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Fill a PDF form — or give it the fields it never had

Existing fields are read on open. A form that has none gets real ones. Export it fillable, or flattened like a form completed on paper.

Two very different documents get called « a PDF form ». One carries real fields you can click into. The other only looks like a form: a scan, or a document from a word processor where the boxes are ink on the page and nothing more. Most tools handle the first and leave you printing the second.

Here both work. When the PDF has AcroForm fields, they are read on open and become editable where they already sit, with the values they already held. When it has none, you draw the fields yourself — and they are real fields, written back into the exported file.

How to fill a PDF form

  1. Open the PDF

    If the document already carries form fields, they are read on open and become editable exactly where they sit, keeping the values they held.

  2. Add what is missing

    On a scanned form or one produced by a word processor, the boxes are only ink. Draw real fields over them and choose the kind of each.

  3. Fill in

    Type, tick, pick from a list. Border, background, text colour, size and alignment can be adjusted so a field you added does not look foreign on the page.

  4. Export

    Keep it as a form — the fields are written back as genuine AcroForm widgets — or flatten it so the values become part of the page.

The nine field types

Each one is written back into the exported PDF as a genuine form field — or drawn into the page if you flatten.

Text

The ordinary case: a name, an address, a free remark. Font size and alignment follow the ruling of the form.

Number

A plain numeric input, or separated digit boxes with a fixed count — for a reference printed as one square per character. A minimum and a maximum can be set.

Date

A date field with its own format, so a form read in one country is not filled in another country’s order.

Checkbox

One box, ticked or not. Exported as a real checkbox the recipient can toggle.

Radio group

Mutually exclusive choices: one selection excludes the others, as on the printed form.

Dropdown

A closed list that keeps the page compact when the options are many.

List box

The same options shown open, when seeing them all at once matters more than saving space.

Button

Preserved on import so a form that already carries one is not silently degraded.

Signature field

The place where a signature belongs. To send a document out and track who signed, use the e-signature flow.

Fillable or flattened — the choice at export

As a form. The fields are written back as genuine AcroForm widgets. The recipient opens the file in Adobe Reader, in Preview or in a browser and can fill or correct them. This is what you want when the document is going out to be completed.

Flattened. The values are drawn into the page and the field boxes stop existing — no borders, no backgrounds, no auto-sized text. The result reads like a form filled on paper, and nobody can change an answer by clicking on it. This is what you want when the document is going out as a record.

Flattening cannot be undone on the flattened copy: the fields are gone from it. Keep the unflattened file if an answer might still change.

Where it stops

The kind of an imported field is read from its name. A field called date_of_birth or dob becomes a date, one containing amount or numero becomes a number, and everything else stays plain text. That is a reading of the name, not of the content — so a field named Text12 arrives as plain text. Changing its kind in the editor takes one click, but it is worth knowing why it guessed wrong.

Unrecognised widgets are skipped, on purpose. A widget the importer cannot classify or cannot place on a page is passed over rather than blocking the document. You get the form with the fields that were recognised and add the rest by hand.

XFA forms find nothing. XFA is the dynamic format from Adobe LiveCycle, still common in older government and banking documents. Its fields live in an XML payload rather than in the PDF page structure, so there is nothing for an AcroForm reader to import — this is why such a document often opens blank, or asks for a newer version of Adobe Reader. Printing it to a flat PDF and drawing the fields yourself is the reliable route today.

Frequently asked questions

Can I fill a form that already has fields?
Yes. When a PDF carries AcroForm fields, they are read on open and become editable in place — text boxes, checkboxes, radio groups, dropdowns, list boxes and signature fields, each where it already sits on the page, with whatever value it already held. You fill them in the browser and export.
What if the PDF has no fields at all — just printed lines?
Then you add them. Draw a field over the line, choose its kind, and it behaves like a real one. This is the common case for a scanned form or a document produced by a word processor, where the boxes are only ink on the page.
Does the exported file stay fillable?
That is your choice at export. Keep it as a form and the fields are written back as genuine AcroForm widgets, so the recipient can fill or correct them in Adobe Reader or any other viewer. Or flatten it: the values become part of the page, the field boxes disappear, and the result reads like a form filled on paper. Flattening cannot be undone on that copy, so keep the unflattened file if you may need to change an answer.
What kinds of field are available?
Text, number, date, checkbox, radio group, dropdown, list box, button and signature field. Number fields can be a plain input or separated digit boxes with a fixed digit count — useful for a reference or an account number printed as one square per character — and can carry a minimum and a maximum.
Can I make a field look like the rest of the document?
Yes: border colour and thickness, background colour, text colour, font size and alignment are all adjustable per field, and a field can be marked required. On a form you are sending out, matching the existing ruling matters more than it sounds — a field that looks foreign invites people to write beside it.
Why is a field the wrong kind when I open a form?
Because the kind of an imported text field is guessed from its NAME. A field called date_of_birth or dob is treated as a date, one containing amount or numero as a number, and anything else stays plain text. It is a reading of the name, not of the content, so a field named Text12 arrives as plain text. Change its kind in the editor and it behaves as you want.
Some fields did not come through. Why?
The importer deliberately skips any widget it cannot classify or cannot locate on a page, rather than refusing to open the document. You get the form with the fields that were recognised, and you can add the missing ones by hand. A document that opens partially is more useful than one that will not open.
Does it work with XFA forms?
No. XFA — the dynamic format produced by Adobe LiveCycle, common in older government and banking forms — is not AcroForm: the fields live in an XML payload rather than in the PDF page structure, so nothing is found to import. If Adobe Reader tells you the document needs a newer version of Reader, it is an XFA form. Printing it to a flat PDF and adding the fields yourself is the reliable route today.
Can I fill, annotate and sign in the same pass?
Yes — the editor holds form fields, annotations and signature fields together, and all of them are written on export. Sending a document out for signature is a separate flow with its own recipient tracking; see the electronic signature page for that.
Do I need an account?
Yes — the editor works on your own documents, so it sits behind sign-in. Creating an account is free and the free tier includes a daily allowance; paid plans raise the limits. See the pricing page for what your plan includes.

Related

The editor holds forms, annotation and signature fields together, so a document can be completed, marked up and prepared for signature in one pass. Annotating a PDF covers the markup side; electronic signature covers sending a document out and tracking who signed.

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The editor works on your own documents, so it opens after sign-in. Creating an account is free.