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FAQs: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
SOFTWARE FORMS FORMATSFORMS FORMAT #1: MICROSOFT WORD FORMS FORMAT #2: PDF / ADOBE ACROBAT
No matter which one of the legal form formats you choose, our forms are very simple to use: anyone with the most basic computer skills and the ability to read and follow simple instructions can complete our legal forms. Below we have provided a sample Acknowledgement Form (the form a Notary Public uses to validate the identity of a person signing a legal document) in each of the formats that are included in every Standard Legal Software product. We've also included a brief explanation of each format. We hope this information will help you make your decision in choosing Standard Legal Software!
The Microsoft Word format of the Standard Legal Software forms is our primary format: the instructions are built in to the form fields as you tab your way through the document, so it is the easiest format to complete and print. Opening any of the .doc files using the links with the software should launch the Microsoft Word program on your PC, provided that the program is installed on the computer you are using. If Word does not launch when clicking the document link within the software, then launch MS Word through the "Start>Programs" menu and browse the hard drive from within Word to the folder containing this software. Go first into the "instructions" folder and then the "forms" folder. Find the appropriate Word file and then open it by double-clicking on it. Simply click your cursor inside the first gray box, review the instructions or question related to that box, type in your answer and hit the Tab key to move to the next form field. Continue until all of the answers are completed. NOTE : The GRAY BOXES that hold the user-provided data WILL NOT BE VISIBLE WHEN THE DOCUMENT IS PRINTED! The PDF version of the Standard Legal Software forms are also provided in fill-in-the-blank format. To access PDF forms, you must have either the commercially available Adobe Acrobat, the free Adobe's Acrobat Reader or another PDF reader (see below for options) installed on your system.
- Access a form by double clicking it or by using File>Open within Acrobat or Acrobat Reader to browse to and open the file directly. (Users of the full version of Adobe Acrobat may want to save a copy of each original form provided using SAVE AS before entering any information, so that a "clean" copy of each PDF file is available to use again later. If you do not remember to "save as" before entering information, the information can manually be deleted from each form field. - Select the hand tool from the Acrobat toolbar menu. Use the hand tool to move the page around to view all the areas, if necessary. - When the hand tool is positioned over the top of a form field, the hand tool becomes an I-beam tool for text input. (You can also select the "Highlight Fields" box in newer versions of Acrobat, and the form fields will be presented in color for easier selection.) Double-click the I-beam tool into the first form field, and type in the required information. - Once the information is entered, press Tab to accept the information and move on to the next field. (Press Shift + Tab to go back to the previous field.) - Some of the fields in the form will fill in automatically; the form is set up so that if a name or other information appears in more than one location in the document, that information only has to be entered once and the remaining fields are automatically populated with the same answer. HOWEVER, if this default information is not appropriate for a specific field, you must manually change the information by clicking the I-beam into that field and then deleting and typing the correct information. - Once you have completed all of the fields, use your mouse to click into an area of the form that is not a form field before printing your form. If a form field is active (i.e. contains the blinking I-beam), the contents will not print! If the form is displayed within your web browser', be sure to use the printer button within Acrobat's toolbar menu to print the form -- NEVER USE THE PRINT BUTTON OF YOUR WEB BROWSER'S MENU. ISSUE OF NOTE: THE FREE VERSION OF ACROBAT READER DOES NOT ALLOW THE USER TO SAVE THE FORM WITH THE ANSWERS ENTERED INTO THE FORM FIELDS OF VERSION 4 FORMS! USERS OF ACROBAT READER CAN ONLY TYPE THE ANSWERS INTO THE FIELDS AND THEN IMMEDIATELY PRINT OUT THE FORMS -- THE ANSWERS TO THE FORM FIELDS CANNOT BE SAVED IN VERSION 4 FORMS! SOLUTIONS TO THIS ISSUE: the commercial version of Adobe Acrobat software (purchase required) allows its users to save a PDF with the answers entered within the form's fields. Users of this full commercial version of Acrobat can save a form and its answers, close the form, and then return later to complete unanswered or incorrectly answered fields. There is another free solution to Reader's "no save" limitations: a program called FyTek PDF File Save allows Acrobat Reader users to save the content of completed forms using a work-around. CLICK HERE TO GET FYTEK PDF FILE SAVE FOR FREE. After downloading this software, simply double-click the installation icon and follow the instructions provided to install the software to your PC (no Mac version is available). Once the FyTek software is installed, click on the Windows Start button (in the lower left corner of the screen), and select Programs>FyTek>PDF File Saver>Documentation to get complete details on the installation and use of this software.
PDF users can also complete their work in a non-Adobe PDF program -- which is MUCH less expensive than buying the full version of Acrobat. Some PDF program options that still allow a form field user to save their work are PDFill ($19.95) or CutePDF Filler ($29.95). The Straight Text version of the Standard Legal Software forms is for use with any word processing program besides Microsoft Word, such as commercial programs like WordPerfect or pre-installed system-based products like Word Pad. The text is unformatted so it is easily imported into any word processing program. The instructions are provided separately in this format, but both the forms and the instructions include easy-to-follow reference numbers that correspond to the lines that must be completed on the forms. Simply replace the lines that look like this ______________[1] with the text that should appear in that "field." There is no need to leave any of the lines in place after the document is completely edited. When clicking a link for a text version of a form, if the text file opens in your browser window instead of a word processing program, you can "select all" of the text in the browser window, copy it, open your word processing program, and then paste the copied text into that word processing program. Once the text file is in your word processing program, edit it to fit your needs, save it and print it out. SUPPORT: If you have any problems with the download and/or installation of this software, feel free to email us at . While we cannot provide to you any legal advice, our tech team will answer your download or installation questions promptly via email during normal business hours, which are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m Eastern time. SALES: If you have a sales related inquiry, please email . Or you may call 1-888-888-7712 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m Eastern time. Note that no technical support will be provided at this toll free number!
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