Create Fillable PDF Form

How to use the Create Fillable PDF Form

1. 1Press Select PDF to use your own document, or start with one or more empty pages.
2. 2Choose a field type: text box, text area, checkbox or drop-down list.
3. 3Tap the page where the field should go. Drag it to move it.
4. 4Edit its name, caption, size and choices, and tick Required if the answer is needed.
5. 5Press Create fillable PDF, download the file and try it in your PDF reader.

What makes a PDF fillable

An ordinary PDF is a picture of a page. A fillable PDF additionally carries interactive objects called form fields that sit on top of the page. A reader lets the user click into them, type, tick boxes and choose from lists, and then save or print the filled copy. Because the fields are real, programs can also read the answers back out.

Planning your form

Start from a document that already has your questions and blank lines, or from empty pages where you write captions beside each field. Put fields where the answers belong, make them big enough for a typical answer and leave space between them. Use the caption box if the document has no label of its own.

• Short answers: text box, 150 to 200 points wide
• Longer answers: text area, at least 60 points high
• Yes or no questions: checkbox
• Fixed choices: drop-down list with one choice per line

Moving and sizing fields

Tap the page to place a field in the middle of where you tapped, then drag it to fine-tune. The edit panel shows the field's width and height in points, where 72 points are one inch. A normal single line of text needs about 20 to 24 points of height.

Naming fields well

Names must be unique. The tool suggests names and adds a number if one is already taken. Avoid dots in names; the tool replaces them with underscores because a dot means a field group in PDF. Descriptive names such as first_name and date_of_birth make exported data easy to understand.

Phone and computer

On a phone, choose a field type, tap the page to place it and drag with one finger; the page itself does not scroll while you drag a field, so scroll with the area around it. On a computer you can place many fields quickly. The finished PDF can be filled in on any device with a PDF reader.

Good to know

Fields are drawn with a light blue background and a thin border so they are easy to find. Text uses the standard Helvetica font, which covers Latin alphabets. Fields cannot be created over encrypted PDFs; unlock them first. Test the finished form in the reader your audience uses, since small differences exist between programs. After you share the form, people can use Fill PDF Form to complete it, and Flatten PDF locks the final answers.

Features

• Text boxes, text areas, checkboxes and drop-down lists
• Works on your own PDF or on empty pages
• Drag to position, set size and caption
• Required fields and drop-down choices
• Keeps any fields the PDF already had
• Private: nothing is uploaded

Frequently asked questions