Editing LAA Forms

[braywood]

I've downloaded several forms from the site and am having trouble saving my work. I can't seem to get around the protection on the .pdf file. I want to be able to share and edit my mod with a friend so we can be sure it is correct.
I save my work, but when reopened, it is not complete.
What am I missing??

Mark B.

[John Dean]

Hi Mark,

Which form are you trying to edit and what program were you using to do so? Most .pdf downloads are not meant to be edited.

[tnowak]

Most home PCs come with Adobe reader only which means you can open PDF files but not write to them.
At work we have Adobe Acrobat DC which allow forms to be completed and saved but you have to buy that particular version (unlikely to be cheap...).

I have often wondered why the LAA forms aren't in MS Word format which would allow them to be completed and saved.
Tony

[skelly]

I agree with Tony,

I have recently been boggling with a Mod5 form which loads as a PDF that you can fill in then send but its a bit of a strange process.

Life would be a lot easier if they were in word format then I could download it, fill it in and send it off, then it would be much easier for the LAA to send it back to me to amend/change as appropriate.

I'm sure there is a reason why the forms are the way they are but a lot of people have said similar things about them.

Cheers,
Skelly.

[Nick Allen]

If you start sending forms out in Word: (a) people will start amending the form itself and not the fields, opening up all sort of cans of worms, and (b) you're offering another route for viruses.

The latest version of Acrobat Reader allows you to do a lot more than the older versions, so I suggest making sure you have the most up-to-date version installed.

Also, download the PDF to your drive and open it there, rather than just opening it in a browser. Then select "Fill & Sign" and you should be able to type into the fields. (I've just tried this on a couple of Engineering forms and it works fine.)

[tnowak]

Nick,

Are you sure?
Unless things have changed, you have to purchase the full version of Adobe to "fill in a form" and save your completed form.
You may be able to enter data into a form but you can't save the form you have just completed with your inputted data.

Tony

[mikehallam]

Perhaps not, it's always different for me, but a screen shot (plenty of simple free programmes) would do

[Nick Allen]

As I said, the latest version of Reader (Reader DC) does form filling (via the Fill & Sign menu). It's true that in the past you needed the full-blown Acrobat, but not any more.

I have literally just opened (once again) a form from Engineering in Reader DC, filled in some fields, and saved it. And opened it again!

There's a short Youtube video here (using a Mac, but Windows does the same): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7k6WM2jb8E

[tnowak]

Nick,

Well, you are correct!
The free version of Acrobat Reader DC I have on my new laptop does allow for form filling and retention of that data.
That certainly wasn't the case about 12-18 months ago.

Thanks for pointing out the improvement in functionality.

Tony