Duff Johnson has put together some tips on how to save PDF forms in Adobe Reader over on his PDF Perspectives blog. It’s a question that frequently comes up on forums and is a point of confusion for many people. The confusion stems from the fact that Adobe Reader cannot save PDF forms locally by default –- a surprising revelation to many users.

So what are the Adobe options for saving PDF forms in Adobe Reader if it’s not enabled by default? Duff suggests:

• Adobe Reader Extensions as conferred by Adobe Acrobat Professional 8 or 9.
• Adobe Reader Extensions as conferred by an Adobe LiveCycle Reader Extensions Server (LCRES).
• Build your own server to provide an “online save” function for Reader users.

Something you thought would be easy, suddenly seems a bit harder.

As always with PDF, there are of course some third party options for saving PDF forms as well. If you’re strictly looking to purchase something for filling out PDF forms as a one off or semi-regularly, and don’t need the full functionality of Acrobat, then something like CutePDF Form Filler might meet your requirements.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for an entirely free web-based solution, then PDFescape.com might interest you or if you’re a Linux user, PDFedit could do the trick. 

Update  #1 (29/12/08): added references to PDFescape.com and PDFedit.

Related Posts:
• PDFescape Adds Text Selection To Online PDF Viewer
• PDFescape.com Adds Google Login Option
• Update on the Acrobat and Reader Security Flaw

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