Fill-In Forms Overview
This year the New York State Tax Department is providing fill-in forms. There is no computation or verification of the information you enter and you are still responsible for entering all required information. This may include some information being handwritten on the forms as needed according to the forms’ instructions.
To view, complete and print these forms you are required to have Adobe Acrobat 4.0 Reader software on your computer which can be downloaded via our website for free. You will be able to download our forms, type in your data and print a completed form to mail to the appropriate address. This process provides you with a crisp clean copy of your form for your records. Acrobat reader does not, however, allow you to save your filled in forms to floppy or hard disk. The data is not stored or able to be recalled later on unless you have purchased the full Adobe Acrobat suite which includes Acrobat Exchange. If you have the full Acrobat suite of software, you will be able to save your completed form to disk for future updating and printing.
Completing Your Fill-In Form
1. If you do not already have it on your PC, Download Adobe Acrobat 4.0 Reader from our website.
2. Select, download and save the desired form to your PC. Do not work on the form while on-line because the form may print smaller than its normal size, and if you lose your internet connection before you print your form your work could be lost.
3. Start the Adobe Acrobat 4.0 reader software and then select File, Open to select and open the downloaded form or instruction.
4. Select the hand tool from the Acrobat toolbar and place the hand pointer inside the first form field you want to key in by double clicking your left mouse button. The I-beam pointer should appear and it allows you to type in information. In order to maintain the most room in a field for typing characters, please do not type in all capital letters. The arrow pointer or pointing finger allows you to select a field, a check box, or an item from a list. To mark a check box, click the left mouse button (click again to unmark it) or type an X in the box if one does not appear after clicking with your left mouse button.
Press the TAB key to accept your entry and to move to the next field. Press the SHIFT key plus the TAB key simultaneously to accept a field and go to a previous field on the form.
If you happen to press the enter or return key you may temporarily lose your cursor. Simply click your left mouse button in the field you want to be in and the cursor will return.
Use your mouse to select any field you want to position your cursor in on the form should you need to move around the form in an order other than that in which the TAB key takes you.
5. After making all your entries and before you print your form, click your left mouse button on an area of the form that is not a fill in field so that no data entry field is left active. Active fields containing the blinking I-beam will not print their contents if you print your form while the field is still selected.
6. Print your form by using the printer button on the Acrobat tool bar menu and selecting the appropriate number of copies you would like to have printed for mailing and your own records.
7. Make sure you sign any forms that have a signature area.
Common Technical Issues
The list below summarizes the most common technical issues related to viewing and printing fill-in forms along with suggested methods to correct these problems:
1. I Am Receiving Question Marks Instead of Fill-in Fields.
You need to update to the latest version of Acrobat Reader.
2. When Downloading a Fill-in Form, My Web Browser Window Goes Blank or I Get an Error Message and I Never Receive the File.
Should you experience fill-in form files appearing as a blank window within your web browser after downloading, follow the appropriate steps below to resolve the issue:
Reload and make sure that the entire file is being downloaded. Try to download the file again.
Internet Explorer 5.0 – right mouse button click on the file’s link name, select Save Target As, select a folder location for the file to be downloaded to on your PC.
Netscape – right mouse button click on the file’s link name, select Save Link As, select a folder location for the file to be downloaded to on your PC. If your browser is configured with an Acrobat plug in that automatically opens the file in Acrobat for you when you click on the document link, left mouse button click on the picture of the floppy disk and a File Save As window opens. Key in a name for the document and select a folder on your PC in which to store the downloaded data.
Check the version of Adobe Acrobat Reader - If you are using Adobe Acrobat Reader version 3.0 or earlier, upgrade to the latest version of Adobe Reader 4.0. To check the version, open the Acrobat Reader program then select Help from the menu bar, About Acrobat Reader.
Open up the fill-in form file independently of the browser - After you select a form and download it to your PC, close out your web browser and start the Acrobat Reader 4.0 software. Then click on File, Open and select the downloaded file on your PC.
3. Error "Out of Memory" or Drawing Error When Printing a Filled-in Form from Acrobat Reader
When printing a PDF file from Reader in Windows to a non-PostScript printer, Windows returns the error, "Out of memory," and the PDF file does not print. This error may occur when you're printing with an outdated printer driver or when there are insufficient system resources.
If you receive an "Out of Memory" error when printing from Reader, try one or more of the following:
Check to make sure you are running the latest version of Acrobat Reader. You are required to have version 4.0 or later. To check the version, open the Acrobat Reader program then select Help from the menu bar, then About Acrobat Reader.
Verify that you are using the most current printer driver available for your printer. Verify that your printer has more than 512K of memory. Turn the printer off and back on to reset it and try again. Make sure you have plenty of free drive space available. All Windows applications create temporary files when printing, which are stored on the computer's free hard drive space. Adobe recommends that you keep free hard drive space equivalent to at least three to five times the size of the file you're printing. In addition, both Windows 95 and Windows NT require additional drive space to manage virtual memory.
Adobe recommends you keep at least 25 MB of drive space free for virtual memory management. Make sure you have at least 50% of your system resources free when printing from an Acrobat viewer. If your system resources are below 50%, exit all applications but the Acrobat viewer. You may need to restart Windows before it reflects freed system resources. To check the amount of available resources:
In Windows 95/ 98, right-click My Computer, choose Properties from the pop-up menu, then click the Performance tab.
In Windows NT 4.0, press Ctrl + Alt + Del, then click Task Manager.
4. Printer Resolution - If you experience problems printing to HP LaserJet printers in the 600dpi mode, try switching back to 300dpi mode, or if the printer is equipped with a PostScript option, use the PostScript mode for 600dpi printing.
5. How to Open up the Fill-in Form File Independently of the Browser.
After you select a form and click on the "review selected files" button, you receive a results screen with a link to download the form( s). Rather than left mouse clicking to download the form to your browser, right mouse click and select "save link as" (Netscape) or "save target as" (Internet Explorer) from the pop up menu. This will allow you to save the file to your hard drive.
Start up Acrobat Reader independently of the browser and open the downloaded file.
6. Known Issues When Printing Forms with Specific Printers.
Canon BJC 4100 - PDF files may not print properly in the printer's photographic mode. Use the printer's Graphics & Text or Automatic modes instead.
Canon LBP-81V - Use the printer's bitmap mode for best results.
HP DeskJet Printers - If provided, it is recommended to use the printer's Raster Graphics mode as opposed to the Vector Graphics mode.
HP DeskJet 500C - This printer has an unprintable area near the top of the page. Be sure to use the shrink-to-fit option in Acrobat Reader's Print dialog box.
HP LaserJet Printers - For best results it is recommended that you use the printer driver's TrueType font option to download TrueType fonts as bitmaps (not outlines).
HP LaserJet 5M - For best results, it is recommended that you use the standard HP LaserJet 5M printer driver and not the enhanced driver that ships with the printer.
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