Frequently Asked Questions: SmartForms and Reader DC Initial Check Browsers - Google Chrome - Other browsers Form functions - List of additional buttons and their function Field functions - Choosing a date (using the date picker) - General Page editing - Continuation sheets/guidance notes - Text already inserted - Strike out text - Land Registry Clause selector - Auto-complete Data transfer - Move text from form to form Digital signatures - How do I work with the Sign and lock feature - Creating a new ID - Altering the appearance of the digital signature - Sharing the digital ID - Removing a Digital ID - Unlocking a signed form Office Autofill
Reader DC The grey bar at the top should be on the Document tab Click this arrow to remove the side bar, to give you more room to work Initial Check Adobe introduced a security model which effectively prevents you saving to any location other than My Documents. To remove this restriction, go to the top menu, and choose Edit >> Preferences and in that resulting box choose Security (Enhanced). In that box untick Enable Protected mode at Startup as well as Enable Enhanced Security click OK.
This is also the place where you can declare additional trusted sites. Browsers If you are presented with the following message in any browser (Internet Explorer (IE), Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Safari) you will need to (or get your IT support to) switch off the internal PDF viewers that these browsers use.
Google Chrome With Chrome open find and click on the three vertical dots Settings search for PDF - find and click on Scroll down in the resulting screen until you see the above (Content Settings), and click on the arrowhead on the right. The screen below will appear so scroll down until you see PDF documents.
Click on the arrowhead next to PDF document, and in the resulting window click the Open PDFs using a different application so that it is ON (button to the right, and blue) Close the browser and re-open the next time clicking on a PDF link will download the form and open in Adobe Reader.
If Adobe Reader is also present as an option, you then have the choice of displaying PDfs in the browser, or forcing them to be downloaded and opened directly in Adobe Reader. We find the latter preferable, but the choice is yours. In earlier versions of Google Chrome, to display in the browser, find the Adobe Reader plugin and enable to download directly leave the Adobe Reader plugin disabled. The most recent versions of Google Chrome have removed all support for the Adobe Reader plugin, so you will automatically be asked to save the forms. You might need those in charge of your IT to do this for you, otherwise it might not remain as such for each time you start Chrome you need administrative rights to enforce the changes. Other browsers For a full list of what to do for each browser, follow the steps as recommended by Adobe. However, for Google Chrome, follow the instructions above. https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/display-pdf-in-browser.html
Form functions Q: What do all the buttons on the forms do? Save As use this button when you first download the form to save it to your case management system or working folders. If you have already saved and worked on the form, use the File > Save option, or the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-S Email Form Using this button will attach your completed form to an email message it will detect what email client you are using and create a new email with the form as an attachment Reset Form this button will remove EVERYTHING that you have typed, restoring the form to its original state Use with caution Delete current row If you need to add another row to the table, use this button. Click this as many times as required there is no limitation of the number of rows added If you need to insert another row to the table, use this button. You will be asked where you want to insert, so choose the row number you want the new row inserted
List of additional buttons and their function Each form has various buttons that will perform the stated functions when you click on them that are shown above. In addition, forms may have additional buttons: The Sign and Lock button is not a substitute or replacement for signing by hand - if your form requires a signature, this CANNOT be used for that purpose. The field is not mandatory - it does not have to be completed or used. Detailed instructions are provided later for this function. The wet signature required by the form should be done by hand or other agreed method. On some forms where a scanned signature is permissible, simply go to the area where the signature is required, and click on the blank area - if the icon changed to a hand when you hovered there, then you will be asked to upload an image of the scanned signature The Add file attachment button is to allow the user to attach scanned or original files to the PDF. Permissible file types are.doc,.txt,.pdf or.jpeg. Excel spreadsheets are also allowed. The button is for assistance only - it is not mandatory or an instruction to do anything - it can be ignored if not required. All content attached in this way will be visible in the PDF attachments window, from where they can be extracted and saved elsewhere. This aid is unlikely to be acceptable to agencies if they require paper copies of all includes, but is included so that the PDF allows for the collection of all related content in one PDF. Please do not attempt to attach executable content - the function will disallow it.
Where you see the words click to sort simply click on those words to sort the column below it another click will change the order in the other direction. Q: Will the added buttons on the LexisSmart Forms appear on my printout? A: No, all added buttons are set to not print. Field functions Choosing a date (using the date picker) When you click on a date field, you can either insert the date manually (usually in the format DD/MM/YYYY) or you can use the date picker. It will start on the current date. To more quickly to the date you need, click on the month-year between the arrows at the top. This will then show you the current year with all months. Click on the year again and you will be presented with year ranges.
General Page Editing The cells in each row are expandable, meaning that you can type as much text as required, using as many carriage returns as needed. To make the cell accept all you have typed, either tab or click into the next, or any other box, or anywhere else on the page.
To format text in an area that you have typed in, click in the field and press CTRL-E - this will place an Editing panel at the top of the page. Highlight the text you want to change and use the panel to edit as required. Click the More button to show the advanced editing features for Font, Paragraph and Tabs.
Q: Where are the continuation sheets/ guidance notes? A: You do not have to search for or download separate guidance or continuation sheets. Where an agency provides either continuation sheets or guidance notes we have included these in the forms themselves. Guidance notes are opened via a link in the main form (usually top left of the first page), which will open as a PDF in a separate window. You could tile the two open PDFs so that guidance can be read alongside the form you are filling. Continuation sheets are also opened via a link in the body of the main form, but will immediately be appended to the bottom of the form, becoming extra pages. Click once only to append one copy. Take note of the page count at the top of the form and note it increase as you click on the continuation link. On forms that have them, a small red delete button is on the top right corner of each appended page. If you have added too many continuation sheets, click this button to delete off those pages. Q: On some forms there are text fields with text already inserted did this come from another user? A: No, the content was in the original file, but is asking for a choice to be made - LexisNexis Smartforms are developed so that the choice can easily be made. Blue frames with writing inside behave in the same way as the empty frames where you are expected to enter text. In these frames you can add text and numbers, and also delete those characters you do not require. Pre inserted text is just the same - delete or amend as needed. Throughout our range of forms, we have made use of editable text boxes to enable the deletion of options - usually these options are depicted by square brackets as in the example above, or as a choice to be made, as below.
Q: How do I strike out text? A: For the most, where text is optional and needs to show a selection, we have made that text editable. Editable text is signified by its location within the blue frames. Simply edit that text as needed. Where we have not provided this facility, and for forms that are not expandable, you can use the mouse to select the text that you want to strike out, right-click and select Strikethrough Text.
The text is struck out. If the colour of the strikethrough is not as you need, right-click on the strikethrough, and select Properties. Change the colour if needed
If you will always need the strikethrough colour to be the colour you have chosen, also click the Make Properties Default For this to show up on your printout, you have to tell your printer that you want to print comments. Select Document and Markups from the Comments & Forms dropdown.
Q: How does the Land Registry Clause selector work? Certain deeds affecting registered land need to follow a prescribed form (rule 206 of the Land Registration Rules 2003). (In cases where there is no prescribed form, the deed must be in such form as we may direct or allow (rule 212 of the Land Registration Rules 2003).) Currently, the prescribed forms include transfers of registered titles and registered charges (forms TP1, TP2, TR1, TR2, TR4 and TR5), assents of registered titles and registered charges (forms AS1, AS2 and AS3), and discharges of and releases from registered charges (forms DS1 and DS3). The words of execution for these deeds are also prescribed. LexisSmart forms now carry a clause selector which will insert the words of execution, as many clauses and numbers of clauses you need. To start this, click on the button below the section for Execution. Click on the Select Clauses button.
This will bring up a window where you need to specify which of the clauses you need, and using the arrows or simply typing in, insert the number of each clause you need Do this for each window (there are three), clicking the Next button until the last, where you click the Finish button. When you click the Finish button, your selected clauses will be inserted into the form. All clauses are editable once placed, so proceed to complete as needed.
To change the number of clauses, simply go back to the Clause Selector button NB: Changing the number to 0 will remove the clause from your selection. Setting all to 0 will put the form back to the original state with no clauses selected. If you need extra clauses, or more of the same clause, simply go back to the Selector button and adjust the number as needed. Your existing edited clauses will not be affected. Q: How to set up Auto-Complete in Adobe Reader Much like modern web browsers, you have the option to auto-complete frequently used fields. Using the top menu, go to Edit>Preferences>Forms Change the dropdown for Auto-complete to Advanced, and tick to remember telephone and other numbers.
Navigate to the Forms tab, and choose they type of Auto-complete you would like Adobe Reader will build up a dictionary over time, and assist in auto-completing your forms while you fill them in. Data transfer Q. How do I move text from an old version of a form to a newer version of a form? A. If, having filled out a form, you subsequently find that the form has been updated/amended, you can easily move your responses from the old form to the newer version as follows. Also, if you have two very similar forms to complete, complete one, export its data, and import that into the next instrument.
To reach this function, go to the top menu, and click on Edit > Forms Options to export your data, click the button Export Data. Choose where you would like to save, and give the file a name you will recognize (normally the file will be named the same as the saved filename of the form itself do not worry, this is a different filename and will not overwrite your PDF if you choose to save in the same location). To bring this information into another version of the same form, open the new version, and choose Import Data navigate to the location you previously saved your information, select the file, and click Import. Your form should now have all the information completed. In cases where an update has introduced new sections, please check the form to see if any sections are incomplete, and complete manually.
Digital signatures Q. How do I work with the Sign and lock feature The sign and lock feature is capable of carrying wet signatures, but since this is not yet acceptable practice in the UK, this feature is used to render the form read only (using this feature will disable all editing features) this is so that recipients cannot make changes. Of course, if you want the recipient to edit the form, do not use the sign and lock. A: Creating a new ID and a simple shared network Digital ID When you click on the Sign and Lock feature in LexisSmart forms, you are effectively calling up a Digital Signature, and the person signing the document creates, or uses a previously created, Digital ID. To create a shared ID, you first need to create a new ID. This is easily achieved by opening up any forms with a Sign and Lock button, clicking on that to invoke the Signing panel, and then choosing New ID... from the drop-down in the Sign As: field (as shown below). Choose A new digital ID I want to create now, and click next.
Then choose New PKCS#12 digital ID file, and click next. Fill in the fields as required, as below, and click next. Note that the Country code for the United Kingdom (in this particular dropdown) is GB.
You will be asked to enter a file location and a password. This is where you choose where in your network you plan to hold the Digital ID. Under File Name: browse to the network location of your choice, provide the password, and save the file. NB. Make sure that all users that you expect to use this shared ID, will be able to reach the network location you specify. Once this digital signature has been set up, you will be presented with a Sign Document box where you will only need to insert your password. You will then be asked where and with what name you wish to save the read-only form the software assumes you do not want to overwrite the editable version.
B: Altering the appearance of the digital signature Once you have set up your digital signature, it is possible to alter the appearance that will be present on the printout. To do this, open any SmartForm, click on the Sign and Lock, and in the resulting box look for Appearance from there choose Create new appearance Use the configuration box to add graphics (such as a scanned signature) and alter the text that appears
C. Sharing the Digital ID For other users to use this Digital ID, the person who set the initial Digital ID up will need to provide: The network location (if this is a mapped drive ensure that everyone has the same drive mapping, otherwise supply the full path) The password The user then needs to open any form with a Sign and Lock button, and click on that. From the Digital Signature panel that opens up, choose New ID... from the Sign As drop-down. Choose My existing digital ID from: A file, and click next. In the Add Digital ID panel that appears, click Browse and navigate to the provided network location. When there, choose the Digital ID that you have been asked to use, and click Open. Provide the password, and click next. You will be informed about the Digital ID being added to your list of digital Ids. Click Finish. All done! The next time the user clicks on the Sign and Lock, this new shared ID will be available in the Sign As: dropdown C. Removing a Digital ID If it is digital IDs you need to get rid of, go to File > Preferences > Signatures
Click on the More button next to Identities & Trusted certificates Highlight the digital ID you want to get rid of, and click Remove ID
D. Unlocking a signed form Unlocking can only be done by the person who locked it on the left of the screen is a set of buttons with the top one consisting of initials and a green tick Click on that button, and you will get the Signature Panel on your left:
Right-Click on the signature, and choose Clear Signature The lock will be removed and you will be able to continue to edit the form.
Office Autofill For auto-completion of basic office details such as name, address, telephones, DX, etc. we have developed a multi-office PIV (Personal Information Variables) installer for those who subscribe to the full service. Once installed, users in multi-office environments will see a pop-up box with a list of the offices choose the one required and click OK The relevant section of the form will be completed automatically
If you want to change the office after that, click on Edit and choose either Insert Details Fixed or Insert Details Expandable the type of form will determine this. If you do not know the type and you choose the wrong one, you will get the following message
If you choose the right one you will get the pop-up box again, where you choose the office you need.
It will change instantly. Save your form with the new address.