Fillable PDF creator, draw the form on any PDF.

A fillable PDF creator turns an ordinary PDF into a form that people can type into, tick and choose from on screen. This one works with any PDF you already have, such as a scanned application, a Word document saved as PDF or a flyer. You draw each field on the page, name it and save. The saved file holds true form fields, called an AcroForm, so it works in Adobe Acrobat, Preview on a Mac, the PDF viewer in your browser and other PDF readers. The original page stays exactly as it was.

How to make a fillable PDF

1. Drop a PDF on the box, or click it to choose one. A PDF with a password needs its password removed first with Unlock PDF.
2. Pick a tool above the pages: Text box, Multi-line box, Checkbox, Radio button, Dropdown or Date box. The key for each is shown when you hover it.
3. Drag on the page to draw the field, or click once to place it at its usual size. The tool goes back to Select after one field, unless you tick Keep the tool after placing a field.
4. With the field selected, type its Field name and, if you like, a Hint shown on hover. Pick a Font size, tick Required or Read only, and choose a Look.
5. Drag a field to move it and drag a corner to resize it. Delete removes it, the arrow keys nudge it by one point (10 with Shift), and Ctrl or Cmd D makes a copy.
6. Press Try the form to fill it in here and check the look and the Tab order. Press Back to editing to go on.
7. Press Download the fillable PDF. The file is named after your PDF with -fillable added.

What each field is for

Field names matter

Every field has a name, and the name is how other software finds the answer. Use plain names such as Full name or Start date. A name must be unique, so two text boxes cannot both be called Name. The page marks a clash in red and will not save until you fix it. A full stop in a name is changed to an underscore, because a full stop means a group inside a group in a PDF.

Radio buttons are the one place where names are shared on purpose. All the buttons of one question have the same Group name and a different Answer value. Say the question is Size, with three buttons called Small, Medium and Large. Draw the first radio button and set its group to Size and its answer to Small. The next radio button you draw joins the same group with the answer Option 2, so change it to Medium. Because they share a group, picking Large clears the others. Press Start a new group before the next question.

Required, read only and the date box

A required field is marked by the PDF reader and has to be filled before some readers will submit the form. A read only field shows its starting text and cannot be changed. That is handy for a form number or a printed reference.

A date box is a text box with a date format set by the standard PDF date scripts. Adobe Acrobat and Reader use it to check what is typed and format it. Other readers treat it as an ordinary text box, so choose No date format, plain text if you do not want any script in the file.

Tab order, rotated pages and fields the PDF already has

The saved form is tabbed in reading order: page by page, top to bottom, then left to right. A page that is turned sideways in the PDF is handled, and the text in its fields reads upright. If the PDF already holds form fields, they are kept as they are and drawn as grey outlines, so you can add to a form you did not make. You cannot edit those old fields here.

What this does not do

• It has no signature field. To sign a finished form, use Sign PDF.
• It does not find boxes and lines for you. You draw each field.
• It uses the standard Helvetica font for text typed into fields. Starting text with letters outside that font is kept, and the reader draws it.
• A form made with Adobe XFA, or one with limits on changes, needs its limits removed first with Unlock PDF.

To fill the form you made, open it in Fill PDF. To change the page itself first, use the PDF editor.