- The Typewriter Tool
- First: Type a Bit of Text
- Sizing Things Up; Lining Things Up
- Do the Rest
- But, What If I Have a Paper Form?
- What Do We Gain by All This?
What Do We Gain by All This?
Well, neatness, for one thing; the typewritten form will certainly be easier for everyone to read than your handwritten entries.
Also, form entries typewritten in Acrobat are editable. I’m a form klutz; it is nearly impossible for me to fill in a form without making some error that requires I scribble out my original entry and print a correction in tiny handprinting above the out-scratchings. If I fill that form out in Acrobat, then I can fix my mistakes the way I do when typing in my word processor. It’s simple to revise, remove, and reorder my answers.
Finally, there’s record keeping. I like to keep track of forms and other information I send to a doctor, banker, lawyer, or anyone else who’s trying to keep me healthy, wealthy, and out of jail. Unfortunately, my ability to retain important paper is very poor; I swear that contracts and the like actually evaporate when I place them on my desk and turn away for even a second. I’m far more likely to successfully keep forms that I have scanned and filled in electronically.
Once you get the hang of using the Typewriter tool, it’s hard to go back. Any time I find myself filling out a form by hand, with a pencil, I have a persistent feeling that I’m doing it wrong. With experience, you’ll agree with me that the Typewriter tool is a thing of beauty.