Why some PDFs have nothing to click

A fillable PDF has form fields built in. A flat PDF is just a picture of the page (a scan or a photo) or a document that was printed to PDF, so there are no fields for a viewer to fill. To check, click where an answer should go: if no box highlights and no cursor appears, it's flat.

Step by step

  1. Open Fill & Sign PDF in your browser and add the PDF.
  2. Click on the printed line where the first answer goes and type. The text snaps onto the line under the cursor.
  3. Drag text to move it, or nudge it with the arrow keys. Change the size to match the form.
  4. For tick boxes, choose a tick or a cross and click the box. Add the date where it's asked for.
  5. Sign: draw, type or import your signature and place it on the signature line.
  6. Save. Everything is flattened into the page and saved as a new copy ending _signed.pdf.

Making it look neat

  • Most printed forms use text around 10 to 11 point. Match it so answers don't spill out of the boxes.
  • Use capitals where the form says BLOCK CAPITALS.
  • Zoom in for small tick boxes and reference-number boxes.
  • On a crooked scan, place each answer by eye rather than relying on one long line of text.

Other ways, and their catches

MethodThe catch
Print it, write on it, scan it backSlow, needs a printer and scanner, and the result is a large, often crooked scan
The text tool in a web browser's PDF viewerYou position every text box by hand, nothing lines up with the printed lines, and the text is saved as a note on top of the page that some apps show differently
An online form fillerYour filled-in form, with whatever personal details are on it, is uploaded to someone else's server

If you fill in the same form often - a weekly timesheet, a permit, a delivery note - Fill & Sign PDF Pro's templates remember where each answer goes and ask you the questions.

Limits

  • Password-protected PDFs can't be filled yet.
  • On a very faint or patchy scan, text goes exactly where you click if there's no clear printed line to snap to.
  • It fills a form in for you; it doesn't add form boxes for other people to fill.