Sign my form, please?
March 3, 2011 9:00 AM Subscribe
I need a PDF form. Employees will go into the field with this form loaded onto a tablet PC and fill out the form for constituents who will then sign it with their actual signature. The form itself is trivial, but how can we do the signature?
Obviously, the form has a designated signature field, but is Acrobat going to be smart enough to 'sense' that there is a tablet+stylus involved, and allow an actual signature, instead of a typed signature? Can I clue it in? If not, what can we do to make this happen?
I do not yet have access to one of the tablets for testing, but I wanted to get as much of a head start on this as I can.
Obviously, the form has a designated signature field, but is Acrobat going to be smart enough to 'sense' that there is a tablet+stylus involved, and allow an actual signature, instead of a typed signature? Can I clue it in? If not, what can we do to make this happen?
I do not yet have access to one of the tablets for testing, but I wanted to get as much of a head start on this as I can.
I have a tablet pc and have signed word documents by choosing "start inking" under the review menu.
A quick google of "adobe pdf tablet pc signature" brought up some interesting discussions. Looks like the issue is whether or not you want an official "digital signature" for legal reasons.
posted by vitabellosi at 9:55 AM on March 3, 2011
A quick google of "adobe pdf tablet pc signature" brought up some interesting discussions. Looks like the issue is whether or not you want an official "digital signature" for legal reasons.
posted by vitabellosi at 9:55 AM on March 3, 2011
Are the types of devices available for, say, UPS and FedEx available to other companies? You know -- a hand-held thing with not much more than the signature space, signable with a stylus? I think the FedEx one has a slightly larger screen with more capability.
Of course, they're huge corporations with the flexibility to make their own doohickeys, but I wonder if something's out there. I can think of a ton of other users (canvassers? medical offices?) who could make good use of this, but as odinsdream mentioned above I'm guessing the legality may be an issue.
posted by Madamina at 11:17 AM on March 3, 2011
Of course, they're huge corporations with the flexibility to make their own doohickeys, but I wonder if something's out there. I can think of a ton of other users (canvassers? medical offices?) who could make good use of this, but as odinsdream mentioned above I'm guessing the legality may be an issue.
posted by Madamina at 11:17 AM on March 3, 2011
If you have the full version of Acrobat, you can have each person create their own Digital Signature. It's a secure file that requires a password to place onto a PDF document. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-iiFo-6Vi0
posted by Jamesonian at 12:07 PM on March 3, 2011
posted by Jamesonian at 12:07 PM on March 3, 2011
It's not a PDF, but I have always happily used Formsite.com for this sort of thing. It's really customizable and efficient.
posted by iamkimiam at 12:20 PM on March 3, 2011
posted by iamkimiam at 12:20 PM on March 3, 2011
(Also, I have a full version of Acrobat and have tried to use the form-PDF-signature thing in the past and it's a total pain on both ends.)
posted by iamkimiam at 12:21 PM on March 3, 2011
posted by iamkimiam at 12:21 PM on March 3, 2011
If you aren't stuck with PDF, MS Infopath has built in "Ink" (stylus) entry and in general works better than PDF forms IMHO.
posted by wongcorgi at 9:06 PM on March 3, 2011
posted by wongcorgi at 9:06 PM on March 3, 2011
We are trying to use the iPad with the Form Tools app.
You should probably get a stylus.
Good Luck.
posted by NatProp at 8:30 AM on March 22, 2011
You should probably get a stylus.
Good Luck.
posted by NatProp at 8:30 AM on March 22, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by chrisinseoul at 9:19 AM on March 3, 2011