Re: [OT] IRS tax forms can finally be saved
On Wed, 2006-01-04 at 13:51 -0600, Hugo Vanwoerkom wrote:
> Roberto C. Sanchez wrote:
> > Chris Howie wrote:
> >> Hugo Vanwoerkom wrote:
> >>
> >>> With the free Adobe Reader 7.0.1 and IRS' pdf forms with documentation
> >>> rights one can finally fill out the forms on Linux and save them.
> >>>
> >>> Goodbye pstoedit, you were good when needed.
> >>
> >>
> >> Adobe Reader is not free software, pstoedit is. Chances are a lot of
> >> debian
> >> users won't be switching to superfluous non-free software like Adobe
> >> Reader
> >> when a free alternative exists.
> >>
> >> My two cents.
> >>
> >
> > Except that pstoedit cannot seriously be considered an alternative to
> > acroread. Personally, I am all bout the "Free Software, Rah! Rah! Rah!"
> > However, I also accept that some non-free components will always exist
> > and some may even be required. When filling out PDF forms, there is no
> > free alternative that is *comparable* to acroread. When you have to do
> > enough of them, it's easier to just whip the form open in acroread and
> > fill it in. Additionally, if the full version of Adobe were available
> > for Linux, there is a chance I'd buy it, since I do fill in enough forms
> > that are not enabled to save in the free reader, that it would be worth
> > the convenience for me.
> >
>
> That's the way it is.
> Last year I wrote an application to actually update the .ps conversions
> of the IRS pdf's. Interesting exercise but it cannot compare with just
> filling out the forms and saving them.
>
> I don't actually know how you get the "document rights" in a pdf. The
> IRS forms have them. But trying a graduate school application for my
> son, that did not have them, and Adobe Reader 7.0.1 warns that you
> cannot save the document, only print it.
You can print-to-pdf, I think, using CUPS.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ron Johnson, Jr.
Jefferson, LA USA
"In order to become the master, the politician poses as the
servant."
Charles de Gaulle
Reply to: