Adobe Acrobat Pro Users?

[Scott Shepherd]

Anyone out there good with Acrobat? I have Acrobat Pro 9 and I'm trying to do something I consider simple. Yet, months have now passed and I'm no closer to be able to do it than I was months ago.

I want something very simple- to create a pdf that goes on a website that people click on and they fill out. When they submit it, it emails me.

Seems super simple and I can create a html form to do it, but I have this program and I am determined to use it.

I can make the form fine, but when I get to the end, it wants to distribute it. I don't want to do that. Plus, it wants to stick me in that form wizard thing that gets even more confusing.

I've been around computers since they first came out. I've programmed in several languages, and I like to think I'm fluent with most software I have, but this thing seems to be the most illogical thing I've ever seen.

Apparently it's a different way of thinking than I am accustomed to and I can't break that cycle.

Anyone care to walk me through the steps I need to do?

[J D Thomas]

In order to do what you want, my experience has been that you have to set up a form in HTML and then a CGI script on the server needs to process the information and parse everything. I did it to my site many years ago and even took a CGI programming class so I could write and edit the script myself. The script sorts the info and emails it to me and then sends a responding thank you email to te originator. I don't know of any way to have a PDF on a site accomplish this.

[Scott Shepherd]

But that's what the online pdf is supposed to be able to do. I can make the form that the user fills in, just can't get past the last step of how to get it from a creation to something I can put on the website.

The wizard wants to distribute it and doesn't give other options.

[Peter Benders]

try to search google on how to do it .maybe you are doing something wrong. google literally has answers for everything.

[Todd Willhoit]

You have several options.
On the Distribute Form dialog you can select "Manually collect responses in my mailbox" from the dropdown. On the next screen you have the option to save a local copy to send later. Acrobat will create a file named myfile_distributed.pdf

Otherwise,

If using Acrobat to create the form:
Add a regular button and rename to "Submit by Email" or whatever. Right-click and select Properties. On the Actions tab select Mouse Up as the Trigger, and Submit a form as the Action and click Add. Another Dialog box will appear. Enter the URL as mailto:me@myemail.com. Set the export format to PDF if that is what you want in return.

If using LiveCycle to create the form:
Add a regular button and change the caption. With the button selected, go to the Field tab on the Object palette. Change the Control Type to Submit. The Object palette will now have a Submit tab. On the submit tab set the Submit to URL to mailto:me@myemail.com and set the Submit As dropdown to PDF.

Hopefully one of these options will do what you want.

Todd

[Scott Shepherd]

Thanks Todd, when you pick the form wizard in 9, it automatically opens Live Cycle. I put the submit button in, assigned an email address and saved it. It's exactly the right "look" and "feel", but when I hit submit, a dialog box comes up and asks if I have local mail or internet mail (yahoo, etc.). I pick the local one and hit submit and nothing happens. I don't get any response and the form just sits there doing nothing, no confirmation the form was submitted or anything.

I look at the properties on that button, but there aren't really any, other than the email to send it to, which is filled out properly.

Any ideas?

It does mention "outlook", "mail" and a couple of email programs by name, and I'm using Thunderbird, so I was wondering it perhaps it's my mail client that's not compatible with it.

[Todd Willhoit]

My comments for all three methods are based on use with Outlook:

1. LiveCycle will prompt you for the email application and then open a new email message window in the app. The user must send the email.

2. The Distributed form built in Acrobat prompts for the email address in the Send Form dialog and then the email app, but it pushes the message directly to the outbox.

3. The standard Acrobat form prompts for the email app and pushes directly to the outbox.
Regardless of the method, you should see a message in your outbox. I have no experience with Thunderbird, so I don't know what to expect.

Having said that, the setup for LiveCycle depends on whether you are using the Email Submit Button or a standard button. If you use the Email submit button, make sure you enter the email address as me@myemail.com. If you are using a regular button relabeled as email submit, make sure you Enter the URL as mailto:me@myemail.com.

One more thing to look at is the email address stored in Acrobat in the Edit>Preferences>Identity menu. I have heard that that an email address here can override the address for the submit button. Many leave this field blank to avoid the possibility.

As an experiment, you could try the internet mail option to verify that it works that way. It might help narrow the problem to Thunderbird.

[Dave Johnson29]

I want something very simple- to create a pdf that goes on a website that people click on and they fill out. When they submit it, it emails me.


Scott,

This sounds like a simple thing to do with MailTo which is a CGI script usually provided free by your website host.

The email you receive will have the input field name followed by the data if any.

Name : Scott Shepherd
Address_1 : 1200 Mystreet
Address_2 :
City : Denver

I think you are trying to swat a fly with a sledge hammer. This is pretty simple HTML stuff.

[Scott Shepherd]

Yes, I know how to do it in html with a script. The pdf is made to do this. It's about 100 times easier to do in a pdf than with scripts and html and having to ftp to the server, etc., etc.

If you go to any IRS publication, they are using pdf's that you fill in. That's all I'm doing, I just want it mailed to me.

I suspect my issue is with the mail client, but the people that have requested I put this in place, all use Outlook, so it may work fine.

Also, "mailto" in html is a great way to end up with 1000's of spam messages. Bot's search out for that tag and flood the address with spam (been there, done that).

[Dave Johnson29]

Also, "mailto" in html is a great way to end up with 1000's of spam messages.

:) Use a small java script to XOR the email address when the user clicks "Send" I have not had a single spam to several MailTo systems on my websites and they have been there for 6+ years.

[Scott Shepherd]

:) Use a small java script to XOR the email address when the user clicks "Send" I have not had a single spam to several MailTo systems on my websites and they have been there for 6+ years.

Yes, and you are a programmer. I'm trying to setup something that the average person can change and update without having to be a programmer. With Acrobat, you can take an existing form, it creates all the fields for you from the existing form and you just put a "submit as email" button on it and it's done. No programming skills needed.

I just think it doesn't play well with Thunderbird.