Suggestion for Manual PDFs to be a Fillable Form

[bombay317]

I love how the manuals have empty parentheticals for checking off inventory items and ticking off the steps of the assembly.  I have a suggestion that might increase the utility of the PDF versions.  Right now, the PDFs do not have the parentheticals as a fillable form, so the only way you can put an "X" or something in there is by adding text on top (or printing out the full thing).  I didn't plan on printing the manuals and am laboriously adding in text on top of the file to get a check in the box.  Would adding the space inside the parentheticals as a fillable form be something that the Bottlehead team would consider?

Separately, I could also very well be doing it wrong.  Is there anyone out there who can get it as a form and I am just doing it wrong?  I am using "Preview" on macOS High Sierra.

 

[fullheadofnothing]

No. We will not be making our manuals editable.

If you want to make notes, print it out. Marking with a pen is far simpler than any on screen editing. If you consider what you are doing "laborious," it's something you decided to do on your own with little-to-no benefit. Keeping track of where you are in a manual is incredibly simple, just look at the picture... has the step been done? If so, move on, if not, go back. Or when you reach a point where you are stopping, write it down the last thing you did (i.e. last step on page 24). Leaving the document open to where you last used it would also achieve this (Preview reopens a PDF to the last page used AND has an "Add Bookmark" feature).

 

[bombay317]

Thanks for your comments.  I draw a distinction from "editable" and "fillable form".  A PDF can have all the text and pictures locked so that they cannot be changed or edited, but still have an open form for writing in text.  That was the base of my suggestion.  I don't want to be able to change any text or images.

I like your suggestions and appreciate your ideas.  I dont plan on printing it out.  I will probably just keep putting text over it, as that is working for me.

 

[Rocketman248]

I got in the habit of leaving my cursor in the check block for the step I was currently on.  When I took a break for the day, I would either remember which step I was on, or just jot it down on a scrap of paper.

 

[jtori]

I've got an iPad Pro and do the following: Import the PDF manual into Microsoft OneNote, enable Draw and use the Apple Pencil to check off completed steps and make build notes.  Works well for me.

 

[fromnowon]

I found it useful to "highlight" the text in the PDF form and save periodically, to keep track of where I was or emphasize things.  You can also add "sticky notes"!