pdf's

Help with making a pdf interactive

[jay422]

I have a pdf file that I would like to make slightly accessible. The file contains some reading material and a form. When I email the file, I would like to make only the form interactive where it can be filled in and then emailed back to me.

Is this possible? If so, how. If not, can you provide another solution.

I have access to Adobe CS, but I'm not sure how to go about it.

[katana_one]

I don't have the CS version of Adobe Acrobat, so maybe the following is no longer relevant:

In my experience, it's not worth the bother to try and create an emailable form in PDF (but yes, it can be done… more below). The main problem is that for the PDF to send the data the user must have his/her browser open while filling out the form. The reason for this is that Acrobat needs to send the data to a script (on your website). And if you're processing forms via server-side scripts on your website, why not just link to a good ol' HTML form, right?

Look in the help files for Adobe Acrobat and you should find more than enough info on how to create an interactive form. The primary tool you will be using is called (appropriately enough) the "form tool" (keyboard shortcut "F" in Windows). The good news is that you can create some rather complex interactivity through a very simple interface, and if you don't mind a bit of coding, you can make it even more complex - and still have it all print just the way you want it to look.

[jay422]

Thanks so much! I did start an html form just 'cause I didn't know how else to go about it. But now that I know there Adobe has the ability, I am definitely going to try it this way.

[katana_one]

The help files for Adobe Acrobat are fairly extensive, and are a great resource because they include step by step examples on how to create forms. In fact, that's how I learned how to do it.