Fill-In Design Express for Windows

User Reviews

• It works, but you need time and patience

  mootrixMay 13, 2016

  Pros

  It can create fillable PDFs if you take the time to use it's somewhat dated interface. You can add a variety of fields and even check boxes, images, you can even create calculated fields etc... No watermark on output as another user mentioned.

  Cons

  Cannot edit existing PDFs as far as I understand. Dated GUI/ User Interface can be very off putting. (Looks like Windows 3.1!) Form creation and PDF output use 2 different programs (Design and Fill-in, respectively), instead of one. Can take a while to understand how the program functions.

  Summary

  NOTE: I only used this program for a limited time and this is my verdict. If you intend to create fillable PDF forms from scratch on the cheap then you can give this a shot.Its far from perfect but it can get the job done, just don't expect to edit existing PDF forms. Its actually has quite a few features for such an old program. This program could have been much easier to use and better to look at but unfortunately it looks like the company is not more. As for PDF creation, first you have to create the actual form in some proprietary format using Design.exe and save it as a .TCML file, then you have to open Fill-IN.exe program and open the existing file, then using the File menu, click the Export Page.. option (don't worry it exports all the pages, if you create a multi-page form) then choose PDF under Save As Type option, and presto you're done!

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• No Help

  RchardAAugust 23, 2008

  Pros

  Cons

  I can usually at least get started with any program, but I couldn't even get a form opened with this. So I went for the Help file - it couldn't find it's own help file. So I went to their website...written entirely in Swedish.

  Summary

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• No way to turn file created into a PDF

  caldernetMay 8, 2008

  Pros

  It seems fairly comprehensive. It looks and feels like Desktop Publishing software.<p>Within 20 minutes I was able to create a form with an image, a label and a field that I was able to fill in using the accompanying Fill In Desgign Fill In program.

  Cons

  As the readme file mentions this is "a limited version of the professional forms program Fill-In Design Pro"<p>In order to create a PDF from the TCML file this program creates, the readme file directs you to a website URL that does not exist.<p>After creating my simple form, after 45 minutes I could figure out if or how I can convert the TCML file this program creates to a PDF form people could fill out.

  Summary

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• Hard to use

  bealieSeptember 12, 2007

  Pros

  Nothing is worthwhile about this program.

  Cons

  You have to create the form from scratch (as far as I could tell). Waste of time when you have a form already that you want to make interactive. Program not intuitive to use. To convert to PDF, you have to upload to a website. I made a simple test form, and it's taking forever to convert (still waiting!). Don't bother with this.

  Summary

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• Great program

  mac8113October 30, 2006

  Pros

  If you're looking for a program to create pdf fillable forms, this is it. This program is completely free and does everything that I was looking for. I tried numerous programs before I found this one. There are no watermarks or errant text messages on the output pdf file. I was very happy with the results of this program. <p> <p>I think another reviewer mentioned that the program was a little hard to use. I didn't really find that the case. If you've used a lot of other programs, it's not that difficult to figure out where things are and how to modify things. For a free program, this is great!

  Cons

  Summary

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• Advanced Software

  deonvaMarch 25, 2006

  Pros

  Cons

  Very complex, I was to overwhelmed to even begin. Maybe be useful for others with time to learn.

  Summary

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