I originally created this in response to a post on MacRumors but thought it might make a nice first tutorial for my site. Although the example used is a poster, this method can be used on any PDF, no matter what size, shape or intended purpose.

Right, do yourself a poster. I did a quick example in Adobe Illustrator just for this tutorial, but any PDF should be the same if created with a respectable program.

Once PDF’d, open with Acrobat Pro (I’m using 8). Use the TouchUp Object tool to delete anything you may have placed as a placeholder, like my yellow box and the text ‘Space for customised text.’

Next use the Text Field tool to draw a text field. This will be where your customisable text will be entered.

The dialogue box that pops up will let you set all the options you want to apply to this entry field. Double click on the text field using the Select Object Tool to edit the details in the future.

Once your done, enable the usage rights in Reader, agree to whatever it says and save it where you want it. (Probably best to save it as a new file rather than over your original.)

Anyone should then be able to open the PDF in an up-to-date version of Acrobat Reader (available free) and replace the text by clicking on it and typing. They will then be able to save, save as, e-mail, print etc.

I hope this makes sense and works for you! If not, post a comment and I’ll see what I can do to help.

-Doug

Want your client to be able to place an image into your PDF template? Check out Part 2: Creating an Image Area!

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