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cmm

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Apr 30, 2006
842
36
NYC
I have to fill out a lot of PDFs by printing them, and then using a pen to write in information, e.g. address, name, contact info, etc.

Is there a way I can turn a non-fillable PDF into a fillable PDF? I have Adobe Acrobat X Pro but I am unsure how to do this. Or is there another application (preferably free)?

Thanks.
 
I have to fill out a lot of PDFs by printing them, and then using a pen to write in information, e.g. address, name, contact info, etc.

Is there a way I can turn a non-fillable PDF into a fillable PDF? I have Adobe Acrobat X Pro but I am unsure how to do this. Or is there another application (preferably free)?

Thanks.

This will do it:

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/19911/formulatepro

You can also select a PDF as the watermark for a word document (Make sure you uncheck the Washout box and leave Scale set to Auto) and do it that way.

Of course acrobat pro will also do it, but I don't have any experience with that.
 
PdfPen is awesome. It's not cheap but it is worth it if you fill out a lot of pdf's. Even let's you insert your signature.
 
Does anyone know how to do this with Adobe Acrobat X Pro?

From http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9192927/Acrobat_and_its_alternatives_4_ways_to_edit_PDFs_

Working with PDFs: Using the Edit Document Text tool, you position the cursor at the point in the document where you want to insert new text, and type. The backspace and delete keys work like they normally do in a typical text editor, and you can use the mouse to highlight words, letters and other characters.

You can manipulate the size of a body of text. When you select the Edit Object tool and click on a row of text, the application surrounds it with a rectangle, marked with four anchor points at the corners. Clicking, holding and dragging any of these corners inward will shrink the text font size, and dragging outward will increase it.

Click anywhere within the rectangular boundary, hold the left mouse button, and you can drag the row of text to place it in another part of the document.

(One thing to keep in mind when you edit text in a PDF document: The lines of text don't automatically "wrap." If you add more words, the row will extend toward the right. If you remove text, the row's length will shorten. But in either case, the row below it will not automatically link to the end of the row you edited, and the flow of the rest of the text in the paragraph will not automatically be reformatted.)
 
So there is no way to take an already created PDF and edit it so it can become fillable (both for this specific time and in the future)?
 
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So there is no way to take an already created PDF and edit it so it can become fillable (both for this specific time and in the future)?

Yes you can do this in Acrobat Pro X. If acrobat seems to daunting, Formulate Pro will do it for you and it is free.
 
Yes you can do this in Acrobat Pro X. If acrobat seems to daunting, Formulate Pro will do it for you and it is free.

Can you tell me how to do it? Or, even better: Can you tell me what the function is called, and I'll google it to learn how to use it in Adobe Acrobat X Pro.

Thank you.
 
Can you tell me how to do it? Or, even better: Can you tell me what the function is called, and I'll google it to learn how to use it in Adobe Acrobat X Pro.

Keep trying. Eventually someone might actually answer the question you've asked. Wish I could...
 
I recently started using a relatively new app called PDF Signer - http://pdfsign.com

It allows you to add text fields and your scanned signature to any PDF. No more printing and scanning...
 
Mac App Store: FormMate, roughly $22.

I have PDFPen, and used Acrobat Pro for years (on WinWoes), but when it comes to ease of use, and re-use, nothing beats this app for handling forms. First of all, it doesn't touch your original pdf. It pulls it in some sort of copy; you simply double-click on any line or in any field, and start typing. When you save, it saves in the app's proprietary format; BUT, this is actually good--- later, if you need to make changes, you open the app's version of the pdf (extension = FrM8), and you can revise without hassle. When you're done, the 1st or 17th time, you just export to pdf and you're good to go.

Note: You can also change the font and font size, as well as move the text you've typed, so it better aligns with the form. Doesn't matter if you've moved on to another field, saved to FrM8 or exported. You can always go back to that FrM8 version and easily make changes. It truly is a fantastic app. I seem to have abandoned all the others in favor of this app, coupled with PDF Suite (App Store/$2; super-easy merging, among other features) and Preview. I grabbed PDFPen before I was aware of these two apps.
 
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