Most of the previous replies are generally correct.

One would need a full (paid) version of Acrobat to do the conversion
from PDF to interactivePDF.  Currently, that is version 6 of Acrobat,
which we are still having compatiblity problems with.  There are several
public domain and shareware Acrobat clones, but they can be technically
difficult to master.

While it is not possible to save the filled out forms if you are using
the free Acrobat Reader, it may be possible to e-mail the filled out
form to yourself (we used this trick about 5 years ago, I'm not sure if
it's still viable).

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The major issue is administrative, not technical.

Keep in mind is that other institutions forms change frequently.  We've
spent hundreds of work hours making government forms interactive, only
to have them become obsolete relatively quickly.  The only way we find
out that our forms are outdated is being told by a PI or Grant
Administrator that there is a problem, then we have to drop everything
to either get the form updated or pull the reference from our website
(which causes more confusion).

Ultimately, we decided to drop the issue of maintaining forms, and
provide links to the agency sites/forms directly.

Steve Shapiro
Computer Systems Development Specialist
Office of Research Services and Administration
University of Oregon
5219 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403

o) 541-346-0720
f) 541-346-5138
main) 541-346-5131

xxxxxx@orsa.uoregon.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: Research Administration List [mailto:xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG] On
Behalf Of Diane Schmitz
Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 2004 9:37 AM
To: xxxxxx@HRINET.ORG
Subject: [RESADM-L] pdf forms

We regularly use government forms that are created as pdf files, but
aren't fillable. Is there newer, more user-friendly software available
that we can use to convert these forms to an interactive format? Or do
we need to keep the typewriter running a little longer?

--
Diane M. Schmitz
Grant & Research Development
Eastern Washington University
Cheney WA 99004-2444

======================================================================
 Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including
subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available
via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists")
======================================================================

======================================================================
 Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including
 subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available
 via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists")
======================================================================