Warning: altering form
elements can cause ripples throughout the format. With internal forms
such as the OSR-1, a minor difference from the standard will not affect
its acceptance. The National Institutes of Health are very particular
about the layout of their forms. Modify
NIH forms at your own risk
Word
6.0 and RTF forms:
To modify these forms:
From the Toolbar,
select Tools>Unprotect Document
Make changes to the document
From the Toolbar, select Tools>Protect Document
From the pop-up menu, choose Forms
PDF
forms: You cannot modify PDF forms with the free Acrobat Reader.
If you have the full Acrobat version, however, you can modify any element
of the form using the variety of editing tools available in the program.
See the warning above.
Excel
forms: You can modify any elements of
the Excel forms on this site using the standard editing features of the
program. See the warning above.
This is a tricky issue.
If you have Microsoft
Word on your computer, you can try the Word 6.0 forms. Newer Macs
are equipt with great translation software that will correctly interperet
every data element of a Word for PC document.
RTF (rich text
format) forms are another option. They are theoretically readable by Microsoft
Word on any platform and can also be read by later versions of WordPerfect.
However, if you want trouble-free, perfectly formatted forms on your
Mac, choose PDF (portable document format). PDF is usable by
any computer and any platform. All you need is the free Acrobat
Reader to use these forms (although you can extend the form's
functionality with the full version of Adobe
Acrobat.) Before choosing this option, check out the
Benefits and Drawbacks of PDF. (No kidding. Really read it.)
Newer versions of WordPerfect may be able to translate the Word
6.0 and RTF forms on this
site. Then again, they may not. Not very helpful, is it? The fact is,
I have seen one PC WordPerfect correctly open a Word 6.0 form, and another
(same version) throw in the towell.
Your other option is PDF (portable
document format). PDF forms are usable on any platform. Just download
a copy of the free Acrobat
Reader or purchase Adobe
Acrobat. But before you do, check out the
Benefits and Drawbacks of PDF.
There are only a few forms on this site designed for Excel,
and each of those forms has several alternatives. Try the Word
6.0 or RTF (rich text
format)eqivalent if you wish to use a word processor to complete your
forms, or try the PDF (portable
document format) files if you have Adobe
Acrobat or the free Acrobat
Reader. Be sure to read the
Benefits and Drawbacks of PDF before choosing the PDF option.
I
receive the following message when trying to print a form: "the margins
are set outside the printable area of the page." What should I do?
Ah, a Mac user. I don't know why Apple printers place such tight restrictions
on margin size, but they do. To alter your Word 6.0 form to fit the printable
margins, do the following:
1) Click unprotect
from the Tools menu.
2) Click page setup in the file menu.
3) In the pop-up menu, set the document scale to 97%
4) Click OK.
5) Reopen the page setup menu (I know this sounds strange, but if you
don't close the menu between changes, there can be problems)
6) In the pop-up menu, select the margins button.
7) In the margins menu, set the top and bottom margins to .46 inches.
Set the left margin to .55 inches. Set the right margin to .46 inches.
Click OK.
8) Go back to tools and click protect. In the pop-up menu, select the
forms readio button and click OK.
But to save yourself the hassle, try using the PDF
alternatives. PDF files automatically reduce in size to fit printable
margins. There are drawbacks to PDF, however, so be sure to read the
Benefits and Drawbacks of PDF before choosing the PDF option.
What are the benefits of using PDF files?
What are the drawbacks?
PDF (portable document format) was created by Adobe to solve the problems
that arise when transporting documents between systems.
Benefits
- Anyone, anywhere
can open a PDF file. All you need is the free Acrobat Reader.
- PDF files always
display exactly as created, regardless of fonts, software, and operating
systems.
- PDF files always
print correctly on any printing device.
- Acrobat's form
controls ensure uncompromised layout without character limitations.
Drawbacks
- You can not save
changes to forms using the free Acrobat Reader.
This includes entries made in form fields.
- Non-postscript
printers may have problems spooling a PDF form. Check here
for more help.
Obvioulsy the big
issue here is the ability to save your work. The free Reader
doesn't allow you to do it. So what do you do? Buy Adobe
Acrobat. The program is very flexible, user
friendly, and allows you to save your form entries. Not only that, but
you will be able to create your own PDF documents with it. Adobe
Acrobat can be purchased directly from Adobe,
or you can pick it up through TRC,
Technology Resource Center at an academic discount rate.
Word 6.0 and RTF forms:
From the Toolbar,
select Tools>Unprotect Document
select grey-shaded form field.
change font on the toolbar or through Format>Font
From the Toolbar, select Tools>Protect Document
From the pop-up menu, choose Forms
Warning:
NIH has very specific font requirements and deviation from these requirement
can cause your proposal to be disqualified from consideration. The following
is excepted from the PHS398
instructions.
Adherence to type
size and line spacing requirements is necessary for several reasons. No
applicants should have the advantage, by using small type, of providing
more text in their applications. Small type may also make it difficult
for reviewers to read the application.
The application must
be clear, readily legible, and conform to the following three requirements:
1) The height of the letters must not be smaller than 10 point; 2) Type
density must be no more than 15 characters per inch (cpi). For proportional
spacing, the average for any representative section of text must not exceed
15 cpi; 3) No more than 6 lines of type must be within a vertical inch.
Type requirements should be checked using a standard device for measuring
type size, rather than relying on the font selected for a particular word
processing/printer combination. Figures, charts, tables, figure legends,
and footnotes may be smaller in size but must be readily legible. The
type size used throughout the application must conform to all three requirements.
