Forms - Complete online in same layout as PDF, submitted data printable in layout

[mb2k01]

Hi All,

 

Not sure if the title explains this very well, but what I am looking for is some way of creating a form which can be filled in on a web page - but which mirrors the design of a paper-based form - and then when the form is submitted allows the recipient to be able to download and print in exactly the same layout as the original form.

 

I'm hoping one of you knows of some awesome piece of software which might allow me to just throw a PDF at it, allow it to be embedded in a page, then sent back to me completed as a PDF in the same layout so that I can use for various things - but as an example, take a job application form. I have a paper form which we can send out, I also have an electronic form currently in Word which people can download and fill then attach and email back - but I want to skip the user having to download or leave a webpage to do the form completion AND then allow their form submission to come back to me in a nicely laid out way in the same form layout as if they had downloaded the original to start with.

 

Hope all that makes sense, and that someone out there can help!

 

Cheers

[Steve21]

So basically a fillable Adobe pdf? (or did I misunderstand)

 

Steve

[mb2k01]

Lol kind of.

I've been playing around with PDFs and also really like the simplicity of Adobe Sign, but I'm wanting something that will be embedded on a webpage / available to fill in via any device, which then will send a nicely graphical form with the submitted data back to me.

 

With a PDF I'd have to rely on the user having a reader on their PC or a device which has an app for it. Also, I'm not sure if I went that way that I would get the nicely filled in form at the end of it either. Not straight from a webpage submission without user download / completion / re-attaching to an email?

 

Or... the above might do exactly what I want, and I just might need a bit of a point in the right direction!?

[dhicks]

what I am looking for is some way of creating a form which can be filled in on a web page - but which mirrors the design of a paper-based form - and then when the form is submitted allows the recipient to be able to download and print in exactly the same layout as the original form.

 

ReportLab can generate a PDF document:

 

ReportLab - Content to PDF Solutions

 

The open source version lets you write a Python script that generates a PDF, their commercial version lets you use some kind of markup language which can be then turned in to a PDF document.

[mb2k01]

Thanks to all so far.

I don't suppose anyone knows of anything else?