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Is there software that allows writing text over acrobat files?

texasdiver
Registered: Jan 17 2009
Posts: 6

Hello:

I am a HS Chemistry Teacher and maintain a web site at my school on which I post acrobat files of all the worksheets assigned in my classes.

Mostly this is just a convenience for students and parents who may have forgotten what a homework assignment was or who lost their homework. Students and parents can print the acrobat files of the worksheets on their home computers and fill them out with pencil or pen to turn in.

However I have several students with writing disabilities who find it very difficult to complete worksheets with paper and pencil. Obviously I could turn each worksheet into a fillable form that they can complete online and print. But that is a lot of additional work that I may not always have time to do.

So I'm wondering if there is some sort of software available that would let these students use their own computers to "write" all over an acrobat file at home with a text editor so that they can do their homework completely on computer.

I'm thinking of something that would allow the user to create a text layer over the top of an existing acrobat file.

Any ideas?

My Product Information:
Acrobat Pro 9.0, Windows
George_Johnson
Expert
Registered: Jul 6 2008
Posts: 1876
You can use Acrobat to enable either the Typewriter tool in Reader or all types of annotations (aka Comments, including free text, sticky notes, lines, etc.) You'll find more information in Acrobat's help. So all your students will need is Reader if you enable document.

George
texasdiver
Registered: Jan 17 2009
Posts: 6
Thanks. I'll give it a try.

Will they be able to save their edited file? Or will it be like Acrobat forms where you can't save and must print the result before closing the file?
George_Johnson
Expert
Registered: Jul 6 2008
Posts: 1876
Yes, Reader users will be able to save a document they have added comments to.

Note that filled-in forms can be saved with Reader too, but only if the document has been Reader-enabled. A significant difference between Reader-enabling for Commenting and Reader-enabling for forms fill-in (& commenting) is that the latter comes with certain licensing restrictions. In short, if you deploy such an enabled document to more than 500 recipients, you may use data from no more than 500 returned forms, including hardcopies.George
texasdiver
Registered: Jan 17 2009
Posts: 6
Thanks:

I have the latest Acrobat Pro installed on my work computer but I haven't really gone beyond using it as a "printer" with the default settings to produce .pdf documents.

Looks like I already have all I need right there. Guess I'll be diving into the documentation to start doing some of these things.

Thanks!