I tell you, some stuff is so amazingly simple that you really want to find the creator and give them a BIG ol hug and then smack em’ for not thinking of it sooner…
All kidding aside, one of life’s great mysteries is why Adobe makes it so hard to create PDFs that can be edited and filled out by the average Joe.
Oh, sure, you can spend $1,500,000,000.43 on Adobe Acrobat and create PDFs that are 100% editable, but come on, how many small associations or other entities that plan and produce events are going to plunk down that kinda tall cash so that they can create or fill out a few forms.
Enter FillAnyPDF.
FillAnyPDF is not really software; it is simply a website where you upload a PDF to fill out, enter your information, and presto! You are ready to email that completed form where it needs to go; it is that simple.
What does this mean for event planners?
No more printing out a PDF of your vendor contract and then handwriting it, scanning it and then sending it.. oh no, those days are over. Speaking of scanning, what about those poor souls that have no scanner… they have to print, hand write and then MAIL or FAX for God’s sake. Do we still have post offices, and I do not even have a standard telephone line….. Faxing is so early 90s.
The trick is pretty easy and can be done with other files as well, including JPEG, GIF, and even PNG files (you can upload those and write on them).
Once you finish the form, you can email it right from the website, download it, or even print a copy for your records.
FillAnyPDF also has a few tricks up its sleeve as well to help you get your own PDFs filled out.
Say you have a form that you want all of your attendees to fill out, all you have to do is upload the PDF and email attendees the link and then they can zap in and fill out the form presto chango, easy peezy, you get the completed form.
This is not rocket science, but it is a handy little tool because I know how difficult PDFs can be. I have the full Adobe CS system on my desktop computer………… but I do not have it on my laptop. When I am out in the field and need to fill out a PDF, this makes things easy; I do not have to email it back to the office, have someone fill it in, and then email it back to me.
Because the site tracks IPs, you can sign it electronically, which is legally binding. There is also a nifty little trick where you can sign your name with your mouse. Nice touch.
Caveat Emptor
I will be honest and say that I do not know enough about the site or its creators to trust it with my tax forms, but it works well for conference registrations and other PDF housekeeping.
Go ahead and take it FillAnyPDF for a spin; perhaps you might find yourself saving a few extra minutes!
