Using PDF Forms
Downloading PDFs
Forms and instructions
can be downloaded using Acrobat
Reader. The forms
are PDF fill-in forms which users will be able to complete onscreen,
print out, and fax in.
The free Adobe Acrobat
Reader does not allow you to save your completed forms. You can save
your completed forms if you use Acrobat Approval or the full Acrobat
Standard or Professional Programs. Acrobat Approval is no longer available,
but existing versions will work.
If you are having difficulty
downloading a PDF, please make sure you have the most recent version
of Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you need further help, try Adobe's customer support.
If you only see a blank
page when you download the PDF, usually you are not waiting long enough
for the file to download. If you have this problem, or would like to
speed the download a bit, please try this: Instead of clicking on the
link for the PDF, right-click. On the pop-up menu select "Save
Target As" (Internet Explorer) or "Save Link As" (Netscape).
Select the place on your hard drive to save the file, and the name.
Once you click Save, the file will download to your computer hard drive.
Once the file has downloaded, you can double-click on it to open it.
It is usually quicker to download the file this way, because it is downloading
the file immediately instead of waiting for your Acrobat program to
open before downloading the file.
Instructions for
Using Fill-in Forms
If you are using the
free Acrobat Reader:
Before you start to fill
out a form, please make sure that you have all the correct, final information
available. You may wish to print the forms first, fill them out by hand,
and ensure their accuracy before filling in the final forms on your
computer. As Adobe Acrobat Reader does not allow you to save the
form once it is filled out, you will be unable to go back and retrieve
or edit information once you close the window containing the forms.
You must print out the forms before you close the window or you will
lose the information you have entered. With multi-page documents, you
may want to proofread and print each page as you complete it.
If you are using Acrobat
Approval:
You can save, close,
and reopen a form as you would a conventional word processing document.
Please note that currently
there is no computer-generated computation, validation, or verification
of the information that you enter. Form fields simply allow you to type
in information; you must ensure that it is correct.
To complete the forms:
If your cursor
is not already in the shape of a "hand", select the "hand"
tool from the Acrobat toolbar menu. This will allow you to move the
page around to see each portion.
Move the "hand"
pointer over a form box on the document. The "hand" should
turn into an "I-beam." The "I-beam" signifies a
"fill-in" section of the form. Click inside the box. You can
now type into the box. When the pointer hovers over a check box, button,
or item list, it will turn into a hand with one finger pointing. This
means you can select the item.
Fill out the
form by typing text into the appropriate areas and checking boxes where
needed. (Boxes can be checked either by clicking on the box with your
mouse or by tabbing into the box and hitting the "enter" key.)
To move from
field to field, use the Tab key. Shift + Tab will move you to the previous
field.
Print the
form using the "print" icon in the Acrobat toolbar menu, not
the print icon or command in your Web browser. If you print using your
Web browser's print command instead of the Acrobat command, the contents
of the fields might not print properly.
Check the
printed forms very carefully for any errors, fields that did not print,
or omissions. You may go back and make changes to any of the fields
in your open document and then reprint it.