PDF Logic

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Fill PDF Form

Fill in a PDF form on screen instead of printing it. Type into the form's own fields, tick boxes and choose options, then download a PDF that opens filled in, in any reader.

Runs on your device: your file is not uploaded

What Fill PDF Form does

Fill PDF Form opens your PDF in the editor with the Fill PDF form panel already open. It lists every field in the form with the page it is on, so you can work through the form from top to bottom and apply your answers in one step.

Your answers are written into the form's own fields, so they stay editable: you or the next person can still change them in a PDF reader. If the answers must not change, run the finished file through Flatten PDF.

The form is read and filled in your browser, so its contents are never uploaded and stay on your device. A form without fields, such as a scanned paper form, can still be completed: close the panel and use Add text to type on the page, or Create field to add fields of your own.

Is this the right tool?

Good for

  • Completing application, enrolment and tax forms that come as fillable PDFs
  • Filling in a supplier or onboarding form without printing and scanning it
  • Correcting an answer in a form you filled in earlier
  • Typing onto a scanned paper form with Add text

Not the right tool for

  • Signing the form. A signature field cannot be filled here, but you can place a visible signature on the page.Sign PDF
  • Locking the answers so nobody can change them later.Flatten PDF
  • Forms made with Adobe LiveCycle, called XFA forms. They need software that supports XFA, such as Adobe Acrobat Reader.

How to fill in a PDF form

  1. Choose the form

    Open a PDF form of up to 50 MB in the editor, with the Fill PDF form panel listing every field.

  2. Fill in the fields

    Type into text fields, tick checkboxes, and pick options from lists and radio groups. A star marks a required field, and fields that cannot be changed say so.

  3. Find a field on the page

    Select the Page button beside a field to see where it sits on the form.

  4. Apply your answers

    Select Apply form changes. The pages update, so you can check the filled form in the editor.

  5. Download PDF

    Select Download PDF. The copy is saved with -filled at the end of its name, and its fields stay editable.

Worked example

A supplier registration form with 40 fields

Say a new customer sends a four-page supplier registration form as a fillable PDF, with company and bank details, checkboxes and a dropdown. Open it here, and the Fill PDF form panel lists all 40 fields.

Work down the list. When a field has a cryptic name, select its Page button to see it on the form. Once everything is filled in, select Apply form changes and look over the pages in the editor.

Download the PDF and open it in your usual reader before sending it; the answers sit in their fields and can still be edited. For a version that cannot be changed, run it through Flatten PDF.

Tips for a better result

  • Field names come from whoever built the form and can be as unhelpful as Text12, so use the Page button before you type.
  • Forms that add up totals or check dates with scripts do not run those scripts here, so type calculated values yourself.
  • If a value is refused because of its characters, the form's font cannot show them; use plain Latin letters or the form's original software.
  • Keep the blank form: the download is a new file, so the empty original is ready for the next person.

Fill PDF Form: questions and answers

Why does it say my PDF has no form fields to fill?

The PDF looks like a form but has no fillable fields, which is common for scans and for forms saved from a word processor. Close the panel and use Add text to type on the page, or select Create field to add fields of your own.

Can I fill in an XFA or LiveCycle form here?

No. XFA forms, often made with Adobe LiveCycle, keep their fields in a format this tool cannot edit, and it says so when you open one. Fill them in Adobe Acrobat Reader or another reader that supports XFA.

Can I fill in a form that needs a password to open?

Remove the password first with Unlock PDF, using the password you were given, then open the unlocked copy here. The filled copy has no password, so add one with Protect PDF if it needs one.

Why can't I fill in a form that has already been signed?

Changing a digitally signed PDF would break its signature, so the tool will not fill one in. Ask the sender for an unsigned copy, fill that in, and have it signed after the answers are complete.

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