Forms & fillable PDFs
Fill any form, build fillable fields, publish fill links and collect responses.
11 articles · Updated
Filling forms
- Fill out a PDF formOpen the PDF and stay in Edit & fill with Fill out selected. Type into the form's own fields, press Tab to move between them, and click anywhere on a flat form to add text. Then choose Done → Download.
- Find a form: templates and official forms like the W-9Open Templates in the sidebar and pick Library for fillable templates or Official forms for government forms such as the W-9. Click Use template or Fill out and a private copy opens in the editor. In the editor, Find form searches both.
- Fill out a form someone sent you as a linkOpen the link, answer the questions in Form view or straight on the page in PDF view, and click Submit. You don't need an account or an app. Your answers go only to the person who shared the form.
Building fillable forms
- Make a PDF fillable by adding form fieldsOpen the PDF, switch the top bar to Create form, pick a field type from Add fields and click or drag it onto the page. Set its options on the right, check it with Preview, then download with Keep fillable or publish it as a form.
- Detect form fields automatically with AIIn Create form mode, choose Detect fields, pick the pages and run it. PDFBetter proposes a field for each blank, box and signature line; you tick the ones to keep and choose Add. Each run costs 3 AI credits.
- Form field types, required fields and validationPick a field type that matches the answer (Email, Date, Number, Phone…) and its format is checked as people type. Tick Required in Field options to stop the form being submitted or signed while the field is empty.
- Add calculated fields and conditional logic to a formAdd a Formula field and type an expression such as
qty * priceorsum(items_*_amount)under Calculation. To hide a field until it's relevant, open its Visibility section, turn on Show only when… and add rules.
Collecting responses
- Publish a form as a fill link and collect responsesBuild the fields, then choose Done → Publish as form, set the title and options, and select Publish form. You get a link, a QR code and embed code. Respondents don't need an account, and every submission is stored as data and as its own filled PDF.
- View and export form responsesOpen Fill links in the sidebar and choose Responses next to the form. Each row expands to All answers and has Download filled PDF; the CSV and Excel buttons export every response with one column per field.
Bulk filling and templates
- Fill a PDF form from a spreadsheet (mail merge)Open the Fill PDF from Excel tool, drop a fillable PDF and a CSV or XLSX file, match columns to fields, check the rows, set a file name and generate. Runs of up to 50 rows are filled in your browser, free.
- Save a form as a reusable templateChoose Done → Save as template in the editor, or Save as template from a document's menu in My documents. Open it later from Templates with Use template: each use creates a new document and the template stays unchanged.
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