make an editable form to email clients

[Ihatefootball]

hi geeks!

I need to make a form, which i have already in a word doc, and i need to be able to email it to clients, them to fill it in and sign and then email back to me.

Is there any way to do this in Word (i dont think so?) or any software online way that preferably is very cheap or free, and also that does not require the client to download anything in order to fill the form in.

any help much appreciated!

[Ihatefootball]

I should clarify, i don't want them to have to print it off, fill it in, sign it and then scan it and email it back, i want it all to be done online.

Thanks :)

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

You could use Google forms if the information is not sensitive. However this would involve sending client a link to the form, and then clicking on the link to fill it in. I'm not sure if that it quite what you need though.

How about being retro and just sending them a paper form, that way you get a real signature back?

[Ihatefootball]

i thought you had to pay for google forms? i just looked at that? It doesnt matter if it is a link. Can you do signatures on google forms?

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

I think its free? The only way you could do a signature would be to have someone type their name in a box, unless you get into electronic signatures
www.pcworld.com/article/2035744/e-signatures-the-complete-guide-to-paperless-signing.html

[Cindy34]

How would you do a signature? Upload a image?

PDF can be digitally signed, though no idea how that works.

What facilities clients have may differ, some may have older versions of Word for example.

[Ihatefootball]

good point cindy!

[Ihatefootball]

google forms cannot be emailed back to me, how unbelievable! the data just goes into a spreadsheet which is not what i want, i want the form to come back to me looking like a filled in form!

[NetworkGuy]

It's not that unbelievable, as Google is looking at it in a way to compete with survey forms that other internet firms offer, whereas what you want is something that is bespoke.

Best suggestion I can offer (and don't know how you'd get a real 'signature' in) would be a web form which then sends you an e-mail (it could send you the same 'headings' in the e-mail as the user sees on screen). So you, and they, get a confirmation e-mail message with date, time, and IP address (to identify their internet connection) which should stand up in a court as a legal and binding agreement. Obviously assumes they type their mail address in correctly (!!)

To 'confirm' someone knows and really wants to do something (ie as strong as a signature), I've seen some systems require the user to type a phrase into a box.

In the example I can think of, it was something on the following lines:

Please type the following text into the box:

"I confirm that I want to delete this account and all files stored"

(It was the management facility for web hosting, so they didn't want a simple 'tick the box to confirm deleting all files' and the user had to type it in full... that way, no comeback if the user had chosen the wrong account to delete.)

[Ihatefootball]

I get where you are coming from, thanks.

The signature thing is a would be nice item. It doesn't have to be solidly legally binding. I just can't find something like an editable PDF doc that you can fill in forms, just like name, address, etc and rick boxes, select those that apply to you etc and then to be emailed to me, still in the form layout , so it is clear to read. Something like an application form is roughly what I need.

I thought it would be easy to find a free one, you can find most things for free if you look hard enough, but I can't find this.
Most forms either need to be hosted online somewhere, or cost lots, like adobe.

Hmmm.

[WestmorlandSausage]

www.pdfescape.com/

[Ihatefootball]

For anyone that is interested, I thought I would update. I have found you can do this in Word...which is free, of course! Not the signature, but fill able forms, under the developer ribbon. Very easy to do and email and be filled in!

[NetworkGuy]

Thanks. Of course, Word isn't actually free (unless Microsoft has done a massive u-turn in recent times!)

[Ihatefootball]

Well, most people have it on their pc though!

[Cindy34]

I have not had Word supplied with a PC for about 6 years now.

I use Libra Office and Google Docs, so most of the time I can read Word files but not sure if those support all functions.

If a client has the same version of Word as you then it will be fine. What happens if they don't, what other options will there be, print it off and post it?

[Ihatefootball]

oh dear, now you have me worried!

[Cindy34]

Looks like Word Online may actually be free, requires creating a microsoft account and it uses OneDrive I think. I did not want to create an account so did not get very far into investigating.


Fillable form in Word sounds fine and with luck it will work for quite a lot of people. I feel you just need to consider some other ways, should someone not have the software needed. For example, could they print something out, sign it with a pen, take a photo of it on their mobile phone and email you the photo?

What sort of clients are they? Can you test your Word form idea with existing clients?