Technical Note: How to use our interactive PDF forms
Which forms are interactive?
The EHS Unit publishes an increasing number of forms in interactive PDF format.
You can tell whether a PDF file is interactive if, when you open the file, there are highlights (usually pale blue) over the fields that you can interact with. When you click one of these highlights, something will happen - eg. for a text field, a cursor will appear.
What can interactive PDFs do?
An interactive PDF allows you to type directly into the form fields in the electronic PDF file. You can also save a completed version to your computer, or email it to others.
Here are some ways this can save you time:
- You may not ever need to print your form out - you can keep a copy electronically, and email it to anyone who needs it.
- If you need to fill in a form that you have filled in before, you can edit your previous version rather than starting from scratch.
- If you need to fill in multiple copies of the same form, and some information will be the same each time, you can save a copy with the common information completed into it, and then use that as a template.
Make sure you have the latest (free) Adobe Reader software
To take advantage of the full functionality of interactive PDF format, you will need to ensure you have an up-to-date version of the free Adobe Reader software installed on your computer.
Adobe Reader is free to download from http://www.adobe.com.
If you have administrative rights on your computer, you will be able to install Adobe Reader yourself using the instructions on the Adobe website.
If you do not have administrative rights on your computer, you will need to contact your local IT support area or the central IT Service Desk to install Adobe Reader for you.
More help
For general assistance with using our forms, please contact your EHS Adviser/Manager.