Discussion on:

A quick Word trick for typing text into a scanned document

I appreciate the tip, but this method is not exactly 'quick', especially for end users who are not as technically sophisticated. Re-positioning the graphic may work for one field, but what about the fields further down on the form? One would need to further adjust the font size, or create columns in the document...perhaps even a table to match the original document. This method just went from 'quick' to 'it's just faster to print the document, and use a pen.'

Couldn't you create Text Boxes, which could then be positioned/sized as required?

As mentioned after the first graphic in the third setance.

I like this. It is a good trick.

If the file is a PDF then you can overtype in a similar way with Nitro PDF Reader. It is a good, free alternative to Adobe Reader and is not targetted by malware (yet).

Why not just STAY in the graphics program that the scanner uses and use the text function of that program (infinitely less finicky than M$ Word) to fill in the blanks? I've been doing that with Photopaint for the last 20 years! So much easier than the method described here.

Though many graphics programs can scan, as well as MS Word. You could also edit the graphic in Word to add text boxes; but again could be much slower than using hitting the Enter, Tab and Space keys to get where you want to type.

Just double-click at the start of the form field and you can type there without having to use multiple new-lines and spaces or tabs.

The value of this may depend on what you are doing, but is a good tip.
1) Susan's example is a great example of my first thought; there is a PDF version of the form that will accept entry http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf. So if you need to fill out a standard form, check to see if there is already and electronic version available.
2) Print to the original form. Once you have your information typed, remove the image from the header and print on the original form. You may want to print on blank paper and check the alignment first, before printing on the form.
3) Scan just the printed area of the form, to allow margins for alignment.
4) If the document is meant to be typed, it will likely expect 10 or 12 pitch and single line spacing.

Test

and set the picture's position as "behind Text"

I'll probably create a page (template) for this type of situation that already has character spacing on each line of the whole page. That way you could just start typing pretty much anywhere on the page. To position the line of text higher or lower, just highlight a small section of spaces (where there isn't any text) on the line above and hit CTRL + [ , or CTRL + ] which will increase or decrease the font size of the selected section, thereby raising or lower in the text you just typed.

Word is not a desktop publishing application. I suggest using more capable software like Publisher, or Corel Draw for precise text placement such as this. Corel applications have the advantage of improved PDF output as well.

It might be easier to just do a screen clipping of the form, drop it in OneNote and add your text. That seems like it would be faster and involve less...fiddling.

This is a great tip! Can't believe I've never thought of it before. I don't do many paper forms, but some of my users do and I just tell them to use a pen. Now, all I have to do is teach them about headers and pictures. (Not a tech savvy bunch.) Hopefully it will save me time down the road.

As for text boxes -- they are a pain in Word, and most forms would require too many to hassle with. I'd recommend just using spaces/returns.

This is very useful tip. It appears it can be used for putting text on any type of picture (pdf, jpg,...) that has been inserted into a word document. So it is more useful than just filling out forms.

However, I don't understand the reason to insert the picture in the header. I think the following is simpler and it works for me using Word 2003:
Open a word document:
1. Insert Picture from file
2. Right click on picture in word document, and select format picture.
3. Select layout tab
4. Select: Wrapping style: Behind text
5. Select OK
Text can now be typed over the inserted picture.

The previous suggestion by jarris for changing the format size to position the text is useful.

This suggestion adds the details to Evan H.'s suggestion.

I insert the image into Word, resize it to its "normal" size (if necessary), and put text boxes only where I need them. The text boxes can be precisely positioned using the Ctrl-arrow keys (sometimes the Alt-arrow keys) and the font size can also be adjusted accordingly. Using the regular text area in Word usually takes too long and too much adjusting/effort to get it just right from line to line -- at least, for me it does. For a lot of lines to fill in, you may need to adjust the picture/form a little for everything to be in the right places.

thanks!

Great idea, and no doubt one of those "Why didn't I think of that" scenario's for many people but I can't help thinking the instructions are somewhat misinformed.

They are too complicated and sketchy for beginners (who probably wouldn't be on this site anyway) and made me laugh with the "you're on your own" comment.

And then ends just like that...

Will it work for multipage form? Or do we need to open separate word docs for each page?

Nice trick, but if one has the ability to scan a form, one better use OCR scanning.
This translates the form into a Word document and you can easily go to the places
where things have to be filled in. True, this does not always work very good as lines
and sentences are not always read correctly, but also that can be altered.

As we know Office OneNote gives the power of "type anywhere", the alignment of indents and line breaks aren't the issue! They are also very easy to use so nothing much to learn.

I use Powerpoint to do this and I get better control of the positioning of the text fields over the form image. Remember to put the scanned form in the master slide, just to be sure not to move it accidentally when you are adding the text fields on the normal slide. Powerpoint allows to have several master slides and we can configure each normal slide to use one of them, in order to fill a multiple page form.

This is one of the reasons why OneNote is my fav app outta the Office suite. This is too many steps to go through in Word.

Word can be an absolute pain when it comes to aligning text with other elements on a page (such as the scanned form in this instance). After all, its a word processor not a DTP or form design application.

When I need to print onto pre-printed forms I use a simple and inexpensive form design application called InForm Designer. Not only does it allow me to import a scanned form or a PDF equivilant, it also allows me to only print the data I fill in and not the form background (which is obviously on the pre-printed form already). Furthermore, it also has functionality that ensures filled in form content aligns perfectly when printed on to a pre-printed form - no matter what printer I use.

Find out more about InForm Designer and download a fully functional trial here...

http://www.flysoftware.com/products/inform_designer/overview.asp

I hope you find it as useful as I have.

I set up dozens of law office forms, which we used every day. I set up a complex table, entered the boilerplate and then locked the cells with a single click. Word makes you monkey with FormFields, a major PITA, or set the table up in Excel, a world-class PITA.

Get with it M$. You know how to let a user lock a cell in Excel. How difficult could it be to add this functionality in the next version of Word.

Why not try using borderless text boxes inserted where the fill-in fields are on the scanned document? That seems like less work than trying to align tab stops, although, if the document is a reusable one perhaps the tab stop idea is still better.

One thing that puzzles me about this article's solution though I don't care to experiment to find out: why put the picture in the Header? Does that prevent it from getting bumped by the text and by being in a header it keeps the scanned image in place?

I just paste the pdf doc right into the word doc,

If you have a web based form thas fits on your screen as one page, you can 'print' from explorer using ALT+Print-Screen and then drop that into Word; crop and enlarge as required.
I leave it in the main document and send it behind text. Turn on the "Show Formatting" or'P' button in word and you can see if your text is in line or not.

I thought I was clever when I did this just two days ago.
Now I know lots of peole do it ;-p

Use an online .pdf to Word converter like http://www.pdftoword.com or others that do just as nicely. They really do a great job converting complex forms into workable Word docs and then you can just type into the fields themselves! WaLa! Worked for me many many times.

why word?

Open a blank PowerPoint - choose portrait orientation.
Insert scanned image and resize to fill
Inset text box(s) as required, filling the form as you go.
Save as PDF

if you need to do a lot of filling out forms or signing them, why not using Acrobat Pro?

If the form fields are not all in line vertically, make the width of all columns quite small (say .5cm)
Insert the scanned form (insert picture).
Either Right click on the form or goto to format then arrange and 'to background'
Now you can play with the cell heights and widths until the bottom left of a cell is where a field should start.
It is much easier than positioning text boxes (or the cursor)

Jack Klaber suggests Acrobat Pro, but Standard is all you need. Allows you to type directly in any unprotected pdf. Also allows you to securely sign the form, a big plus.

Fantastic tip and it took 2 minutes just as advertised. Thanks!

Nice post!! Your post is so rich full to learn the things. I have a site which is a professional network site. Hope you will pay a visit on the site of http://ejobprof.com. Thanks.

I like to use the Page Layout tab -> Page Background -> Watermark -> Custom Watermark and be sure to insert at 100% and uncheck the Washout box.