Creating Fillable PDF Forms

Think of the PDF form as two layers. The background layer is the visual representation of the form; this can be an image or an electronic representation of a page. The foreground, or top layer, includes fields where text will appear in front of the form image.

The background layer—or form image—can come from anywhere:

• You can find a PDF of the form on the web
• Another organization or entity can send you a PDF of the form. If the PDF includes form fields, you'll need to rename them.
• You can scan a physical copy of a form and save it as a PDF.
• You can design your own form using Microsoft Word or a page-layout software and save your designed form as a PDF.

  Refer to the data fields reference sheet to ensure your creating fields that Eyefinity EHR can populate. Log in to the Eyefinity EHR web application as an administrator. Locate Firm Forms and click Manage PDFs. Click the Reference Sheet action bar icon.

  You may add form fields that are not listed on the data fields reference sheet. Eyefinity EHR will not prepopulate these fields, but providers and staff may manually enter information into these fields.

  You may add a signature to gather patient consents on the iPad.

Regardless of how you find or create the form image, you must create or edit PDF form fields using Adobe Acrobat Pro.

Since we created the instructions, screenshots, and video in this section, Adobe has changed the Acrobat interface. You should still be able to follow along, but if you're having trouble, you can revert back to the old Acrobat interface that we have depicted here.

• Windows. Open Acrobat Pro. Click  Menu and select Disable New Acrobat, and click Restart when prompted.
• macOS.  Open Acrobat Pro. Click the View menu and select Disable New Acrobat, and click Restart when prompted.

We will update our instructions, screenshots, and videos in the near future to reflect the latest Acrobat interface.

To add or edit fillable form fields to your PDF, follow the steps below. These instructions outline only the steps required to create a PDF form that's compatible with Eyefinity EHR. For complete instructions, visit Adobe's "Create and Distribute PDF Forms" help.

1. Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro.

   

2. Click the Tools tab and select Prepare Form.

   

3. Click Start or Create Form to allow Acrobat to automatically detect fields in your form image.

   

   Do not select the This Document Requires Signatures check box. Selecting this box adds additional data to form fields that is incompatible with Eyefinity EHR.

4. Acrobat processes your form and displays the fields it detected as purple boxes on your form image. The purple highlighting helps you identify the fields for editing, but the highlighting does not print or impact the appearance of your form.

   If you'd rather draw the form fields manually, change your Adobe Acrobat preferences:

   • Windows.Edit menu > Preferences > Forms > deselect Automatically Detect Form Fields
   • macOS.Acrobat Pro menu > Preferences > Forms > deselect Automatically Detect Form Fields
5. Draw any additional text fields manually:
   1. Select the Add a Text Field tool.
   2. Click on the form image and drag your cursor to the desired size and location for the field.
6. Click the Arrow tool on the Prepare Form toolbar.

   

7. Edit the field names so they match the names of Eyefinity EHR data elements. Repeat these steps for every form field:
   1. Open the data fields reference sheet. Log in to the Eyefinity EHR web application as an administrator. Locate Firm Forms and click Manage PDFs. Click the Reference Sheet action bar icon.

      

   2. Locate the Data Field you wish to populate in the form, highlight the corresponding EMA Label, right-click, and select Copy.

      

      The field name must be entered exactly as displayed on the reference sheet, including the "AUTO_" prefix. Field names are case sensitive.

      You may add form fields that are not listed on the data fields reference sheet. Eyefinity EHR will not prepopulate these fields, but providers and staff may manually enter information into these fields.

   3. Return to the form in Adobe Acrobat.
   4. Right-click the form field and select Properties.

      

   5. Under the General tab, locate the Name field, delete any text in this field, right-click, and select Paste.

      

   6. Click Close.
8. Add any check boxes or signature fields to your form as needed.
9. Save your fillable PDF form.

By default, Acrobat text fields allow text to display as large as the field will accommodate. They also allow text to scroll if the text exceeds the width of the field. These default settings have the effect of making your form look inconsistent.

Follow these optional steps to ensure the text on the form displays consistently:

1. Click the Arrow tool on the Prepare Form toolbar.

   

2. Select all text fields:
   • Windows. Press Ctrl–A.
   • macOS. Press Command–A.
3. Right-click any one of the selected text fields and select Properties.
4. Click the Appearance tab and select a Font Size. Size 10 or 12 is recommended.

   

5. Click the Options tab and deselect the Scroll Long Text check box.

   

6. Click Close.
7. Save your fillable PDF form.

Once your PDF form is saved, you can add it to Eyefinity EHR. For more information, go to Adding PDF Forms to Eyefinity EHR.