Forum Discussion
creating spreadsheet to fill pdf form
I have a fillable .pdf form that is not user friendly. If you make a mistake on a line you cannot move the info down and insert a line of course. I would like to create a spreadsheet with the appropriate layout so that I could insert the form into my printer and Excel would print the info in the appropriate blocks. How would I do this ? Attached is the .pdf form.
4 Replies
How important is it that that actual form exactly as it is be used? Would it be acceptable to use an Excel replica (with maybe some of the vertical lines at the top not aligned as they are, but with all the same information appearing.
I ask because you're going to encounter problems trying to align the physical form with an Excel workbook in a printer. It'll work sometimes, but wouldn't take much to be out of alignment....
That the organization (the FAA?) is still distributing a printed form strikes me as anachronistic to begin with. Maybe you'd be hailed as a hero if you suggested a change.
Anyway, if I were in your place, I'd be looking to change the process of filling in the form...either creating an Excel workbook template that met the same requirements for thoroughness and clarity OR a Word document--which might be even better, since Word is made to process words and that looks to be more the content that is expected.
It might not be that critical to use the exact form. The form is available in a fillable .pdf but for example, if you fill out lines 1-15 and then need to enter a line between say 10 and 11, you cannot add a line, you have to cut and paste each block of each line down one row. I can convert it to the .pdf to Excel and fill it out, but the form ends up being noticeably smaller. Might not be important, we will see. Thanks for your reply!
- As I suggested, though, I think Word would actually be preferable anyway. The tables in Word are far more flexible...and cells can contain more text than Excel allows. And it is easy to add a line (row) to a table in Word.
