Fillable Word Document or Advice

["... you mean these fans?"]

Hi,

 

I have a client who ask me if I knew anything about creating a Fillable Word Doc.

 

I suggested "Filemaker" ??  And they said "Sure, send the form" and "Now does this mean that all of our client have to have a copy of Filemaker" ?? 

 

So, my questions is this.

 

I'm I asking for trouble doing it within Filemaker or just find a plug in and make some suggestions.

 

Reading the issues with PC's not being able to edit pdf's and is this issue with mac as well.  And then with me, if "A" form comes back, how can I get this new data back into Filemaker without the aide of a plug-in's ( Is this Possible ?? )

 

If I create a pdf within their current FM solution and my client emails to their client, then I'm thinking … let the client use their PDF editor to fill in the blanks ??  Most people I've meet can not handle their pdf editor nor can the editor really add the text properly without extensive nudging UP / DWN  LEFT / RIGHT … then email the filled in pdf back to my client where they would import this pdf document back into the solution.  Not sure how to do this … if possible ?

 

Is Adobe and options ??

 

I would like to avoid plug-ins due to the organization low budget and would like to create an option through Filemaker if at all possible that would work on both Mac's and PC's

 

They are local, working out of a room in the organizers house and really on donations.

 

Anyway; any insight, suggestion, advise I would be grateful.

 

Tom :-)

[email protected]

 

 

[comment]

Perhaps you should start by explaining what your client is trying to accomplish here. Only then will a discussion of the methods and tools to achieve that goal become worthwhile.

["... you mean these fans?"]

Hmm...

 

A fillable form a client sends to their customers via some kind of a Text / SpreadSheet or PDF.

 

When the form comes back, I'm guessing via email … enter the data into their FM solution.  

 

To me when a customer ask for a fillable document I would assume their goal is to streamline their data entry process.  So how best can this be accomplished based on the client not hosting their file.

 

And from all I've read it is not doable; realistically.

 

I've put in a request to ask if they can push a spreadsheet to their customer and use an open source app like "Open Office" to open, enter, save and send back via email were we can export to a .csv file and then import into their FM solution.

 

All I was hoping for was a process that I may have overlooked ( no plug-ins ) and thought that someone in the forum would have had some success.

 

Wisdom would be nice, though wisdom often prevails only after 30 years of being in the trenches :-)

 

Thank you

 

Tom :-)

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

[comment]

To me when a customer ask for a fillable document I would assume their goal is to streamline their data entry process.

 

I would assume nothing and ask questions. For example, how often do they need to do this? Will the form (or forms) always be the same, or do they need to design new forms frequently (how frequently)? What kind of processing do they need to do with the results? And so on...

 

In any case, I believe that sending out Word forms is acceptable only if you know for sure that the recipients have Word (and know more or less how to use it). IMHO, the smarter way is to provide an online questionnaire - either through a service or through Google Drive.