the surrounding text. This process happens in an instant and has a high success rate. However, it can also happen that Acrobat forgets a field or misinterprets a visual separator as a signature field. In this case, you can quickly correct the error by manually inserting, moving, or deleting form elements.

In addition to this handy tool, the selection and functionality of the Adobe Acrobat tools are very similar to those of MS Word, OpenOffice, and LibreOffice: text fields, check boxes, option fields and buttons, lists and combinations of Fields and buttons can be conveniently arranged using the grid screen and configured by double clicking.

Furthermore, the program offers interesting additional functions, some of which are described in more detail below:

• Fill interactive forms faster by jumping from one input field to another instead of clicking each item with the mouse. In Adobe Acrobat, you can set the order of the tabs to make this process as efficient as possible.
• In combination with Adobe Sign, it is possible to add a field for a digital signature to forms.
• Another additional tool in Acrobat is the barcode field. This automatically converts all form entries into a single barcode that can be read and interpreted with the appropriate hardware. This makes it easy to evaluate and file forms when they are returned to you on paper by mail or fax.
• PDF forms can also be distributed to clients and colleagues by email or through an internal server using Adobe Acrobat. The program also allows you to track the status of the form and automatically send reminders when appointments are missed.

Adobe offers comprehensive tutorials for all additional features on its website. There is also a free trial version of Adobe Acrobat, which is valid for 14 days and that, in addition to creating, will also allow you to edit PDFs as well as reduce documents of this type of file.

Apart from that there are many alternatives to Adobe Acrobat with a similar range of functions. However, the creation of fillable PDF forms is only possible in the Pro versions of these programs (for example, Qoppa PDF Studio, PDF-XChange Editor) or in the framework of a paid trial program is also possible (for example, Foxit Phantom PDF, Nitro Pro).

Conclusion: free software also allows good results

Interactive PDF forms reduce paper chaos and are easy to create. With Microsoft Office, however, only preliminary design work can be done. For a PDF to be truly fillable, you need Adobe Acrobat or an alternative program. But if you don't want to spend money on it, you can also use the free OpenOffice package, instead of Adobe's expensive solution. The free program also offers satisfying results that can be read and completed with almost any PDF reader.

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