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Show HN: Fill Paper and PDF Forms Online

form.ac

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Re: Show HN: Fill Paper and PDF Forms Online

#11

Post by cpach »

stephenr wrote: post #7
samadmin wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would be interested to know which app you prefer and if you found the form.ac interface easier to use than your local apps or if you really found no advantage with it?

Not sure about the person you replied to but Preview on macOS has done this sort of thing for fucking years, and it stores/reads my digital signature (ie a vector of my actual signature) to/from keychain. I never understood the market for web apps like this until I realised Windows must not have this out of the box (presumably?)

I recently had to edit a PDF on my work computer (which run Windows 10) and it was quite cumbersome to do compared to OS X. I finally managed to do it by installing Libreoffice Draw.

Re: Show HN: Fill Paper and PDF Forms Online

#13

Post by samadmin »

telesilla wrote: post #10
wodenokoto wrote: post #9

It's amazing that osx/macOS preview is still leaps and bounds ahead of standard viewers on other systems. I can fill out forms, draw signatures and print to paper or PDF without installing new software or go looking for a web service. I just open the file and if it looks like it should be filled out, I fill it out.

Agreed. And I use HelloSign when I need someone else to sign it. The combo of both works perfectly for me. I cannot remember the last time I printed a PDF and scanned it back it.

Thanks for the feedback. Preview is a great option for mac users but I still find it awkward for text in boxes - account numbers, for example. I'm surprised Apple hasn't added a check mark annotate option. Not everyone knows the option-v trick.

Re: Show HN: Fill Paper and PDF Forms Online

#14

Post by samadmin »

ukulele wrote: post #6
samadmin wrote: post #2

Hi HN, I built form.ac because I hate filling in paper forms (especially if I'm expected to scan and email them somewhere) also it is the basis of a service we provide concrete companies. The key differences between form.ac and all the other pdf filling solutions out there are: You can photo and fill a paper form; I've focused on speed of filling - no frills just the tools to get the job done; It works well on tablet…

The idea is nice. For feedback I'd say the domain name and the design of the site both don't feel secure, so I would have a tough time wanting to use the service. Things that would make it seem more serious / secure: - Use .com domain - Better site design - Paid tiers with free trial - Intercom or equivalent for support

Thanks for checking it out and the feedback. I really appreciate it. The site design is a bit rubbish. It's really just a placeholder so I could get something launched.

I'm not familiar with intercom but I'll take a look - thanks for the tip.

The paid service will be a B2B service which is more about process management thank just form filling. That's a while away yet though.

I'm really interested in your comment around the .com domain. Perhaps being from NZ we're more relaxed about domain names but I thought with all the new gtlds it wasn't so important any more. Good to know that a .com domain is still important to some.

Re: Show HN: Fill Paper and PDF Forms Online

#15

Post by samadmin »

stephenr wrote: post #7
samadmin wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would be interested to know which app you prefer and if you found the form.ac interface easier to use than your local apps or if you really found no advantage with it?

Not sure about the person you replied to but Preview on macOS has done this sort of thing for fucking years, and it stores/reads my digital signature (ie a vector of my actual signature) to/from keychain. I never understood the market for web apps like this until I realised Windows must not have this out of the box (presumably?)

Thanks. It seems like preview is the go to option for mac users. For me it was missing a couple of features but I'm also looking towards a mobile solution for users on tablets.

Re: Show HN: Fill Paper and PDF Forms Online

#16

Post by samadmin »

ezl wrote: post #12

Really love this. How can I pay you to use this? I want this to be around for the long haul!

I'm really pleased you like it - thanks for the nice comment. And generally I'm not one to turn down money but we're not looking at a B2C business model at this stage so hoping to keep the form filling side of it always free.

Feel free to drop us an email at support@form.ac and if we ever have to turn off the service I'd be happy to show you how you can set up your own for free on Heroku (or on a local machine if you're familiar with rails).

Re: Show HN: Fill Paper and PDF Forms Online

#18

Post by samadmin »

cpach wrote: post #11
stephenr wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure about the person you replied to but Preview on macOS has done this sort of thing for fucking years, and it stores/reads my digital signature (ie a vector of my actual signature) to/from keychain. I never understood the market for web apps like this until I realised Windows must not have this out of the box (presumably?)

I recently had to edit a PDF on my work computer (which run Windows 10) and it was quite cumbersome to do compared to OS X. I finally managed to do it by installing Libreoffice Draw.

I trust form.ac would have been an easier option that that?

Re: Show HN: Fill Paper and PDF Forms Online

#20

Post by stephenr »

samadmin wrote: post #15
stephenr wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure about the person you replied to but Preview on macOS has done this sort of thing for fucking years, and it stores/reads my digital signature (ie a vector of my actual signature) to/from keychain. I never understood the market for web apps like this until I realised Windows must not have this out of the box (presumably?)

Thanks. It seems like preview is the go to option for mac users. For me it was missing a couple of features but I'm also looking towards a mobile solution for users on tablets.

The markup feature on iOS is essentially the same toolset.
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