CaseLeaf

Handbook / The `makeform` command

The makeform command

A printed form has to become something people can fill in on screen before the deadline on Friday.

Writes form fields into a document that has none. It turns a printed form into one that can be filled in on a screen. Ask fields first to see what would be proposed and where it is wrong. Fields in the wrong place are worse than no fields, because somebody will type into them.

How you run it

caseleaf makeform report.pdf --to reviewed.pdf

What each part means

In full, every part it will take:

caseleaf makeform <file> --to <output>
part what it is for
<file> The PDF to work on, as a path, such as report.pdf beside you, or the full path to it. It is read and not written.
--to Where to write the result, as a path. The shape above shows which format this command writes. This command needs it, and writes only there: the document you named is left exactly as it was.

So it can be filled in.

What comes back

Asked of a short sample document, it answers as below. The sample has eight sheets, a highlight and a note left by a reviewer, a web link, a small table, two pictures and one form field already filled in.

{
  "fields" : 2,
  "written" : true
}

The same thing from AppleScript

Everything above can be asked for from a script instead. There is one AppleScript command, perform: on names the document, and options takes the rest exactly as you would type it.

tell application "CaseLeaf"
    perform "makeform" on "/path/to/report.pdf" ¬
        options "--to reviewed.pdf"
end tell

All the commands · Asking from a script · Contents