How do you Add Form Fields?

The help screen for creating a PDF, under Security Options, says: ''Filling In Form Fields And Signing: Lets users fill in forms and add digital signatures....''



But, for the life of me, I can't figure out you you create the Form Fields in the first place.



HOW do you add in a Form Field that will be exported to the PDF?
How do you Add Form Fields?
You don't. Form fields must be added in Acrobat.



The good news is that Acrobat is now pretty good at recognizing forms and adding fields automatically when you run the wizard, though it isn't perfect.
How do you Add Form Fields?
Then WHY would the help screen for InDesign specifically have a ''Changes Allowed'' setting for form fields and signing, if there's no way to CREATE the form fields? That makes no sense! Why tell you that you can do something that you CAN'T do??



I don't know how to do this at ALL in Acrobat. I create every form in InDesign ... hundreds (!) of proof copies that need to be approved ... and export them to PDFs. Does this mean that I'm going to then have to open every single one of those PDFs in Acrobat just to add form options?



And HOW??? I don't understand at all. What wizard? What forms and fields is it supposedly recognizing?



(Sorry. This is getting to be very frustrating.)

That's the way it is. Forms must be done in Acrobat. In Acrobat 9 Pro

there's a Forms menu. Click that and run the forms wizard.



And if you wish to rant at Adobe, please do so directly, not here. I can

assure you it's counterproductive.



Bob

If your ID exported PDF LOOKS like a form, i.e. it has underlined blank areas or similar features, the wizard will probably put fields there for you.



As far as the help page. I'm not sure if the information about forms is just wrong (it wouldn't be the first time), or it means you can set security to prevent the conversion of the doc into a form, and at the moment I don't have time to play and find out. I would agree that it could be a lot clearer.



Peter

I'm not ranting, I'm just confused!



And, trying to figure out how on earth I'm going to find the time to re-open every single one of these forms in Adobe Acrobat just to activate the form options (once I figure out how to do that in the first place). That's a HUGE chunk of time! Having to reopen and resave every single proof copy? Dozens at a time? Incredibly inconvenient.



Thanks for the answers, folks.

I doubt that the time involved is really any longer than it would be to add form fields in ID, if you could, which you can't, so you really don't have an option.

What exactly is the difference in adding them in ID or Acrobat? There's

no magic here (though the forms wizard is close)...it's work.



Bob

Ah, but every proof copy I need to send to our clients is created in InDesign. From what I gather (and please correct me if I'm misunderstanding--because, believe me, I would LOVE to be misunderstanding!) ... that means that I need to (1) create the form in InDesign, (2) convert it to a PDF and then (3) reopen that PDF in Acrobat to create/turn on/activate/whatever the form fields, and then (4) resave it.



Correct? Or did I miss a step that would make this simpler? (And thank you all for your help--I appreciate it!)

When you export to PDF you have the option to view the PDF immediately as the final stage in the export process.



So think of it as not create %26gt; add fields %26gt; export



but create %26gt; export %26gt; add fields.



k

Do you really need to add the fields before the proof is approved? Is that the hangup -- that you don't want to keep making the fields and then go back and edit the document after the client makes changes?



Peter

The proof copies often go back and forth several times, but when they're finally perfect, we need the client to sign them as being approved, and they want to be able to do this (check off ''okay'' with their name and date) directly on the pdf, in Acrobat Reader, and email it back instead of printing them out and signing by hand, like we're doing now. (And, really, who can blame them? That's a time-consuming pain for them!)



So, I need a way to create a pdf that has a ''proof box'' that the clients can fill in/modify in their regular acrobat reader. That's the only thing I want them to be able to change.

Are forms the way to go?



Data entered in a form is detached from the PDF. You don't get the PDF back, only an XML file to import to your version

of it.



If this is for proofing, then Acrobat's commenting tools may be more what you need.



k

Maybe forms aren't what I need then ... but then what DO I need to do? Any ideas?



(Obviously, this concept is all new to me. I've been using InDesign for year, but my boss just asked me yesterday if our clients can sign and return their proof copies electronically%26gt;)

I may have led you a little astray there. Your mention of email made me jump into the Submit by Email mode.



You can add a comment electronically into a form field and save the PDF using Acrobat. I'm not so sure that you can do

this with Acrobat Reader. I'm still using V7 of Acrobat and there is a warning in the forms creator that users of

Acrobat Reader cannot save a completed copy - but I'm not in a position to test it, and I don't know whether it has been

improved two versions on.



I think you should spend a little time reading the Comment and Markup section of the Acrobat help files. If copies are

going backwards and forwards, then presumably some sort of comment is being made to call for a revise. As far as I

recall you can set commenting up for Reader users to add comments.



k

OOPS!



Ken's right. Users of Reader won't be able to save a form, so my idea is pretty useless.



On the good news front, I just looked at some of the commenting options, and Reader (at least version 9, I have nothing earlier at the moment to check) has some built in stamp tools that can be used for approvals and the like when commenting is enabled. Users can stamp the file, save and return.



So... after export just open the PDF in Acrobat Pro and enable commenting before sending out for approval. No fields required at all.



Peter

I don't have just the reader anymore, either, so I'm not sure what's available there or not. I do know that the only electronic version we'd want to get back would be approved proof copies--if there were any changes to the letters, we'd be sending completely new proof copies with the changes.



All we'd want is for the client to be able to sign or initial the pdf in the top corner where it says ''Proof Copy'' and send it back--but many of our clients aren't very computer literate and I'm sure they don't have the most recent versions of Reader (and the idea of having to try to explain the concept of using a stamp gives me a headache). But, I'd do it IF that meant that they--in whatever version they're using--can stamp it, save it, and email it back!



I appreciate all this help, gents. You'd think that this would be a simple thing to do!

%26gt; You don't get the PDF back, only an XML file to import to your version

%26gt; of it.



Not true...you can get the entire PDF back if you want.



Bob

Reader users, starting with version 8, can save the PDF and submit it

via email.



If you have reader installed check this out:



http://www.theindesignguy.com/forms/contact-form_distributed_0001.pdf



Bob

Sorry, Bob, you're about to get a blank return form from me. :( I was hoping it would open my email app and show me what was attached.



When I opened a sample form on another machine with Reader 9 I was promptly informed that I couldn't save changes and would need to print and mail the completed form. It didn't have a submit button, is that the key?



Peter

It has to be enabled for Reader from Acrobat. By using the distribute

form command it's done automatically for you.



Bob

OK, obviously you've got it posted as a link on your site. Do you need the submit button, or can you just ask the folks to save and email back (though I think the submit is probably a good idea).

I like having the submit button on the form but it's not really needed.

Acrobat will see it's a form and give you one in that purple bar.



Bob

Super.



Thanks.

Sorry about the confusion in Help, Deb. If you're using InDesign CS4, I would appreciate it if you would leave a comment to let me know what I need to fix.



In this case, the Help topic is accurate, but I can see how it can be misleading. The security options for exporting a PDF in InDesign are the same as those in Acrobat. Even though you can't add form fields in InDesign, you can add them in Acrobat, as Peter and Robert have pointed out. The security settings you set in InDesign apply to the exported PDF. For the ''Commenting, Filling In Form Fields, And Signing'' option, you're determining whether to let the PDF users add comments, fill in form fields (that you've added in Acrobat), and add digital signatures.



FYI, the Help topic is here:



http://help.adobe.com/en_US/InDesign/6.0/WS8715A1ED-8C33-4cff-9ADE-3CDB1C6C707Fa .html

As I said in my next post, I was referring to submit by email.



I'm still on Acrobat 7, so perhaps it's been updated in 9. But when I submit by email in a form from Acrobat 7 just the

XML file of the data is mailed.



k

So am I Ken...I didn't know you were still using 7. The ability to all

the entire PDF to be saved with Reader as a filled in form was added

with version 8.



It's a big improvement for people (doctors, lawyers, etc) that want the

form, not just the information.



Bob

Yes. I've just done an e-mail questionnaire using a PDF with a submit by email button. I had a few people say it didn't

work, and printing and faxing the thing instead. I'm wondering whether they thought it didn't work because they weren't

getting a PDF attachment to their e-mail. Despite being told that's exactly what would happen...



k

When I clicked the submit button on Bob's form I never even saw the email-- it just went.

Maybe it's the version of Acrobat the form was created in. I'm using 7 and I believe Bob said he was on 9.



When you click the submit by email button in the form I have just been using you are given a dialogue from which to

choose e-mail options, with the default to use your default email programme. And selecting that option opens a send

message window (for me in Thunderbird) with the To: field filled in with the default email address from the form and

showing the data as an attachment, and identifiable as an XML file not a PDF.



k

I got the same dialog with Bob's form, but I'm using OE, and I never saw the mail.

Wait a minute wait a minute. Deb just wants her end users to be able to ''sign or initial in the top corner'' in the PDF she sends them, and for them to save that to the PDF and send it back.



That doesn't mean she needs to run the Forms wizard or set up form fields or anything.



The PDFs just need to be ''Reader Enabled'' (which can only be done in Acro 8 or 9) so the recipients can add comments or type their initials with the Typewriter tool and save it.



Unfortunately you can't batch this, you have to open them one by one in Acro and do it (in Acro 9, it's Advanced %26gt; Extend Features in Adobe Reader). But no form stuff is necessary.



Reader-enabled PDFs can be used by Reader 7, 8, or 9. If you've added interactive form fields in Acro, the users can fill those in and save their data with the PDF. Or they have a new Commenting toolbar to add comments and save those. Or they have a new Typewriter tool to type directly on the PDF and save that. Deb I don't think you need the interactive form field thing. I think Comments or the Typewriter will suffice for what you're asking about.



Deb if you want to see what your clients see, you can still download Reader 8 and Reader 9 as free downloads from Adobe. They install quickly and don't affect your install of Acrobat, in my experience.



AM

AM, on Windows having Reader and Acrobat (or multiple versions of

either) installed is big no-no.



But I didn't see anywhere where Deb says she doesn't need form fields.

In fact, it sure looks like she wants them and they do have to be done

in Acrobat.



Bob

Bob



From Deb's last post:



''All we'd want is for the client to be able to sign or initial the pdf in the top corner where it says ''Proof Copy'' and

send it back--but many of our clients aren't very computer literate and I'm sure they don't have the most recent

versions of Reader (and the idea of having to try to explain the concept of using a stamp gives me a headache). But, I'd

do it IF that meant that they--in whatever version they're using--can stamp it, save it, and email it back!''



I have suggested that Commenting may be what she really needs. And if, as she has said, these are proofs that are going

backwards and forwards, once users have got used to using commenting for approval stamping, they may be persuaded to use

it for correction marking as well.



k

Thanks, Ken...I guess I didn't read back that far after we got lost.



And if that's all they need a stamp might do the trick, too, but I can't

recall if that can be done in Reader.



Bob

Nobody reads post 15. ;)



I don't know about earlier versions 'cause CS4 wiped 'em off the machine, but Reader nine on my wife's computer can stamp a comment enabled PDF.

Well then, there you go!



Bob