PDF files and stubborn people

using old versions of Acrobat Reader

[microcars]

I've run into a small problem creating a Registration Form for an event, it is meant to be printed out and MAILED in, so PDF is a good format for this.

My version of Adobe InDesign will create a PDF that is compatible with Acrobat Reader 4.0 , so you'd think this wouldn't be a problem, right?

wrong. apparently there are a number of people who are still using Acrobat Reader 3.0 and they are complaining about the fact that they can't open the Registration Form. I've had to create a simple HTML form they can print out, but of course depending on their browser and OS and how its configured, the forms print out as half a page with tiny type, or fine, or giant print on several pages.

And of course the client complains and wants to know why it can't just print on one page for EVERYONE.

Well, if everyone used the same computers, software and OS, it would be no problem.

I have a link for downloading Acrobat Reader right under the Registration Form link and one guy who tried to download the Reader said he refused to pay $299 for it! Apparently he was trying to download the 30day free trial for the full version of Acrobat.

I guess he can't read, either that or Adobe has taking lessons from REAL on how to setup a download page for a "free" reader.

Does anyone else who uses PDF files for printable forms run into this issue?

grrrrr......

[crashomon]

Well, if people are really "old school" and won't update their browsers, then how about simply making an "image" of the pdf file and saving it as a jpeg image? That way, they can print it out and everyone is happy.

Here are some other ideas -that don't really approach the 'update acrobat NOW' solution.

Have a 'fax-back' solution, where when people call a fax number, it will fax the form back to them, all nicely formatted for them to fill out.

Finally, have a 'mailto' option where you simply 'mail the forms to the people for mailing back (worst and most expensive option).

Good luck,

Patrick Elward

[Dreamquick]

Stupid question I know but why can't *you* go the extra mile and produce a "lite" version of the PDF form that will work in older versions of reader?

- Tony

[ergophobe]

Do you know what changed between Reader 3 and 4?

Can you even get a copy of Acrobat Reader 3 to test with?

[microcars]

Stupid question I know but why can't *you* go the extra mile and produce a "lite" version of the PDF form that will work in older versions of reader?

I'd love to, it is not a complicated pdf file, but my version of Adobe InDesign (2.0.1) will not let me export to any file format that is compatible with anything less than 4.0

I've found that Mac OS X will allow my "print to pdf" to "sometimes" be viewable by people with 3.0, but it seems to be a hit and miss affair.

but, as I mentioned in my previous post, InDesign will not allow me to "print to pdf" using OS X print utility, it will only allow me to EXPORT as a pdf for 4.0 or higher.

[katana_one]

If you link directly to the Acrobat Reader download page, instead of the Acrobat product family, you will eliminate some confusion about the $299 retail price for Acrobat pro.

[adobe.com...]

Of course, you may already be doing this, in which case you just have ignorant users, and I still have not found a workaround for those.

By the way, here is an archive of older versions of the Acrobat Reader.
[adobe.com...]

Also, you should be able to take that version 4 PDF and re-distill it through Acrobat Distiller as a version 3 compatible document. Look under you Job Options in Distiller.

[vexcominc]

Can you possibly use RTF format instead? Opens cross platform, Apple/Windows, works with Wordpad... You can also create dynamic RTF documents with backend languages like Coldfusion or PHP.

Just make teh form in Wordpag - save as RTF then open in a HTML text editor to view the source code.

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[microcars]

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

yup, that is exactly the link I use.

Of course, you may already be doing this, in which case you just have ignorant users, and I still have not found a workaround for those.

I called the guy who "didn't want to pay $299 for the upgrade" to see what was up. He is on AOL with a cable modem, 400mhz Winders 98 and he said he got a confusing pop up that "redirected" him to some page that told him to buy the full version of Acrobat after the 30 day trial.

I think I will have to crack open my full version of Acrobat and take the previous advice about converting the 4.0 pdf to a 3.0 one.

thanks for everyone's insights.

[tedster]

RTF has been my favorite for a while - the unsung hero. Keep the forms relatively simple, though, or file size can zoom.

[bull]

I am using Distiller to convert newer PDFs to PDF 1.2, which is compatible to Acrobat Reader 3.0, with success. A client is using an old imac with this version of Reader on it, he will never upgrade. RTF is not the way to go for me since I use vector graphics within the file, building plans directly from the CAD software to be more precise, and there is nothing that can beat a PDF concerning size and quality in this case. I think the Ghostscript package can convert to PDF 1.2 as well, but I have not used it for two years now. For pure text, RTF seems indeed reasonable.

[pkchukiss]

A solution to the $299 user's troubles would be to download a copy of Reader's setup file onto the server, set up a reference to it from your download page, and direct all the users to it. Of course that would not solve the problem of users who use older software, but at least you would have provided a usable solution to users who are less resistant towards the upgrade.