Guide
How to fill in a PDF form
Open the form in Anyfile’s PDF editor and type straight into its fields; on a scanned form with no fields, use Add text to type anywhere on the page. Sign it, then download it, either still fillable or flattened so the answers can’t be changed.
Step by step
Open the form
Go to the PDF editor, drop the PDF and choose Edit file.
Fill in the fields
Click a field and type. Ticks, radio buttons, dropdowns and lists work right on the page, and every change can be undone.
No fields? Type on the page
A scanned or printed-then-scanned form has nothing to click. Choose Add text, click where the answer goes and type, or drag a box for longer answers. Set the font and size in the bar below, and drag the text to line it up.
Sign and date it
Choose Sign, then New signature… to draw, type or photograph your signature, and click where it goes. Today’s date places the date.
Download it fillable or flattened
Open the arrow next to Download. Under Form fields, Keep them fillable lets the next person change the answers; Flatten them into the page fixes them as part of the page. Then press Download.
Flatten a form you’re sending to an office or a stranger, so nobody can change your answers by accident; keep it fillable when someone else still has to fill in their part. Answers with accented or Cyrillic and Greek letters are drawn with a font that has them; Chinese, Japanese and Korean need a font file you add.
One kind of form won’t work: XFA forms, made with Adobe’s older LiveCycle tools, which often say “Please wait…” in other apps. Those need Adobe Acrobat or Reader.
Nothing is uploaded: your browser reads the file and makes the new one on your device. See how it works, and how to check.
Other ways to do it
Your browser’s own PDF viewer. Chrome, Edge and Firefox fill in fillable fields and let you download the filled copy. For a simple form with fields, that’s all you need.
On a Mac. Preview fills in fields, and its Markup toolbar adds text boxes and signatures to forms without them.
Adobe Acrobat Reader. The free app fills forms, including XFA ones, and its Fill & Sign tool types on scanned forms.
When Anyfile is quicker
For a fillable form, your browser’s viewer is just as quick. Anyfile is quicker for scanned forms with no fields, for adding a signature and date in the same place, for flattening the answers, and for coming back later: open the saved PDF again and what you typed is still editable.
Questions
How do I know if a PDF form is fillable?
Click where an answer goes. If a box lights up and takes your typing, it’s fillable. If nothing happens, use Add text.
What does flattening a form do?
It turns the answers into part of the page, so they print and show the same everywhere and can no longer be edited as fields.
Can I save and finish the form later?
Yes. Download it with the fields kept fillable, then open it again whenever you’re ready.
Is my form uploaded?
No. It’s filled in by your browser, on your device; your answers never leave it.