Years ago, 20+, I worked for a Government Department and was asked to find a way of filling out pre-printed forms on the computer. I was not allowed to remake the form in it's entirety on the computer so came up with this solution. We used WordPerfect software at the time. Any good word processing software should work the same way.
First you need a ruler that measures in 10ths of an inch. Measure from the top of the form to the first place you need to insert text let us say 1.6 inches down. Then measure from the left of the page to where you want the text to begin, say 1.4 inches in. Pick your font wisely not too large. I used WordPerfects advance feature to insert an advance code 1.6 inches down and 1.4 inches in from the edges of the paper. Type your text and then print just this first effort. Hold up the form you are filing in with the page with the first text printed on top matching the edges of both sheets to the light to make sure it is in the right position. If not then make adjustments until it is where you want it to be. If you have to make adjustments make the same fine tuning adjustments to all the other advance codes you insert later. You then continue inserting advance codes into the document on your screen for all the other boxes you need to fill in. (When I had everything in the right place I turned this into an onscreen merge to make form filling really quick. You will not need to do that for a one time use.)
NEVER print on the original form ALWAYS use a copy, printer problems sometimes miss-feed your paper and you don't want to lose your only copy.
You could also do this in a Desktop Publishing software too as explained in an earlier post. What you do there is have layers of text placed over the picture (your form). This is a lot of work to do to just fill out one form one time. I would personally not want to do that. Would use my tidiest handwriting instead.
Sue
--- In simplycomputers2@yahoogroups.com, Robert Burns <joyseyhere@...> wrote:
>
> Where to start " interpreting " no idea about that; need more details pretty amusing and yes a 29 second video isn t good enough to understand and yes just loaded the latest version of open office so will try that soon and wonder if i cut / paste what i might scan must try our davids idea see how it works and look . . . later . .
>
> --- On Sun, 8/28/11, waltmatheus <no_reply@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
>
>
> From: waltmatheus <no_reply@yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [Simply Computers] Re: Scan then type then print ?
> To: simplycomputers2@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Sunday, August 28, 2011, 2:55 AM
>
>
> Â
>
>
>
> Robert, I am having trouble interpreting your posts because of the lack of sentence structure. Please try to separate your thoughts/comments with periods, commas, and/or paragraphs.
>
> David, that video is a far cry from, "you can see how easy it is". Easy to someone already familiar with the concept and the use of OO. Not easy at all when one must interpret and try to understand the process in 29 seconds. I watched it a number of times and still have no idea what you were clicking on.
>
>
> --- In simplycomputers2@yahoogroups.com, Robert Burns <joyseyhere@> wrote:
> >
> > Ok i ll post the office error will try it again can t wait to try you idea sounds great if i understand it .
>
>
> > From: David Ron <david.m.ron@>
> > Subject: Re: [Simply Computers] Scan then type then print ?
> > Date: Sunday, August 28, 2011, 1:37 AM
> >
> > I'm really only familiar with openoffice. So, I'd like to know why > that didn't work for you. What doyou mean by "weird "?
> >
> > -David
>
> > On Aug 27, 2011 10:33 PM, "Robert Burns" <joyseyhere@> wrote:
> > > wow very fast video and no audio hum open office would open for me its
> > weird so using abiword and trying what might be the best word processor I B
> > M lotus does that work with your idea ? seems that i scan it then
> > select all then copy to abi or lotus and then type away in the blanks and
> > bingo ? ? later . . .
>
> > > From: David Ron <david.m.ron@>
> > > Subject: Re: [Simply Computers] Scan then type then print ?
> > > Date: Sunday, August 28, 2011, 12:17 AM
> > >
> > > Yes. A background image is an image that goes behind the text. This is a
> > similar method that professional graphic artists use to touch up photographs
> > (although, they call it "layering"). This is also similar to the advice to
> > create a document and print it out over the top of a pre-printed form, but
> > you can save yourself a lot of wasted paper by seeing exactly where the text
> > will go before you print a single page. I posted a video on youtube about
> > how it works so you can see how easy it is:
> > > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1BI2RiM05w
> > >
> > > Notice how the application is an exact pixel-for-pixel representation of
> > the original document. No OCR software will give you anything even close to
> > this quality.
> > >
> > > --David
>
> > > On 08/23/2011 11:49 PM, Robert Burns wrote:
> > >>
> > >> this what you recommended . . . backround image ??
> > >>
> > >> I've solved this problem in the past by taking the scanned
> > >> image, bringing it in as a BACKGROUND IMAGE to a document in Microsoft
> > Word
> > >> or LibreOffice (free), and then using the text drawing tools to place
> > text
> > >> boxes over the places you are supposed to type. These boxes can be moved
> > >> around with the mouse so you can place your text exactly where it
> > belongs.
> > >> The resulting document is pretty and easy to edit.
>
> > >> From: David Ron
> > >> Subject: Re: [Simply Computers] Scan then type then print ?
> > >> Date: Wednesday, August 24, 2011, 1:08 AM
> > >>
> > >> What part doesn't make sense?
> > >>
> > >> - David
>
> > >> On Aug 22, 2011 4:51 PM, "Robert Burns" <joyseyhere@ <mailto:
> > joyseyhere%40yahoo.com>> wrote:
> > >> > hum can t picture that in my head
>
> > >> > From: David Ron
> > >> > Subject: Re: [Simply Computers] Scan then type then print ?
> > >> > Date: Monday, August 22, 2011, 11:52 AM
> > >> >
> > >> > I'm not a fan of the OCR advice because OCR generally has trouble
> > >> preserving the exact look and feel of the original document's fonts,
> > styles,
> > >> and layout. I've solved this problem in the past by taking the scanned
> > >> image, bringing it in as a BACKGROUND IMAGE to a document in Microsoft
> > Word
> > >> or LibreOffice (free), and then using the text drawing tools to place
> > text
> > >> boxes over the places you are supposed to type. These boxes can be moved
> > >> around with the mouse so you can place your text exactly where it
> > belongs.
> > >> The resulting document is pretty and easy to edit.
> > >> >
> > >> > --David
>
> > >> > On 08/17/2011 09:41 PM, Robert Burns wrote:
> > >> >>
> > >> >> Ok if i scan a document like a job appication to my desk top isn't
> > their
> > >> a program or software or something i can use to then open it and type the
> > >> answers in the blanks and have it look neater then handwriting and then
> > >> print it out and it looks great ?
> > >> >>
> > >> >> Nothing i try works pdf or rtf or tif etc using a kodak ESO 3250
> > printer
> > >> can; have i missed something or is it a no go because of restrictions
> > >> embedded by the owner or something like that ?
>
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