Easiest Way to Convert PDF to Fillable Form

Margarete Cotty

2021-03-13 15:33:50 • Filed to: How-To • Proven solutions

You may wonder how do I convert a PDF to an interactive PDF? The answer is PDFelement, which can help you convert PDF to fillable form with easy steps. You can enter data directly into fillable fields and then send the file to a client or business contact immediately without wasting time.

PDFelement helps you create or edit a PDF file, similar to how you would with a Word file. You can also easily convert your PDF into a fillable form. You don't need to be an expert to use this tool. Simply download the trial version and test it out. This user-friendly platform delivers the results you're looking for.

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Solution 1: Convert PDF to Fillable Form Manually
Solution 2: Convert PDF to Fillable Form Automatically

Solution 1: Convert PDF to Fillable Form Manually

Step 1: Open a PDF

After launching the program, either drag and drop your desired PDF file into the program window, or you can select the "Open files" button to upload the PDF file.

Step 2: Create Fillable Form

Go to the "Form" tab and make use of the "Add text," "Add check box" or other tools to convert your PDF document to a fillable form manually.

Right-click on each field or button to change the properties. You can set attributes like appearance, color, and name, etc. for the fillable fields.

Edit Properties of Text Fields

You need to right-click or double-click the text field to open the "Properties" pop-up window. PDFelement not only allows you to set the appearance of the text fields, but you can also go to the "Options" tab and set the alignment of the field text, whether you want to have multiple lines, character limitations, or other options.

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Edit Properties of Check Boxes

In the check box properties window, you can go to the "Options" tab to change the style. The default style is a checkmark, but you can change it to a "Circle", "Furcation", "Diamond", "Square", and "Star".

how to convert pdf file to fillable form

Edit Properties of Radio Buttons

In the radio button properties window, you can also change the style in the "Options" tab, as well as change other settings if required.

Create a button to Submit the Form or Clear the Form

In the button properties window, you can go to the "Actions" tab and choose "Submit a form" Under "Select Action", click the "Add" button to select a file format that you want to submit. You can choose either to submit to "HTTP Address" or "Email Address," then enter your HTTP address or email address in the "URL" box.

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If you choose to "Reset a form" in the option of "Select Action" under the "Actions" tab, click the "Add" button to select the fields or boxes that you want to clear once the button is triggered.

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Set Calculation of the Fields

If you want to perform a calculation of multiple fields in PDFelement, you can also do this in the properties window. Open the "Properties" window, then in the "Calculate" tab, choose the second option to getting a sum, multiply, average, minimum, and maximum. Click the "Pick" button to choose the fields that you want to calculate.

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how to convert a pdf form to a fillable form

Step 3: Save the Fillable Form

After changing all the settings as required, switch to the "Preview" button on the top right. You can now start to fill in the fillable form. Then go to the "File" menu to "Save" the file directly. Following these instructions, you'll be able to convert a PDF to a fillable form without difficulty easily.

Solution 2: Convert PDF to Fillable Form Automatically

If you have a PDF with pre-existing tables or forms that are not fillable, then you can try using the automatic form field recognition feature in PDFelement to convert an Adobe PDF to a fillable form.

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Step 1: Load the PDF File

Open your pre-existing PDF form in PDFelement, or you can choose to open an existing form template.

Step 2: Recognize Form Fields Automatically

Go to the "Form" tab and click on the "More" > "Recognize Form" button to detect the form fields automatically and create fillable fields.

Step 3: Fill and Save the Form

After using the automatic form field recognition feature, you can change the properties of the fields using the above methods. Switch to "Preview" to start filling in the form or sending the form to others to fill out. As long as others have a PDF reader that lets them open PDF documents, they will be able to fill out the form.

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Video on How to Convert PDF to Fillable Form

The two methods above will help you convert PDFs to a fillable form without the use of Acrobat. PDFelement is a highly recommended program to convert PDF to interactive forms. It is known as one of the best software to convert PDF to fillable form, and will effectively enhance your productivity. As well as creating fillable forms out of PDF documents, you can also create a fillable form in Word. View this video to find out how to convert PDF to fillable form, and you can also know more videos about PDFelement from Wondershare Video Community.

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