5 Reliable Methods for Adding Drop Down in PDF

Are you creating a PDF form? Perhaps an exam or a questionnaire. Some questions have multiple possible answers. How do you add that to a PDF without wasting much space? Easy. This is where you use a drop-down in PDF.

But how do you create one? It is not as simple as adding a checkbox or a text field. So, it is unfamiliar territory for many. But do not worry. You can use this article as your guide to learning the ways to add drop-down lists to PDFs. You can find many methods, like using Wondershare PDFelement, to do so.

Method 1: Add Drop Down List in PDF Using Wondershare PDFelement

Wondershare PDFelement is one of the best PDF form creators or editors there is. Befitting of its name, Wondershare PDFelement supports many form elements. From simple things like textboxes to advanced ones like drop-down lists, Wondershare PDFelement supports them all. But do you know what the best part is? Wondershare PDFelement is affordable and easy to use, and it is also really powerful.

Here is your guide to adding a drop-down box using Wondershare PDFelement:

1. Open the PDF that you want to edit with Wondershare PDFelement.
2. Click Form.
3. Click Dropdown and click on the spot where you want the dropdown box to be.

4. Right-click the Combo Box and click Properties.

5. Click Options.

6. Enter an option in the "Item" box > click Add.

7. Repeat step 6 until you have entered all the options.

8. Click Close.

9. Click Home and test the dropdown list.

Method 2: PDFgear Online - Add PDF Drop Down Box for Free with this Online Tool

Are you looking for a method that lets you add a dropdown list to a PDF for free? You can use PDFgear Online. PDFgear also has this capability, but there's no need to install it when the online version can do it as well. PDFgear Online allows you to create dropdown lists very easily. It also allows you to customize the box; you can change the colors, font size, and font style.

Follow these steps to create a dropdown list using PDFgear Online:

1. Open a web browser and navigate to https://www.pdfgear.com/edit-pdf/.
2. Click Upload PDF files and upload the PDF where you want to insert a dropdown list. You can also just drag and drop the PDF into the UI.
3. Click Add and Edit form fields.
4. Click Drop Down and click where you want the dropdown box to be.

5. Double-click the box and click Options.

6. One by one, enter each option and click Add. Click OK when done.

7. Click Add and Edit form fields again to exit the mode. Test the dropdown list.

Method 3: Sejda - Add Drop Down List in PDF with Ease

Sejda is another online PDF tool that you can use to add a dropdown list to a PDF. What's great about this is it does not require you to open a Properties window. There will be a floating toolbar above the dropdown box containing customization options. If you want to modify the colors and font sizes or add options, you can do it there. That streamlines the process. However, please note that you can't test the dropdown list. You have to download the PDF to test if it works.

Follow these steps to add a dropdown list using Sejda:

1. Use a web browser and go to Sejda's online PDF editor page.
2. Click Upload PDF file. Select your PDF.
3. Click Forms > Drop-down list.
4. Left-click where you want the dropdown box to be.

5. Click Field properties.

6. Add the options.

7. Click Apply Changes.

Method 4: DocFly - Add PDF Drop Down Lists with this Advanced Online PDF Form Creator

DocFly is a secure online form creator. After 12 hours, the PDFs you upload to the website get automatically deleted. On top of being this secure, DocFly has advanced form features. It supports 10 different form features, and one of them is the drop-down list.

What separates DocFly from the others are the two uncommon customization options. With the "Allow custom choice" ticked, you can let the form filler add an answer not in the provided options. You can also allow empty choices.

To add a drop-down list using DocFly follow these steps:

1. Open your most-preferred web browser and go to DocFly.com.
2. Drag and drop your PDF into the input box or click Click to upload your file
3.  to upload it.
4. Click Form Creator.
5. Click Dropdown Field and click where you want the box to be.

6. At the right-side panel, add the choices.

7. Click Save.

Method 5: Add Drop Down List to PDF Through Programming

All the methods above use PDF tools to add drop-down lists to PDFs. But there is another way. If you know how to program, you can use C#. Using the iTextSharp library, you can do this. Let's explore how to do this:

Here is the code snippet:

Here is an explanation of how the code worked.

1. Replace "existing_pdf.pdf" with the path to your existing PDF file.
2. Replace "modified_pdf.pdf" with the desired path for the PDF you want to create.
3. A dropdown field is created using the TextField class from iTextSharp. Set the properties of the dropdown field, such as Choices, ChoiceExports, FontSize, Options, and Visibility.
4. Finally, using “stamper.AddAnnotation() method,” add the dropdown list to the PDF.

Part 2. PDF Drop-Down List Creation Method Comparison Table

Here, we will compare the 5 methods for adding drop-down lists to PDFs.

Conclusion

Using a drop down in PDF is necessary when adding a question with multiple possible answers. It helps you save space in the PDF and ensures the PDF looks professional. One way to add a drop-down list to a PDF is by using Wondershare PDFelement. It's one of the best PDF Form creators, being user-friendly, affordable, and robust. There are a lot of customization options for drop-down lists, allowing you to create one exactly the way you want it.