Create Fillable PDF From Word

How to Make a Fillable Form From a Word Doc

Fillable forms are online documents that have specific sections into which text can be entered. They’re incredibly useful as worksheets, survey forms, job applications and anything where you need someone to provide information.

The benefit of creating forms in a PDF format is that anyone, regardless of device or program, can view the document in the same format in which it was created. PDFs are universally accessible through a variety of programs, including web browsers. Word documents, for example, tend to look different across various versions of Microsoft Word, plus they can be edited only by Microsoft Word, unless you convert them to another format (Google Docs, for example).

PDF forms cannot be easily edited or accidentally (or deliberately) changed by someone filling it out. If they were to fill out a form in a document editing software, they may change the formatting settings or inadvertently erase content. PDFs help to ensure that the receiver can type text only where the creator intended.

So, how can you create a fillable form from a Word doc? This guide will show you both how to convert a Word document to a PDF and how to then create a fillable form from that document.

Convert an MS Word Doc into a Fillable PDF Form

1. Convert DOC to PDF

To create a fillable form, start by uploading your Word doc <a href= to conver it to a PDF. " width="1024" height="444" />

Head over to PDF.Live’s DOC to PDF converter. Click Select File to Convert and then navigate to where the Word doc that you want to make into a fillable form is stored on your computer. Then, upload it. Alternatively, drag and drop your Word doc into the converter. Then, click Convert Doc to PDF.

You can then download your converted PDF, or you can select Edit to make changes to your PDF right in PDF.Live’s online editor.

2. Upload your PDF to the PDF.Live Editor

To create a fillable form, <a href= upload your PDF to PDF.Live" width="1024" height="448" />

3. Click Edit PDF to get started.

To convert a PDF to a fillable form, select Edit PDF under Quick Tools.

The PDF.Live editor has a lot of powerful tools for editing and altering PDFs. The editing tools are organized in a sidebar so you can easily access common tools.

4. In the Quick Tools, select the Edit Text tab.

Closeup of Quick Tools showing where to find the Edit Text tab, which is where you

In the PDF.Live editor, the left side pane will have all the tools available. By selecting Edit Text, you’ll see all the options in the editor for editing the text in a PDF. This includes creating a fillable form.

5. At the top middle portion of the screen, select Forms on the far right.

At the top middle portion of the screen, select Forms on the far right.

In the Forms tab, you’ll see all the options for creating fillable fields on a PDF. From left to right, these are:

Signatures — Create fields that a recipient can sign by drawing with their cursor.
Text Field — Create a text box field that a recipient can enter text in.
Free Text — A text field that isn’t constrained to a box; you can enter text in here yourself, but the recipient cannot.
Checkbox — A field that a recipient can check/uncheck as they fill out your PDF.
Radio Button — A button, commonly used in groups, where either one or more options can be selected at a time; usually used for multiple-choice questions.
List Box Field — A list box in which you can add multiple options that a person can select. In an application, this may be for the user to provide personal identification information such as race, citizenship, or highest level of education.
Combo Box Field — A box that can contain information from a preset group of values. For example, in an application, you could have this combo box contain preset values of the 50 U.S. states.

6. Select the form field you want and click and drag it to create a box where you want the fillable field added.

Select the form field you want and click and drag it to create a box where you want the fillable field added.

The highlighted area on your PDF will be where the form recipients can fill out the text. You can name these fields and change the size of them from this edit box. You can also delete them by clicking one of them and pressing the Del or delete key on your keyboard.

7. Select Apply Fields once you’ve created your fillable form fields to apply them to your PDF.

Select Apply Fields once you’ve created your fillable form fields to apply them to your PDF.

Your fillable fields will now appear as yellow boxes. You can even experiment with typing text in the forms to make sure they’re in the right areas. This only previews the text; the yellow color of the text won’t appear in the final downloaded version.

8. Download by selecting Export and Download PDF.

Download by selecting Export and Download PDF.

Once you’re happy with the state of your fillable form, hover over the Export button and click Download PDF. You can also just click the icon with the arrow pointing down. Opening the new downloaded version of your PDF will then have several fillable fields that you’ve designated. Users will be able to type in these fields and only these fields.

NOTE: Our research tells us that our users may be looking for ways to create fillable PDF forms for free online. If you need to create just one fill form, sign up for a free trial of PDF.Live. You can cancel at any time, before you are charged. If you have a high volume of fill forms to create, or if you’ll need to use the tool regularly, subscribe to PDF.Live. The fees are very reasonable (see pricing page for latest subscription rate and offers), and includes unlimited conversions and edits every month.

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