Creating PDF forms in Frame (switch from Word?)

[_VB_Beck_]

Here's another "can I switch from Word" question. I am an old (5.5) Frame ACE now in a new job where we use Word. Frame would be a much better choice in many ways, for many reasons.

I could use some help figuring out whether Frame creates forms that convert easily to PDF. As an end product, what we need is a PDF form with a large number of fixed-length text fields; users must be able to download the form and fill it in at their leisure, either all at once or in stages, saving their work as they go.

These files are currently constructed in Word out of tables. They are a terrible mess and must be recreated from scratch. If Frame handles forms well, we can start that work fresh in Frame and dump Word completely. (This is a question I could answer for myself in a few minutes if I could download a trial. Bad timing.)

Can somebody with a current copy of Frame tell me how it handles forms and whether it's possible to use Frame to create PDF forms with plenty of fixed-length text fields, some of them quite long?

Your help is much appreciated. Thank you!
V. B. Beck

[AxialInfo]

Yes, FM could certainly handle your forms. For a set of examples, prowl through Microtype's website and look at the TimeSavers products (used with FM) http://www.microtype.com -- I believe there are several examples of forms there.

What version of Acrobat do your users typically use?

[_VB_Beck_]

Thank you, Sheila.

Users are most likely to simply have Adobe Reader.

Sorry to be asking for so much help--it is rather maddening not to be able to download the trial and take a quick look for myself.

Are form fields defined directly within Frame, or is it necessary to hack the PDF? If within Frame, how is length of input defined--by number of characters? Or, as with LiveCycle Designer, can you "limit length to visible area"?

Thanks as always and in advance for the help.

[AxialInfo]

Not a major issue, it was more a question to see whether you needed fairly "vanilla" form features or whether you were bleeding edge aficionados <g>.

[AxialInfo]

You can do PDF forms directly from FrameMaker, but using the TimeSavers utility from Microtype makes the process quite a bit easier to manage. Basically TimeSavers works by adding markers to the FM file which when converted to PDF get automagically changed into form fields.

[_thomas_bro_]

FYI

The way Forms Assistant works (the Microtype TimeSavers product that converts FM entities to PDF forms is this:

You insert a FM marker into either:
* an empty cell in a table
* an empty text frame.

The size of either determines the size of the created PDF form.

The content all depends on the codes you write in the FM marker. Almost all PDF forms codes are supported.

keep smiling
thomas

[JuleeBruce]

Search for the document titled "Cooking up Enhanced PDF with pdfmark Recipes"