The Love-Hate PDF Relationship
Filling out a form is a great way to normalize data and capture all of the required information. It is hard to believe that in this advanced world of web sites and connectivity, the proverbial PDF form still exists. In may cases, I know that I have defaulted to a PDF form due to the amount of time it would take to submit a change to the web site and add the form fields on a web site. Upon embarking on the PDF form adventure, I can admit that I did not look at it from the user experience. Over the last two weeks, I have had an opportunity to be on the user side of a PDF document and it is less than desirable. During this time I had to refresh my memory on what it is like to fill out these forms and the pitfalls that can occur. This article is designed to help you avoid PDF dangers.
When you obtain a PDF form, you can assume that the Adobe company contributed to the process. Adobe made the PDF a household name with the distribution of a free reader years ago. Now the PDF component of their business brings in something in the neighborhood of 1BN. (See Adobe Remains Dominant in Creative While Setting its Sights on Marketing Solutions). PDF documents can arrive via an email attachment or a download from a web site. Regardless of the method incurred to receive the form, the first thing you need to do is SAVE The form somewhere else.
Many users receive the email with the PDF attachment and they open it from their email and commence filling it in. Executing that procedure has exposed you to losing the data you fill out on the form. Upon receiving the form, you need to save it on your local computer and remember where you save it. DO NOT OPEN AND START FILLING IN THE FORM FROM YOU EMAIL. Take the time to save the attachment to your Documents folder and write down the file name.
Once the location and file name is complete, launch the Adobe Reader program. The majority of people will have or need the FREE Adobe Reader. The download for Adobe Reader is here if you need a copy. To recap, if you are just filling in a form, you don’t need to pay for Adobe Reader. Adobe Reader is free.(The distribution of the reader is made possible by the sales Adobe makes from selling the products that make these forms.)
Once the Adobe Reader program has launched, navigate to the location where you saved the PDF file and open it. The document will open in the Adobe Reader program. If the creator of the form has created the form correctly, you can type in the required data in the fields that they have highlighted. During the duration of your time working on the form, utilize the <Save> button from the Adobe software to continuously save your changes.
When the form is complete, you can now use your email to attach this completed form and send it to the final destination.
In summary, save the PDF forms to your computer and use the Adobe Program to open the PDF and fill out the data. This will save you hours of work looking for the form or missing a field to fill out.