Filling in forms

    Is the form fillable?

    Not all forms are fillable. Sometimes form creators don’t convert their PDFs to interactive fillable forms. Or, they intentionally design a form that you can fill in only by hand. These non-interactive forms are called flat forms.

    Fillable forms visually differ from flat forms
    A.
    Typewriter tool lets you type in flat forms. Here, the tool is available in purple message bar.

    B.
    Typewriter tool available in Tools menu.

    C.
    Typewriter tool available from floating toolbar.

    D.
    Save form, then open in Acrobat and choose Typewriter tool in Tools menu.

    E.
    Purple message bar indicates presence of fillable fields.

    F.
    When clicked, shows where fillable fields exist.

    Flat fillable
    A flat form does not have interactive fields. However, you can use the Typewriter tool to type information over blank form fields, and then print a copy of the completed form. In the free Reader, you can use the Typewriter tool only if the creator of the form enabled it. You cannot enable the Typewriter tool from within Reader.

    Flat form in browser (no Typewriter tool)
    If the purple message bar or Typewriter toolbar isn’t displayed, you cannot fill in the form online. Save the form and open it directly in Acrobat. Then use the Typewriter tool to fill in the form.

    Interactive fillable
    An interactive fillable form contains fields that you can select or fill in. In an interactive form, the pointer changes to a different icon, depending the field. For example, the Hand  tool changes to an I-beam  when you can type text into the form field.

    Fill in flat forms

    The Typewriter tool provides a simple solution for filling out forms without interactive fields, called flat forms. The text you add with the Typewriter tool is a form of commenting, and appears in the Comments list (Comments > Show Comments List).

    Note: Reader users can use the Typewriter tool only if the creator of the form enabled the use of the Typewriter tool for that form.

    1. Choose Tools > Typewriter > Typewriter.

    2. Click a blank form field and type.

    3. (Optional) Choose Tools > Typewriter > Show Typewriter Toolbar. Double-click to select typed text. Then use these tools to change the color, size, or position of the typed text. For more information about the Typewriter tool and toolbar, see Add text using the Typewriter tool.

    4. When finished, print a copy of the completed form.

    Fill in flat forms in a browser

    A common way to view a PDF form is in a web browser, for example, when you click a link on a website. If the form does not contain interactive fields, you can use the Typewriter tool to fill out the form. Some forms open with the Typewriter toolbar displayed. But with others, you must first save the form, then open it directly in Acrobat.

    Note: You cannot electronically submit a form that you filled out using the Typewriter tool. You can print a copy of the completed form.

    If the Typewriter toolbar is displayed, click the Typewriter tool. Then click the page and start typing. For more information, see Fill in flat forms.

    If you don’t see the Typewriter toolbar and you can’t select or type in the fields, save the PDF to your computer. (Click the Save icon  in the upper-left corner of the PDF form.) Open the PDF form in Acrobat, and choose Tools > Typewriter > Typewriter.

    Note: Reader users can use the Typewriter tool only if the creator of the form enabled the use of the Typewriter tool for that form.

    Fill in interactive forms

    Some text fields are dynamic, meaning that they automatically resize to accommodate the amount of data you enter and can span across pages.

    1. If necessary, select either the Hand tool  or the Select  tool.
    2. (Optional) To make form fields easier to identify, click the Highlight Fields button  on the document message bar. Form fields appear with a colored background (light blue by default), and all required form fields are outlined in another color (red by default).
    3. Click to select options, such as radio buttons. Click inside a text field to type.
    4. Press Tab to move forward or Shift+Tab to move backward. For more choices, see Options for moving among form fields.
    5. When finished, click the submit button to either send the data to a server or create an email to send the data. The submit button can appear in the purple message bar at the top of the form or in the form content.

    For troubleshooting tips on completing forms, see Troubleshooting forms.

    Options for moving among form fields

    Key

    Result

    Tab or Shift+Tab

    Accepts typing and moves to next field

    Up/Left Arrow

    Selects previous radio button in a group

    Down/Right Arrow

    Selects next radio button

    Esc

    Reject and deselect form field.

    Esc (press twice)

    Exits Full Screen mode

    Enter or Return (single-line text field)

    Accepts typing and deselects field

    Enter or Return (multiline text field)

    Creates paragraph return in same form field

    Enter or Return (check box)

    Turns check box on or off

    Enter (keypad)

    Accepts typing and deselects current form field

    Auto-Complete forms (interactive forms only)

    The Auto-Complete feature stores any entries that you type in an interactive form field. Auto-Complete then suggests or even automatically enters responses that match your typing in other form fields. The suggestions appear in a pop-up menu, from which you can select a match. The Auto-Complete feature is off by default, so you must enable it in the forms preferences if you want to use it.

    To remove an entry from the Auto-Complete memory, such as a misspelled entry that you found and corrected later, edit the list in the preferences.

    Enable the Auto-Complete option

    1. Choose Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Acrobat/Adobe Reader > Preferences (Mac OS).
    2. Select Forms on the left.
    3. Under Auto-Complete, choose Basic or Advanced from the menu.
    4. Select Remember Numerical Data if you want the Auto-Complete memory to store numbers that you type into forms.
    When you select an option in the Auto-Complete menu, a description of how it affects the Auto-Complete behavior appears in the text area below.

    Delete an entry from the Auto-Complete memory

    1. Open the Preferences dialog box.
    2. Select Forms on the left.
    3. Click Edit Entry List.
    4. In the Auto-Complete Entry List dialog box, do one of the following, and then click Yes in the confirmation dialog box:

      • To remove all of the entries, click Remove All.

      • To remove some of the entries, select the entries and click Remove. (Shift-click to select multiple adjacent entries; Ctrl-click to select multiple nonadjacent entries.)

    Change flat forms to fillable

    You can change a flat form to fillable by either using the Form wizard or by simply enabling the Typewriter tool. Unlike Acrobat, Reader does not provide the Typewriter tool unless you explicitly enable it in the PDF.

    Acrobat users can always use the Typewriter tool to fill in flat forms. Reader users can use the Typewriter tool only if the creator of the form enabled the use of the Typewriter tool for that form.

    Interactive form
    To create an interactive form, use the Form wizard. See Create forms using Acrobat.

    Flat form
    To enable the Typewriter tool, choose Tools > Typewriter > Enable Typewriter Tool In Adobe Reader. This option displays the Typewriter toolbar in a purple message bar when the form is opened in either Acrobat or Reader. If the form is opened in a browser, the Typewriter toolbar appears instead.

    The Typewriter tool is enabled for the current form only. When you create a different form, redo this task to enable Reader users to use the Typewriter tool.

    Save forms

    • To save the completed form, choose File > Save As and rename the file.

    • To allow Reader users to save the data they typed, choose Advanced > Extend Forms Fill In & Save in Adobe Reader. For limitations on saving filled-in forms locally, see Enable Reader users to save form data.

    Print forms

    1. Click the Print button , or choose File > Print.

    2. Choose a printer from the menu at the top of the Print dialog box.

    3. In the Comments And Forms menu in the upper-right area of the Print dialog box, choose one of the following, and then click OK:

      • (Interactive or flat form) To print the form and the typed entries, choose Document. This option prints text you’ve typed using the Typewriter tool.

      • (Interactive or flat form) To print the form, the typed entries, and any comments on the form, choose Document And Markups. This option prints text you’ve typed using the Typewriter tool.

      • (Interactive form only) To print only the typed entries and not the form itself, choose Form Fields Only.

    Clear forms

      Clear a form in a browser

       Do either of the following:

      • Select the reset form button, if one exists. You cannot undo this action.

      • Quit the browser, and start again.

      Note: Clicking the web browser’s Reload or Refresh button, the Back or Go Back button, or following a link to another page may not completely clear the form.

      Clear unsaved form entries

       Choose File > Revert.

      Sample forms

      Patti Sokol, of Sokol Consulting, created two sample forms to show the differences between a flat form and an interactive form. Click here to see a flat form. Notice that you cannot type in the fields of a flat form. Click here to see an interactive form. You can highlight the fields and type in them.

      Be sure to read the information in the top text box of each sample form. Then move your cursor over the fields to see what actions are available. You can also print and save the forms to your computer.