[maranellof1]

i have a bunch of pdf forms which have lines to fill in my name, address, etc. just like any regular standardized form... i know that if one has the full version of adobe acrobat, then you can edit and fill in fields... is there any way to do this in panther... with preview maybe?? and if so, then how, because i can't figure it out... free solutions will be appreciated more than the paid ones ; ) thanks...

[crowquill]

Just to make sure you haven't tried this:
Have you tried opening it up with Adobe Reader 6.0? It's supposed to let you fill in foms. It's discussed here:
http://www.adobe.com...hdocs/275f6.htm

Of course this is provided that the PDF you're opening was created with proper form fields. Since that article is discussing the ability of Acrobat Reader v4.0 and 5.0 you should have no problem with v6.0 (they changed the name as of version 6.0).

It can be downloaded for free from here:
http://www.adobe.com...readermain.html
If you're using OS X below 10.2.2 you'll need to download Acrobat Reader 5.1 instead.
Preview displays PDFs faster, but Adobe Reader has a lot more features when it comes to PDFs.
--andrew--

[GlennBlaylock]

Yes, Adobe Reader allows you fill in forms if (and this is a big if) they have the proper form fields assigned. Just select the hand tool and drag it over the areas where you are supposed to put your information. If the fields are present, then the hand will turn into a text insertion pointer. However, one of the limitations of Reader is that it does not allow you to save your changes. So, once you get started, you need to complete and print the form without quitting the program. Otherwise, you have to start all over again.
Additionally, it has been my experience that most people don't take the time to add the form fields. They apparently create the forms with the idea that you will print them out and the write in the information by hand. (I even once gat a pdf job application that was really nothing more than a series of scanned images of a printed application that had been photocopied too many times.) The only effective way that I have been able to find to fill in these forms before I print it is to either add the form fields myself using Acrobat or open the form one page at a time in Illustrator and filling it out in there. I usually do the latter because it is less time consuming than adding the fields and then filling it out. However, both of these programs require that you pay for them and are rather expensive.
There is another solution that just occurred to me. GraphicConverter is a shareware application that can open pdf files. You can use this program to open the forms and then use the text tool to add text to the appropriate places. I don't know how much of the pdf characteristics are preserved this way, but it will let you fill out and save the forms.

[maranellof1]

thanks for the suggestions guys... i think that i will just use adobe reader... since i dont have too many of these types of forms that need filling out, it's no big deal... i think that the graphic converter solution is a good one, but again a bit too much work for someone like me... thanks again....

[Martian]

AS A LAST RESORT, and with some fiddling, you can copy a pdf, and paste it into the header field of a word document. Then in the body, you can Return, Tab, and Space text. Make sure the pdf pasted into the header is on the behind other text.

[dougster]

If you have the PDF Plugin in your Internet Plugin folder the PDF formatted document should just pop up within your browser. This will enable you to click in the field, as mentioned above, and type away, then tab to the next field. It does work well.