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PDF forms help

  1. Acrobat User Guide
  2. Introduction to Acrobat
    1. Access Acrobat from desktop, mobile, web
    2. Introducing the new Acrobat experience
    3. What's new in Acrobat
    4. Keyboard shortcuts
    5. System Requirements
  3. Workspace
    1. Workspace basics
    2. Opening and viewing PDFs
      1. Opening PDFs
      2. Navigating PDF pages
      3. Viewing PDF preferences
      4. Adjusting PDF views
      5. Enable thumbnail preview of PDFs
      6. Display PDF in browser
    3. Working with online storage accounts
      1. Access files from Box
      2. Access files from Dropbox
      3. Access files from OneDrive
      4. Access files from SharePoint
      5. Access files from Google Drive
    4. Acrobat and macOS
    5. Acrobat notifications
    6. Grids, guides, and measurements in PDFs
    7. Asian, Cyrillic, and right-to-left text in PDFs
  4. Creating PDFs
    1. Overview of PDF creation
    2. Create PDFs with Acrobat
    3. Create PDFs with PDFMaker
    4. Using the Adobe PDF printer
    5. Converting web pages to PDF
    6. Creating PDFs with Acrobat Distiller
    7. Adobe PDF conversion settings
    8. PDF fonts
  5. Editing PDFs
    1. Edit text in PDFs
    2. Edit images or objects in a PDF
    3. Rotate, move, delete, and renumber PDF pages
    4. Edit scanned PDFs
    5. Enhance document photos captured using a mobile camera
    6. Optimizing PDFs
    7. PDF properties and metadata
    8. Links and attachments in PDFs
    9. PDF layers
    10. Page thumbnails and bookmarks in PDFs
    11. PDFs converted to web pages
    12. Setting up PDFs for a presentation
    13. PDF articles
    14. Geospatial PDFs
    15. Applying actions and scripts to PDFs
    16. Change the default font for adding text
    17. Delete pages from a PDF
  6. Scan and OCR
    1. Scan documents to PDF
    2. Enhance document photos
    3. Troubleshoot scanner issues when scanning using Acrobat
  7. Forms
    1. PDF forms basics
    2. Create a form from scratch in Acrobat
    3. Create and distribute PDF forms
    4. Fill in PDF forms
    5. PDF form field properties
    6. Fill and sign PDF forms
    7. Setting action buttons in PDF forms
    8. Publishing interactive PDF web forms
    9. PDF form field basics
    10. PDF barcode form fields
    11. Collect and manage PDF form data
    12. About forms tracker
    13. PDF forms help
    14. Send PDF forms to recipients using email or an internal server
  8. Combining files
    1. Combine or merge files into single PDF
    2. Rotate, move, delete, and renumber PDF pages
    3. Add headers, footers, and Bates numbering to PDFs
    4. Crop PDF pages
    5. Add watermarks to PDFs
    6. Add backgrounds to PDFs
    7. Working with component files in a PDF Portfolio
    8. Publish and share PDF Portfolios
    9. Overview of PDF Portfolios
    10. Create and customize PDF Portfolios
  9. Sharing, reviews, and commenting
    1. Share and track PDFs online
    2. Mark up text with edits
    3. Preparing for a PDF review
    4. Starting a PDF review
    5. Hosting shared reviews on SharePoint or Office 365 sites
    6. Participating in a PDF review
    7. Add comments to PDFs
    8. Adding a stamp to a PDF
    9. Approval workflows
    10. Managing comments | view, reply, print
    11. Importing and exporting comments
    12. Tracking and managing PDF reviews
  10. Saving and exporting PDFs
    1. Saving PDFs
    2. Convert PDF to Word
    3. Convert PDF to PPTX
    4. Convert PDF to XLSX or XML
    5. Convert PDF to JPG
    6. Convert PDF to PNG
    7. Convert or export PDFs to other file formats
    8. File format options for PDF export
    9. Reusing PDF content
  11. Security
    1. Enhanced security setting for PDFs
    2. Securing PDFs with passwords
    3. Manage Digital IDs
    4. Securing PDFs with certificates
    5. Opening secured PDFs
    6. Removing sensitive content from PDFs
    7. Setting up security policies for PDFs
    8. Choosing a security method for PDFs
    9. Security warnings when a PDF opens
    10. Securing PDFs with Adobe Experience Manager
    11. Protected View feature for PDFs
    12. Overview of security in Acrobat and PDFs
    13. JavaScripts in PDFs as a security risk
    14. Attachments as security risks
    15. Allow or block links in PDFs
  12. Electronic signatures
    1. Sign PDF documents
    2. Capture your signature on mobile and use it everywhere
    3. Send documents for e-signatures
    4. Create a web form
    5. Request e-signatures in bulk
    6. Collect online payments
    7. Brand your account
    8. About certificate signatures
    9. Certificate-based signatures
    10. Validating digital signatures
    11. Adobe Approved Trust List
    12. Manage trusted identities
  13. Printing
    1. Basic PDF printing tasks
    2. Print Booklets and PDF Portfolios
    3. Advanced PDF print settings
    4. Print to PDF
    5. Printing color PDFs (Acrobat Pro)
    6. Printing PDFs in custom sizes
  14. Accessibility, tags, and reflow
    1. Create and verify PDF accessibility
    2. Accessibility features in PDFs
    3. Reading Order tool for PDFs
    4. Reading PDFs with reflow and accessibility features
    5. Edit document structure with the Content and Tags panels
    6. Creating accessible PDFs
    7. Cloud-based auto-tagging
  15. Searching and indexing
    1. Creating PDF indexes
    2. Searching PDFs
  16. Multimedia and 3D models
    1. Add audio, video, and interactive objects to PDFs
    2. Adding 3D models to PDFs (Acrobat Pro)
    3. Displaying 3D models in PDFs
    4. Interacting with 3D models
    5. Measuring 3D objects in PDFs
    6. Setting 3D views in PDFs
    7. Enable 3D content in PDF
    8. Adding multimedia to PDFs
    9. Commenting on 3D designs in PDFs
    10. Playing video, audio, and multimedia formats in PDFs
    11. Add comments to videos
  17. Print production tools (Acrobat Pro)
    1. Print production tools overview
    2. Printer marks and hairlines
    3. Previewing output
    4. Transparency flattening
    5. Color conversion and ink management
    6. Trapping color
  18. Preflight (Acrobat Pro)
    1. PDF/X-, PDF/A-, and PDF/E-compliant files
    2. Preflight profiles
    3. Advanced preflight inspections
    4. Preflight reports
    5. Viewing preflight results, objects, and resources
    6. Output intents in PDFs
    7. Correcting problem areas with the Preflight tool
    8. Automating document analysis with droplets or preflight actions
    9. Analyzing documents with the Preflight tool
    10. Additional checks in the Preflight tool
    11. Preflight libraries
    12. Preflight variables
  19. Color management
    1. Keeping colors consistent
    2. Color settings
    3. Color-managing documents
    4. Working with color profiles
    5. Understanding color management

Before you begin

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How to create a PDF form in Acrobat

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Try it in the app
Create a fillable PDF form using your existing Microsoft Word, Excel, or scanned documents in a few simple steps.

Create a blank PDF, add form fields, and save the form

  • Can I create a fillable PDF form from scratch in Acrobat?
    Yes, you can simply create a blank PDF, add labels and fields you need, and save it. Get step-by-step instructions for creating a PDF form.

  • Can I create a fillable PDF form from an existing document in Acrobat?
    Yes, you can create a PDF form from a printed paper or existing Word files. Acrobat recognizes and converts static fields to fillable ones with a form wizard. See Create a form from an existing document.

  • What are the form fields?
    Form fields are data fields available to let you collect data from the filled form. Acrobat provides various field types to help you collect the right type of data, in the right format. See PDF form field basics.
    Join the discussion on Adobe Forums .

How to use form fields, action buttons, calculations, data and time, and submit button in a PDF form

  • What are the various form fields that I can use in a PDF form?
    You can use text boxes, drop-down lists, radio buttons, checkboxes, list boxes, and more. Set the form field properties like text resizing, date fields, calculations, or trigger custom scripts, to define fields' behavior. Learn more.
  • How do I add a clear form or reset form button to my form?
    A clear or reset form button clears any data that a user has already entered in the form. You can also set up the reset button so that it clears only specific fields. Learn more.
  • How do I add a submit button to my form?
    When you distribute a form, Acrobat automatically checks the form. If it doesn’t find a submit button, it adds a Submit Form button to the document message bar. Users can click the Submit Form button to send completed forms back to you. Learn more.
  • Can I add action buttons in a PDF form?
    Yes, you can add action buttons in a form to open files, play sound or movie clips, submit data to web servers, and more. Learn more.
  • How do I change the size of the form fields?
    To resize the field manually, drag the border handle. You can also resize the form field by one pixel or to a specific dimension. Learn more.
  • How do I move fields in a PDF form?
    You can move form fields by simply dragging them. Learn more.
  • Why is the form's data getting copied when one field is filled?
    If you copy form fields and paste them into the same form, the fields share the name and properties of the copied cell. To resolve the issue, double-click the field to open the Properties window. In the General tab, change the name of the field. Repeat this step for all the copied fields. Learn more.
    Join the discussion on Adobe Forums .
PDF form fields

  • How do I use basic calculations in PDF form?
    The calculations like sum, product, average, minimum, and maximum can be done using predefined calculations. Learn more.
  • How to add a tooltip to a form field?
    Double-click a selected form field to open the Properties window. In the General tab, type a description into the tooltip box. Learn more.
  • How to create a flowable text field?
    Double-click a selected text field to open the Properties window. In the Options tab, select Multi-Line and Scroll Long Text. Learn more.
  • How to make a field required or not required?
    Double-click a selected form field to open the Properties window. In the General tab, to make the field mandatory, select Required. To make the field optional, deselect Required. Learn more.

  • How to make a field read-only?
    Double-click a selected form field to open the Properties window. In the General tab, select Read Only. Learn more.
  • How do I add a barcode form field?
    In Acrobat, select All Tools > Prepare a form. Select the Barcode icon () in the toolbar and place it on your form. Learn more.
  • How do I add a date and time field?
    When you create a form in Acrobat, select the Date field icon in the toolbar. Then select the location in the document where you want to place the field. Learn more.

How to publish or distribute a form

  • How do I send a PDF form for filling?
    You can send or distribute your PDF form right from within Acrobat. Open the form and click Distribute. Choose how you want to collect the responses - in your email Inbox or on a server. See distributing PDF forms.
     
  • Can I publish a PDF form online?
    Yes, you can publish your PDF form and collect information over the web. Learn more.
    Join the discussion on Adobe Forums .

How to track distributed forms and collect data

  • How do I track my sent form and view responses?
    When you open a submitted form in Acrobat, the Add Completed Form To Responses File dialog box is displayed. Select Create A New Responses File. The response file opens after you click OK. Learn more.
    Join the discussion on Adobe Forums .

How to fill and sign a PDF form

  • How do I fill a PDF form?
    Open the PDF form in Acrobat or Reader, and choose All tools > Fill & Sign to fill a PDF form. Learn more.

  • How do I save or print PDF forms?
    Open the PDF form in Acrobat or Reader, choose File (macOS) or the hamburger menu  (Windows) > Save As, and save the file. To print the form, choose File (macOS) or the hamburger menu (Windows) > Print. Learn more.

  • Can I add multiple signatures in a PDF form?
    Yes. Using the Fill and Sign tool in Acrobat, you can add multiple signatures to your PDF form. Learn more.

       Join the discussion on Adobe Forums .

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