A form that arrives as a flat PDF has to be printed, filled in by hand and scanned back. PDF Forms turns it into one people can complete on screen. Draw the fields where the answers go, or let Detect fields find the blank lines and boxes for you, give each field a name, and download a PDF that any reader can fill in.
How to use PDF Forms
- Add the PDF, or start from a blank page.
- Choose a field type in the toolbar and drag a box where the answer goes, or select Detect fields to find the blanks on the page.
- Select a field to set its name, default value, length, alignment and colours.
- Select Save Fillable PDF and try the form in your PDF reader.
The fields you can add
- Six field types: Single-line and multi-line text, checkboxes, radio buttons, dropdowns and signature boxes.
- Radio groups: Radio buttons with the same name form one group, so choosing one clears the others. Each button gets its own value.
- Dropdown lists: Type the choices separated by commas. Tick Allow several choices to make a list people can pick more than one from.
Field settings
- Length and boxes: Limit how many characters a text field takes, and tick One box per character for codes, dates and account numbers printed in separate cells.
- Look: Choose the text size, or let it shrink to fit, the alignment, and the border, text and background colours.
- Required and repeated: Mark a field as required, or repeat it on every page, such as initials at the foot of each page. The copies are one field, so typing into one fills them all.
- Tab order: Choose whether Tab moves through the fields row by row or column by column.
Detecting fields on a flat form
- What it finds: Lines of underscores, drawn lines with space above them, empty boxes and small squares for ticking become text fields and checkboxes, named after the words beside them.
- Check before saving: Detection is a starting point. Rename, resize or remove fields it got wrong, and add any it missed.
- Scanned pages: Detection needs lines or text it can read. On a page that is only a scanned picture, draw the fields by hand.
Filling in and signing
- Filling in a form: To fill in a form that already has fields, and to sign it, use Sign PDF.
- Where to read more: The PDF privacy guide explains what a completed form can reveal about the person who filled it in.
When people use PDF Forms
Application and registration forms
Let applicants complete forms on screen instead of printing and scanning them.
Internal paperwork
Turn leave requests, expense claims and checklists into forms colleagues fill in and email back.
Contracts with signature boxes
Add signature boxes and date fields so each party knows where to sign.
Limitations to know
PDF Forms adds standard fillable fields. It doesn't add calculations or scripts, can't detect fields on a page that is only a scanned picture, and fields found automatically should be checked before the form is shared.
PDF Forms: common questions
Will the form work in any PDF reader?
The fields are standard PDF form fields, so Adobe Reader, browser viewers, Preview on a Mac and most phone apps can fill them in. A few simple viewers only display forms without letting you type.
Can I add fields to a form that already has some?
Yes. New fields are added alongside the existing ones. To fill in the existing fields instead, use Sign PDF.
Why did Detect fields miss some blanks?
It looks for underscores, lines and boxes. Blanks marked in other ways, or a page that is only a scanned picture, need their fields drawn by hand.
Can people save the filled-in form?
Yes. The answers are stored in the fields, and most readers save them with the file.