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lorriec60821670
lorriec60821670
Participating Frequently
April 9, 2015
Answered

Does the recipient of an Acrobat fillable form have to have Acrobat in order to fill it out?

  • April 9, 2015
  • 2 replies
  • 22428 views

I'm hoping to post fillable Adobe Acrobat forms on our website, but am wondering if those filling them out will have to also have Acrobat. Most if not all of them will only have Reader.

    Correct answer Test Screen Name

    I must disagree. The form will not work properly in the majority of browsers now in use, because they do not (by default) use Adobe technology. In some cases the form won't be fillable, in some it might seem to be but ends up broken. This is a serious and growing problem.

    By the way, your original question needs to focus on what you want to do with the form. In fact, Adobe Reader can always FILL forms. But then what? Now you have to ask the real questions. What do you want to happen NEXT?  Submit to a web server in FDF format (works)? Submit to a web server in PDF format? Submit by email (Really, really not recommended)? Print out? Save to disk?  Many of these don't just work, it's only the filling that does.

    2 replies

    T
    Test Screen NameCorrect answer
    Legend
    April 11, 2015

    I must disagree. The form will not work properly in the majority of browsers now in use, because they do not (by default) use Adobe technology. In some cases the form won't be fillable, in some it might seem to be but ends up broken. This is a serious and growing problem.

    By the way, your original question needs to focus on what you want to do with the form. In fact, Adobe Reader can always FILL forms. But then what? Now you have to ask the real questions. What do you want to happen NEXT?  Submit to a web server in FDF format (works)? Submit to a web server in PDF format? Submit by email (Really, really not recommended)? Print out? Save to disk?  Many of these don't just work, it's only the filling that does.

    lorriec60821670
    lorriec60821670Author
    Participating Frequently
    April 13, 2015

    Thank you for your response. We are uncertain what we want to do with the form. We had thought that for now we would simply have recipients fill it out, print it, and return by mail. I see that you strongly discourage this idea. Ideally, we would be able to import the data from the form into a Filemaker database, or at least into an Excel spreadsheet (from which it could then be imported into the Filemaker database. Any suggestions?

    T
    Test Screen Name
    Legend
    April 13, 2015

    What I really don't recommend is submitting by EMAIL. Printing and sending by MAIL (in an envelope) is fine.

    Realise, though, that many people don't understand this idea and will look for a way to send a form electronically unless (or even if) you labour the point.  If the form contains personal information, you want to actively discourage email for legal and privacy reasons.

    AadeshSingh
    Community Manager
    AadeshSinghCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    April 9, 2015

    Hi lorriec60821670,

    If the form is saved in 'Reader Extended PDF' format then it is not necessary for the person filling the form to have Acrobat installed on their system.

    You can created forms using Acrobat on your computer & Save them using 'Reader Extended PDF' option , this will allow the users at the other end to fill the form using Adobe Reader & it won't be necessary for them to install Acrobat on their system.

    Let me know if you still need any help, we will be more than happy to assist you.

    Regards,

    Aadesh

    lorriec60821670
    lorriec60821670Author
    Participating Frequently
    April 9, 2015

    Thank you so much! And will the form be readable and fillable in all

    commonly used browsers, and on both PCs and Macs?

    On Thu, Apr 9, 2015 at 11:16 AM, aadeshs76610910 <forums_noreply@adobe.com>

      AadeshSingh
      Community Manager
      AadeshSinghCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      April 9, 2015

      Hi lorriec60821670,

      Yes, you are absolutely correct. It will work on all the commonly installed browsers & on both Windows PCs & Macs. The only requirement is the Adobe reader installed on the computer & the plugins installed on the browser, and you don't have to worry about them as they get automatically installed once the user at the other end tries to view the PDF.

      Is there anything else I may help you with?

      Regards,

      Aadesh.

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