HELPFUL INFORMATION FOR COMPLETING
INTERACTIVE FORMS

Forms are available in either RTF (Rich Text Format) or PDF (Portable Document Format) templates. The interactive form allows you to fill in your company information on-screen, save it, and print it out. Directions for completing the PDF and RTF forms are listed below, as well as tips for "editing" RTF forms.  

Directions for completing RTF Forms:* 

1.   Click on the RTF link (open with MS Word) and "Save" the form to your local drive. 

2.    Close your browser; locate the form on your local drive, and open it.  

3.    To begin entering data, place your cursor on the first field that you need to complete and begin entering your information. Repeat as necessary.  The fields will expand to accommodate the amount of text inserted. Text will automatically wrap around to the next line. 

5.    Use the tab key to move from field to field.  To go back to the previous form field, hold down the "SHIFT" key before tabbing.  

7.   Use the enter key to move to the next line within the same field (i.e. to start a new paragraph or create spacing between paragraphs). 

8.   To mark a check box, type the letter X - or - click in the box using your mouse. 

9.    After completing the form ...         

a.  Save a copy for your files by going to File >> Save As...; then rename the file and save it.

        b.  Print the file (File >> Print...), and sign and date the form. 

Editing the RTF or Word form: To edit the form, the security features must be turned off ("unlocked").  Unlocking the form, after it has been saved to your computer, will allow you to customize or make changes to the form. Follow the steps listed below to unlock the form.  

To make changes to the text, or to insert a company logo, you must "unlock" the form.  First, save the document to your computer.  Next, re-open the document, click on "view," "toolbars," and "forms."  When the "forms" box appears, click the security "lock" symbol (icon); this will unlock the form to allow you to make changes or additions to the document.   

NOTE: once the changes have been made, "lock" the document again by clicking on the same icon.  Be sure to save your changes.     

*Password box pop-up: On some computers (depending upon your version of MS Word), a "password box" will pop up when attempting to open or close the RTF or Word document. If this occurs, simply hit "CANCEL" on the password box, and then the form will open. The password box is related the security features of the Form; it is not your Personal Advisor password. 

Suggestion: Make any edits, inserts, or changes (if any) to the document before completing the form fields since this information may be lost when the form is unlocked (requiring all information to be entered again).     

PDF FORMS

Most Adobe Acrobat PDF Forms are available as interactive or screen-fillable forms. These forms may be completed on the screen before being printed. In order to complete these forms on the screen, you must have Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5.0 or above. 

If you are using the free Acrobat Reader software, however, you cannot save the form with the fill-in data for use at a later time. You will need to use the purchased version of Adobe Acrobat in order to do this. If you experience problems opening a PDF form, please read Troubleshooting PDFs.

Directions for completing PDF Forms:  you will need Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader to open any PDF form.

1.   Click on the PDF link for the form which will launch either Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader and open the form within the browser.

2.    Click Save a Copy  and save the form to your local drive. 

3.    Close your browser; locate the form on your local drive; and, open it.

4.    Prior to entering information into the form select the hand tool .

5.    Click in the first field which you need to complete and begin entering your information. Repeat as necessary.  

6.    Use the tab key to move from field to field.  To go back to the previous form field, hold down the "SHIFT" key before tabbing.  

7.    After completing the form ...

       a.   Save a copy for your files by going to File >> Save As...; then
             rename the file and save it.

       b.   Print the file (File >> Print...), and sign and date the form.

Troubleshooting PDFs - Problems Downloading, Displaying or Filling-in PDF Files 

ü If there is a problem opening a PDF file through the internet browser, please try RIGHT clicking on the PDF icon and select "Save target as" from the resulting menu. Save the form file to a hard drive or a local network drive, then open the file in a PDF reader program. Using this method also avoids opening the file through an internet browser. 

ü PDF Fillables opened in Adobe Acrobat will not save the information typed into the fillable fields. In order to be able to save and print the information you added to a PDF Fillable, use the method above before filling in the fields. (Note, however, that if you are using the free Acrobat Reader software you cannot save the form with the fill-in data. You will need to use the purchased version of Adobe Acrobat in order to do this.)

ü Make sure you are using the latest version of Adobe Reader, available here. Even if you have the latest version, some application files may have been corrupted or deleted, so you may still need to re-download and re-install the program.