HINTS ON THE USE OF NSF ELECTRONIC FORMS

Table of Contents

Available Formats

NSF forms are available in the following electronic formats:

  1. Microsoft Word 6.0 for Windows
  2. Microsoft Word 6.0 for Macintosh
  3. PostScript

Since these forms were initially loaded, they have been reloaded to make various improvements. If you are having problems with the version of the forms that you are using, you should first try downloading the forms again to ensure that the difficulties that you are experiencing have not been corrected or eliminated.

Which Format Should You Use?

If you have Microsoft Word version 6.0, on either Windows or a Macintosh, then you should use the Word formats. They are designed so that you can easily "fill in the blanks." If you have WordPerfect, see the section below for availablity of a WordPerfect format.

If you cannot use these word processing formats, you may find the PostScript formats useful, although, in general, they demand more computer expertise on your part. You can print blank forms by sending the PostScript files to a PostScript printer, but if you want to "fill in" the form, you'll need an ASCII editor to make changes to the PostScript files. Instructions for making these changes are included as comments in the files.

Password Protection (Word Formats)

The forms are password protected so that they retain their "fill in the blanks" capability. NSF is making the password available so that you may make minor technical adjustments to the forms. The password is: 
      NSFFORMS
Note: This feature is case sensitive and must be typed exactly as shown. After you make changes, you must re-apply form and password protection in order to use the forms as templates. Otherwise, features such as the ability to tab from item to item, complete, and then print will not work.

Forms Continuing Onto a Second Page

If you are experiencing problems with the forms continuing onto a second sheet of paper while printing, please verify that your printer is set to print at least 60 lines per page.

Problems with the Lengths of Fields

Different computers react differently to the forms. This appears to be particularly true in the case of field lengths. While one system will accept a field length of a specified number of characters, others may show that these lengths are too short, or, more frequently, too long. In these cases, you may need to make minor adjustments to make the forms usable on your system.

If The Fonts Do Not Appear To Be The Same Size As On The Printed Version of the Forms

You must have both Arial and Times New Roman fonts installed on your system to use the Word 6.0 templates. Check to see if these fonts are available. If not, you will have to install them or try another similar font if one is available.

If You See "Revision Marks"

Many users have reported "revision marks" on the forms (for example words that appear to have been lined through and change bars in the margins as they appear on the screen). This only affects the NSF Form 1030 and related instructions. This happens because your system has been configured to automatically show revisions. If you have this problem, download the most recent version of the forms, which does not contain revision marks.

If Boxes Do Not Appear For You to Complete Required Information

Some users have found areas on the templates where they would normally find boxes to complete but none appear on the screen. In most cases, this can be attributed to not having the document password protected. Please remember you must correctly re-apply form and password protection in order to use the forms as templates. Otherwise, features such as the ability to tab from item to item, complete, and then print will not work.

Older Versions of Microsoft Word

Unfortunately, you will not be able to use these forms if you have Microsoft 5.0 or earlier versions. You must have Microsoft Word 6.0 (or later).

Tips, Suggestions, Complaints

NSF encourages you to provide any tips that you have discovered which might be helpful to others. Tips and suggestions (and even complaints) should be e-mailed to: grants@nsf.gov . We will update this section periodically with new hints on the use of NSF Forms. We appreciate the many questions and comments that you have sent and your patience as we work through the initial "bugs" of disseminating these electronic versions.