PDF Form Creation: Tips and Techniques

PDF Form Creation: Tips and Techniques

PDF forms usually come already completed and formatted, unless they need to be edited and retooled to fit another specific purpose. PDFdrive are not intended to be edited, in general, as they are usually only meant to be viewed by a user. But there are occasions when a PDF form needs to be edited to include new information, which means creating new text and dialog boxes or adding new options to a drop-down menu. For these purposes, several online platforms let users make PDF forms from scratch. The process of PDF Form creation is not difficult, as these services are intended to be easy to use even when it comes to making PDF forms. 

What Is a Fillable PDF Form?

Fillable forms are digital versions of everyday forms (like job applications or tax and financial forms) that users can view and fill out online without having to print out a physical copy. Fillable PDF forms are the most commonly used type of form, but some forms start as Microsoft Word documents that are then converted to PDF format. 

Fillable PDF forms contain several fields (or as many as are needed for that particular form) that users can fill out by typing in their answers or choosing from a variety of options in a drop-down menu. The forms may be several pages long or only a few. One of the most valuable aspects of the PDF fillable forms is that once it is completed, users can save it and send it to wherever they need to send it. 

The form will arrive without any errors, completely legible, and without any significant spelling or grammatical mistakes, which are problems that regularly plagued printed, paper forms. Users can also revise the form to make sure it is fully completed, but even if it is not, the form will highlight fields that were missed or left empty to ensure the full completion of the document. 

What’s the Difference Between a PDF Form and a Web Form?

There may be some confusion as to the difference between a web form and a PDF fillable form. They are not the same thing and here is why. Web forms are the common, everyday forms that users fill when performing a variety of tasks online whether it is inputting your name, address, and contact details to buy something or registering for an email newsletter list. 

Users fill web forms through their installed browser whether it is Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. They do not need to use any other type of software or download any special program. Users can only fill out PDF fillable forms, on the other hand, with a specific PDF reader be it Adobe or any other PDF viewer. 

When Should I Use Fillable PDF Forms?

PDF fillable forms are versatile and can be adapted to suit a user’s individual needs, whatever they may be. Many organizations and governmental bodies use PDF fillable forms for everything from: 

• Employment applications
• Requests for government services
• Confidential financial forms
• Permission forms 

In other cases, an individual can use a PDF fillable form to give to potential tenants of a rental property as a rental application. If a user is entering into a private business agreement with a contractor or other professional, they can use a fillable form to create a contract with said contractor or professional. 

A PDF fillable form can be used for anything that requires a lot of detailed information (personal details, contact information, job history, etc.) that needs to be shared with a wide range of people and must be completely legible and error-free. 

How to Create a PDF Form?

Creating a PDF form can be as simple as pressing a button. But, when it comes to creating a unique fillable form or reworking a pre-made template, things can get a bit more nuanced. Many online PDF forms come ready-made and ready-to-use. If those pre-made templates suit a user’s purposes then that’s all they need. 

But if a user needs to create a brand new form, they need to follow a set of specific instructions that are different for every PDF creation service. The most popular PDF editor is Adobe, as it is the company that invented the PDF format. Adobe not only lets users create new PDF forms, but it also gives users the options and customization features that let them fine-tune their PDF to their specific purposes. A tool like Lumin PDF, however, lets users also customize a premade template, while not offering specifically PDF creation features. With Lumin, users can still edit and re-format many pre-made PDF templates in the Lumin PDF library to suit their particular needs whether it be an invitation or an income statement, or a business proposal.