# Anybody have a typewriter? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 25, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500 "2014-03-25T02:33:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/1 "2014-03-25T02:33:51Z")
I need to fill out a state form, the instructions are as follows: > [@gov't bureaucracy](#): > > **Instructions:** Complete both sides of this form and answer all questions. Type or print legibly. Attach any other documents that support your claim. Mail or fax all documents to the address at the top of this page. > > **Filing by e-mail:** You may file your claim electronically by sending an e-mail to \ and attaching this completed document in Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) format. If you file by e-mail, scan all your supporting documents into PDF format, and attach the PDF(s) to your e-mail. Really? Print out the form & **type** your answers? Then **fax** it in? I wouldn’t even know where to find a typewriter anymore; faxes are few & far between too. I know that I had a job _in 2008_ where I got Adobe Acrobat that allowed me to create a fillable pdf & the software was hardly new then. By using a fillable pdf, you don’t need to worry about finding a typewriter or if someone can read your “legible” handwriting, or even finding a printer to print out a document just so you can scan it. It costs less than $450 to buy this software today. With well over $30 billion (yes, with a B) in revenue, they can’t find a measly $450 to buy 10-year old software? Way to go NJ! \ ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/2 "2014-03-25T02:40:02Z")
Let me get this straight - you’re complaining that they have options both for modern computer users **and** for Luddites/old people? Oh wait - do you mean this form is in non-fillable PDF? Trust me, fillable PDF forms online can be not all that great, either… I had serious problems with a FDA fillable form being near-unusable without Acrobat since you couldn’t add multiple labs otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/3 "2014-03-25T02:45:17Z")
I’m missing the gist of things. They accept filing by e-mail, so why do you need a typewriter? I use Acrobat Pro, but doesn’t the free version have a typewriter tool built in? If not, aren’t there other free PDF tools that do so? Is the rant because the state won’t set up a program to upgrade all their software state-wide, train people who use it (you’re complaining about Acrobat, someone else is bitching about a different program) and make the transition across every agency? I know, it’s about an inept bureaucracy that is still filing millions of claims on paper. [No, wait, that’s the Feds.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2014/03/22/sinkhole-of-bureaucracy/) ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/4 "2014-03-25T02:53:54Z")
It says type _or print_. You know, with your hands? And one of those things from last century, a penis? No, that’s not right. A, uh, penicular typing device? Something like that. You know, it’s like a laser pen but without the thing that makes you go blind. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/5 "2014-03-25T03:03:39Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > It says type _or print_. You know, with your hands? And one of those things from last century, a penis? No, that’s not right. A, uh, penicular typing device? Something like that. You know, it’s like a laser pen but without the thing that makes you go blind. How do you know your penicular device won’t make you go blind if you use too many strokes? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/6 "2014-03-25T03:05:59Z")
The _only_ option is to print a blank form. You must either neatly fill out your info by hand, or with a typewriter. You can then mail it in, fax it in, or go all high-tech & scan it & email it to them as a pdf. It’d be much better to have a fillable-pdf; no printing or penmanship issues. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/7 "2014-03-25T03:10:59Z")
Yes, kids, I actually DO still own a typewriter. In fact I can see it from where I’m sitting, it’s right next to my spinning wheel. Said spinning wheel, by the way, is about 170 years old and keeps telling my comparatively young typewriter (it’s 31 this year) to “get off my lawn”. Yes, I know how to use the spinning wheel and have actually used it. If you want old tech I’m not a bad person to ask about it. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/8 "2014-03-25T03:28:27Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > The _only_ option is to print a blank form. As in, they have permissions set so you can’t access the face of it at all? That is indeed Pit-worthy. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/9 "2014-03-25T03:44:32Z")
Geeze, I hates things like that. My workaround is to copy the form and paste it into a word document, then fill it out, save it as a PDF file and send it off. This outrages me in so many different ways. Many people who use government services aren’t as good with comps as they would be if they were in the office everyday. Some of them don’t have comps at home and only use the one at the library. The hurdles required just to apply for services often cause them to give up and never ends up well for them. Plus, the wasted paper and all of those poor innocent trees who died just become part of the landfill. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/10 "2014-03-25T03:45:04Z")
I understand that part of this is having to turn an electronic document into paper and then back into a file. But unless I’m missing the rest: 1. Measure the spacing for each field (the hard part) 2. Open a blank Word document, type text within those measured areas 3. Blow it up to 100% to compare to the blank form 4. Feed the blank into the printer and print on top of it 5. Mutter curses under your breath if you screwed up #1 Fax = make a PDF, google “free fax” or similar. Download the program, or probably easier, find a web-based one and upload it. Type in fax number. $450 is too much to pay. There are many PDF Pro packages that aren’t made by crappy Adobe. Also annoying is if there are fillable fields but they don’t save when you close the document. I use the demo version of NitroPDF to deal with that. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/11 "2014-03-25T04:26:20Z")
Aren’t faxes more legally kosher than emails, so you can even fax contracts and such? Or am I still stuck in the 90s? ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ea5d25/32.png) [@Happy\_Scrappy\_Hero\_Pup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Scrappy_Hero_Pup)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/12 "2014-03-25T04:37:55Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Aren’t faxes more legally kosher than emails, so you can even fax contracts and such? Or am I still stuck in the 90s? So behind the times. Beep me. I’ll bring you up to speed once I find a pay phone. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/13 "2014-03-25T05:19:44Z")
I got a used portable Royal typewriter when I was about 12, circa 1963. (This was back when they were actually made of metal instead of cheapo plastic.) I still have it to this day. Now, good luck trying to find a ribbon for it. The ribbon I have in it now is about 30-some years old, stolen from the supply room of the place I worked at the time. I haven’t actually used it for 20-some years, as far as I can recall. When I have a document that I’m supposed to type or print legibly, I just suck it up and print legibly. After all these years, I can still do that. ---
**Author:** ![W0X0F](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b77776/32.png) [@W0X0F](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/W0X0F)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/14 "2014-03-25T05:38:15Z")
My PDF software (PDF Converter Pro) has a function - unsurprisingly called the Typewriter Tool - that lets me “type” onto non-fillable PDFs. Works perfectly well and I would imagine most PDF programs (of the non-reader types) have something similar. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/15 "2014-03-25T05:50:41Z")
there’s a whole bunch of online software that lets you type onto PDFs - and even insert pictures Download the form, download the software, insert your scanned signature, print it to PDF and mail it off… what’s the issue? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/16 "2014-03-25T06:26:23Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yes, kids, I actually DO still own a typewriter. In fact I can see it from where I’m sitting, it’s right next to my spinning wheel. Said spinning wheel, by the way, is about 170 years old and keeps telling my comparatively young typewriter (it’s 31 this year) to “get off my lawn”. > > Yes, I know how to use the spinning wheel and have actually used it. If you want old tech I’m not a bad person to ask about it. If you used your spinning wheel to power an electric typewriter you’d automatically get one million coolness points. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/17 "2014-03-25T12:33:23Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > there’s a whole bunch of online software that lets you type onto PDFs - > and even insert pictures > > Download the form, download the software, insert your scanned signature, print it to PDF and mail it off… > > what’s the issue? Well, as pointed out, some disadvantaged people _don’t own computers_. Yes, I know, shocking in these times but it happens. That usually means you have to use the ones at the library which will NOT permit you to download software, apps, and the like onto their machines. In such circumstances you can only print out the blank and fill it in by hand. Or a typewriter, if the local museum will let you use theirs. Of course, that might not apply to the OP’s specific case, but it does turn up. > [@furryman](#): > > If you used your spinning wheel to power an electric typewriter you’d automatically get one million coolness points. But then, what will the hamsters do? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/18 "2014-03-25T12:38:10Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > It’d be much better to have a fillable-pdf; no printing or penmanship issues. What penmanship issues? You were taught to make letters, right? Or do you have Parkinson’s? > [@dropzone](#): > > Aren’t faxes more legally kosher than emails, so you can even fax contracts and such? Or am I still stuck in the 90s? Important contracts, like real estate sales, are often done on an online application that meticulously authenticates and records changes and such. But they don’t just use E-mail. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/19 "2014-03-25T12:51:52Z")
Adobe Reader, the original and only PDF reader most people use, never included a Typewriter feature. They expected fillable PDFs to be used for forms. For some reason, fillable PDFs never took off. My guess is that it’s because the first PDF forms were just scans of printed material, and added a fillable form would require actual editing. Even though PDF is now often the original format, people got into the habit of not including the typewriter feature. That said, I’m gonna bet that this form requires you to include a signature. A lot of people seem to think this means you need to print it out. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500/20 "2014-03-25T15:36:34Z")
I’m completely confused. I have Adobe Reader and I’m able to type stuff into PDF’s all the time. 1. Open the attachement in Reader. (My version is 11) 2. Click on “View” 3. Select “Sign” from the drop-down menu 4. In the right of the document frame, some options appear: Add Text, Add Checkmark, etc. Select “Add Text” 5. Click where you want to add text. Start typing. You can modify the font and the size using the control box that pops up. 6. Repeat as needed. You can even move the typed text around if you need to. This doesn’t work for most people? (Note that I’m not doing this in-browser, but using the stand-alone program.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-have-a-typewriter/684500.md?page=2)