Re: Filling out forms

[Max Wyss <prodok -at- PRODOK -dot- CH>]

Dick,

It could be kind of overkill, but it might be worthwile for you to look at
the Forms capabilities of Adobe Acrobat. You would need the full package
(including Exchange and the Capture Plug-in, plus the new (downloadable)
Acrobat Forms 3.5 plug-in). These two products would allow you to scan the
forms and keep them as background. You then would add the appropriate form
fields, which you can then fill out. If you want a "real clean" copy, you
can duplicate the form fields to another page, and print this page on the
original form. You might need to do some adjustments, that the fields are
properly placed, but you would do it for all fields at once.

If you are a little bit adventurous, you could even use some JavaScript
capabilities, to, for example, make some calculations.

If this is really overkill, you might look at illustrator software, such as
Adobe Illustrator or CorelDraw. You'd use the scanned original form as
guide to place your text fields.

With a DTP program, such as Adobe PageMaker or Quark XPress, or FrameMaker,
you could proceed similarly, but also link the indivicual text frames,
which would make importing your texts easier, although Illustrator 7 should
allow you to do the same.

Hope, this can help.


Max Wyss
PRODOK Engineering AG
Technical documentation and translations, Electronic Publishing
CH-8906 Bonstetten, Switzerland

Fax:  +41 1 700 20 37
e-mail:  mailto:prodok -at- prodok -dot- ch    or    100012 -dot- 44 -at- compuserve -dot- com



Bridging the Knowledge Gap



______________


>Hello all,
>
>>From time to time I need to update and re-submit sets of employment
>related forms.
>
>In the "good old days" (Ha!) I could put the form into a typewriter and
>type in all the details, all neat and tidy.
>
>I have managed to do the same thing using computer and printer, but it
>is very painstaking and extremely time consuming to get everything 'just
>right'. The biggest problem is adjusting the linespacing to coincide
>with the pre-printed lines on the form.
>
>It occurs to me that I should be able to have the forms scanned, then
>bring them up onto the screen where I could use them as a background
>visual template, typing in the details and adjusting the linespacing
>exactly as required to fit the screen image. I should then be able to
>load the original form into the printer, print out the text and presto!
>everyting fits perfectly!
>
>I would be most interested to hear from anyone who has done this.
>
>Which scanned-file format is best suited?
>Which software package would be best suited to this task?
>(The required text already exists as Word6 files).
>
>Any help will be much appreciated.
>
>Dick
>