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Create interactive PDF checklists
Checklists are an extremely useful tool
when consistency and completeness of a complex task are required.
A checklist can serve to communicate information to users or
supervisors, to record items that have been completed, to highlight
missing items, and to provide proof of process.
Interactive checklists provide all of
the functionality of paper-based checklists, with the added benefit
of automation, validation, export to a database, and electronic
access/archiving. The electronic format also helps to eliminate
problems that are typical of paper-based workflows, such as incomplete
data, incomprehensible handwriting, costly archiving and retrieval.
Creating a PDF that uses form fields does not mean that the checklist
is designed purely for on-screen use. The same document can serve
both for print and online purposes.
In the interactive checklist, form fields
are used to create check boxes which can be standalone or dependent
on the status of other checkboxes/items in the list, validation
buttons and input text fields.
Although it is possible to create forms
in Acrobat Professional, adding form fields manually is labor-intensive.
Using FrameMaker-to-Acrobat TimeSavers & Form Assistant,
you can take advantage of all of FrameMaker capabilities to author
documents that, upon conversion to PDF, will automatically contain
text fields, check boxes, radio buttons and additional controls.
PDF examples (authored with FrameMaker,
distilled with TimeSavers+Form Assistant):
(Note: With Acrobat Professional
8, you can enable PDFs so that form data can be saved in Adobe
Reader) |