Acrobat 9 or Designer 8.2 Which of the two is best program to design a form in.

Question

I have some questions that I would like explained to me (by you long time users)
I have acrobat 9 and designder 8.2.1
1. Which of the two is best program to design a form in.
2. What is the differance between the two in designing a form.(advantages / disadvantages)
3. If I have a word .doc form that I want to make into a pdf, which program is best to open it in to work on, Adobe 9 or designer.
4. If I create a form in Adobe 9 or designer can I open it in either after saving it to continue working on.
TIA
Tony

Answer 1

I think this is a matter of opinion. The drawback of using Designer is that you can no longer edit in Acrobat at all. Those of us that learned in Acrobat, often favor the Acrobat route. In Designer you can import WORD forms and that might be useful at times; however, you can not edit it in Acrobat. Indeed, you can still open the form made in either using Reader or Acrobat. If you want backward compatibility, you need to be careful about saving it as such and not adding capabilities that are new with AA9. Those capabilities will be lost with earlier versions.
The best way is to try it both ways and see what you think. When you buy Acrobat, Designer is part of the package. Thus you have the choice and can try both. Make a sample PDF for creating a form and then make 2 copies. You might even start out with a WORD form. Discover the pros and cons yourself. I have never felt the need to go to Designer and it seems that a lot of folks go there only because that is where the forms menu sends them, not realizing they could have used the TOOLS in Acrobat.