How to make a fillable PDF

Option 1: Adobe Acrobat Pro

Acrobat's Prepare a form tool turns an existing document or a scan into a form, detecting likely fields for you. It's part of the paid Acrobat Pro; Adobe says it isn't available in the free Acrobat Reader.

1. 1

   Open Prepare a form

   Select All tools > Prepare a form. Older versions call it Prepare Form under the Tools tab.

2. 2

   Choose your document

   Pick the existing file, or scan a paper form, then select Create form. Acrobat opens it in editing mode with the fields it found.

3. 3

   Fix and add fields

   Delete, resize or move the detected fields. Add missing ones from ADD FORM COMPONENTS: text field, checkbox, radio button and others. Right-click a field and choose Duplicate Across Pages to repeat it.

4. 4

   Preview and save

   Select Preview to try the form as a recipient would, then save it.

Option 2: free, with LibreOffice

LibreOffice Writer, a free word processor, can export a document with live form fields. It takes more fiddling than Acrobat, but costs nothing.

1. 1

   Write the form

   Open or paste your document into LibreOffice Writer, with labels and space where answers go.

2. 2

   Show the form controls

   Turn on the Form Controls toolbar from the View menu's toolbars list, switch on design mode, and draw text boxes, checkboxes and list boxes where the answers belong.

3. 3

   Export with forms on

   Choose File > Export as PDF. On the General tab, make sure the option to create a PDF form is ticked, then export.

4. 4

   Test it

   Open the PDF in a browser or PDF reader and type into every field before you send it to anyone.

Why a fillable PDF might not be what you need

Fillable PDFs are designed to be downloaded, filled, saved and emailed back. Every step is a chance for something to go wrong:

• Phones are awkward. Many phone PDF viewers show the fields but make typing into them clumsy, and some don't save the answers.
• Nothing is required. People skip the box you needed most, and you find out a week later.
• The answers are stuck in the file. Someone has to retype them into a spreadsheet.
• There's still no signature, or only a drawn one with no record of who signed.

Collect the answers and the signature together

In SignMaster you put fields on any PDF, even a flat one from Word, and people fill them in their browser as part of signing. Each send is an envelope: one or more documents going to one or more signers.

1. 1

   Upload the flat PDF

   Click New envelope, or create a template if the form goes out often, and upload it. If it's already fillable, SignMaster offers to turn its fields into its own.

2. 2

   Place the fields

   Text, name, email, phone, date, number, currency, checkbox, dropdown and radio fields, plus signature and initials. Mark the ones that are required.

3. 3

   Add checks

   Set an email or phone format, a date range, or a dropdown's options, so answers come back usable.

4. 4

   Send, or share a link

   Send it to named people, or turn a template into a public link anyone can open to fill and sign their own copy.

The answers are printed into the signed PDF, and Export data on the envelope downloads them as a CSV. On paid plans, a template's Responses tab lists every answer to that template in one table.