On Mon, 30 Oct 2006 13:45:38 -0800 NoOp <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> dijo: > John Jason Jordan wrote: > > I want to create a PDF form where the reader can fill in the blanks > > using Adobe Reader. Adobe Reader will not let them save a copy of it, > > but it will let them print it out after they fill it in. Then they will > > snail mail the printout to me. The advantage is that I don't have to > > try to decipher handwriting. > > > > I created such a form in OOo some time ago, but I can't remember how I > > did it. > > For that I'd recommend taking a look at: > > http://openoffice.blogs.com/openoffice/2006/06/creating_xml_fo.html
Ah! There's what I was trying to remember. I needed to turn on the Forms toolbars. I looked all over the Help files for how to create a form, and never saw that. Thanks for the pointer! > As for having users fill out the forms and then being able to email the > completed form back to you the trick is: > > 1. Create the PDF form in OOo & export to PDF > 2. Open the PDF form in Adobe Reader (or other PDF viewer that will all > the form to be filled in) > 3. Print the filled out form to a separate PDF writer printer. Yes, this is exactly what I wanted to accomplish. I had already installed the CUPS PDF printer on my Ubuntu amd-64 Dapper laptop. And I have Adobe Reader 7.08 for Linux as well. Now that I can create a form in OOo I did so, opened it in Adobe Reader, and successfully edited the PDF by filling in the blanks that I created. The only thing I didn't do yet was to print to the CUPS PDF printer, and that's because I was too lazy. In Adobe Reader for Linux the print dialog box does not have a dropdown to select the printer. You have to type the lpr command in a window instead. And it is currently set to print to my default laserjet, and I didn't have the time to figure out how to alter it. A better solution would be to open the fillable PDF file in a different Linux PDF viewer that has a better print dialog box. My usual alternative to Adobe Reader is KPDF, which does have such a drop-down box. Unfortunately, when I opened my fillable PDF in KPDF I could not enter anything in the fields that I had created. So now I need to find a different Linux PDF viewer that can both edit the fillable PDF and has a decent print dialog box. Thanks for including the info about the Windows PDF Creator. Ultimately I plan to use this technique for student homework projects. Most are running Windows, many run Macs, and a handful use Linux. Is there a Mac equivalent to PDF Creator? --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
