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NebraskAccessCustomizable PDF Documents

Customizable PDF documents are designed to let folks add additional information to a PDF document. Customizable PDF documents work great when you are viewing them using the Adobe Reader software; unfortunately they don’t work with all PDF viewers.

Many web browsers include built in PDF viewers, but not all of these viewers support customizable PDF documents. If you are unable to enter information into a customizable PDF document, try the following.

  • If you have multiple web browsers on your computer such as IE, Edge, Chrome or Firefox, try another browser. I can’t tell you which one will or will not work because most browsers let you customize how PDF files are opened.
  • As I said, your browser may be set up different from mine. That said, my Firefox browser recognizes a customizable PDF and displays a dialog box at the top of the screen that states, “This PDF document contains forms. The filling of form fields is not supported.” To the right of that statement is a button that allows you to “Open with Different Viewer”. After clicking on the button, I can follow the prompts on the screen to open the PDF file in Adobe Reader.
  • Look on your computer to see if you have the Adobe Reader program installed. If you do, view the PDF document in your web browser and then use the Save As, Download or other such option to save the file to your computer. Then use the Adobe Reader software to open the PDF document you just saved.
  • If none of the above options works, you can download the Adobe Reader software for free. (On the download page, Adobe has an Optional Offer. You can choose to uncheck this option and not download that optional offer.) After installing the Adobe Reader software, you will need to view the PDF document in your web browser and then use the Save As, Download or other such option to save the file to your computer. Then use the Adobe Reader software to open the PDF document you just saved.
  • The Adobe Reader software has a toggle that allows you to Highlight Existing Fields. If this option is toggled on, you may see colored boxes in the areas of the document where you can enter text. The color is designed to help you see the boxes, but will not print.
  • Copying and pasting information into the PDF document may cause problems! To be safe I'd suggest typing the information directly into the PDF document.
  • If you are using the Adobe Reader software, you may be able to apply the bold, underline and italic styles to the text you entered. To do this select the text you want to style, right click on it, and then select Text Style and the style you want to apply.
  • After customizing the PDF document, you can print it. Sometimes you can save the customized information you entered. In the Adobe Reader the Save As option is listed under the File menu.

  • If you have problems customizing a document, Allana or Susan can do it for you. Please send one of us a link to the document you are trying to customize along with the exact information you would like added.

For more information, contact NebraskAccess.