Skip navigation

Creating, Editing & Exporting PDFs

probb313 Calculating status...

Currently Being Moderated

How can I make a fillable pdf that my customers can open w/ Reader, fill-in and return?

Nov 19, 2012 9:25 PM

Categories: Windows, Macintosh Tags: #acrobat #x #forms #fillable

I created a fillable form with Acrobat X to email to my customers so they can fill it in and return. But when it's opened in Reader, it has a statement at the top of the page that says: Please fill out the following form. You cannont sve data typed into this form. Please print your completed form if you would like a copy for your records.

So my question is this - can a fillable pdf be filled in and returned by email?

356 Views 3 Replies Latest reply: Bill@VT, Nov 20, 2012 4:44 AM

Replies

Currently Being Moderated

1. Bernd Alheit,

Nov 19, 2012 11:47 PM in reply to probb313

Report

It is possible with Adobe Reader XI.

|
Mark as:
9,208 posts
Aug 11, 2002

Currently Being Moderated

2. George Johnson,

Nov 20, 2012 12:09 AM in reply to probb313

Report

If someone is using Reader prior to 11, the document will need to be Reader-enabled. To do this with Acrobat 10, open the form and select: File > Save As > Reader Extended PDF > Enable Additional Features

|
Mark as:
Currently Being Moderated

3. Bill@VT,

Nov 20, 2012 4:44 AM in reply to probb313

Report

As indicated, Reader XI resolves the issue, but you can't assume your customers have Reader XI at this point. Since you mention customers, that suggests a situation where you would likely have many submissions (> 500). Activating for Reader is an issue if you suspect more than 500 responses. The way around this is to NOT submit the PDF, but submit the data (FDF from AcroForms or XML from Designer forms). The submission of data files is not restricted to Reader Activated PDFs.

The other issue is you are likely using e-mail submission. You should consider alternative routes to suggest to the customer (like complete and print) since e-mail will likely fail for some of them and you have no control over that. E-mail submissions depend on the setup of the client system, typically requiring MAPI. So stating an alternative when e-mail fails is a good idea. Otherwise your customers will probably give up on you.

|
Mark as: