How to Fill out a PDF Form

Before completing the required form, you first have to find a fillable template. It’s easy enough to just Google for a fillable PDF form for your purpose. You can always check if a PDF form is fillable by the fields highlighted in light blue.

Download, install, and activate PDFChef on your computer.

Open the PDF form you need to complete using the Open File button. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the form file into the workspace. Fill in all required fields on the form.

Once you have completed your form, check to ensure all the data has been entered correctly. Then, you can certify the form by signing it. To insert a signature into your PDF document, use the Signature option from the Edit menu. Learn more>>

To save the edited PDF form as a new file on your computer, click File on the menu bar and choose the Save As option. If you need to save changes back to the PDF file, click the Save option from the File menu.

That’s all there is to it! Working with PDFs is easy and safe with PDFChef.

Filling out a form online is one of the most convenient methods because there’s nothing to download. However, it’s not always the most secure. Even if you feel confident using a free online PDF form filler like pdfFiller for some of your forms, you should consider having an alternative method ready for more sensitive documents. If your personal identifying information or payment information fell into the wrong hands, the damage could be extensive.

Start by uploading the document you want to fill. Depending on the platform you use, you can pull the file to a drag-and-drop box or browse for the file name in the cloud or on your computer. You can also add your form via third-party connections or, in some cases, by email. Once it’s uploaded, open your document in your chosen editor.

Filling out your form is as simple as clicking the fields and adding the necessary text. Some forms will require checks for multiple-choice questions. Make sure you’re using the appropriate font and formatting for the purpose of the document. Click the Next button to navigate to the next field. Don’t skip any that are required. You can also add images to your document if needed.

When you finish filling and signing, you can download your form to your desktop or device as a Word doc, Excel spreadsheet, or PowerPoint presentation. Once you download it, you can share the document with others who need to read, fill, or sign.

Using PDFChef by Movavi to fill out a PDF on Mac is just as secure and convenient as doing it on PC. You simply download the Mac software and upload your document by clicking Open file after you’ve opened the program. You can also drag-and-drop files to the program and insert a graphic signature.

Get PDFChef for Mac

There are other third-party programs, like the Preview application, that allow you to fill out a PDF file electronically on a Mac computer. Here’s how to fill out a PDF form using Preview.

The download process for Preview is similar to other PDF filler applications and should only take a few minutes. Preview is a vendor-supplied PDF viewer, so many Mac devices will already have it installed by default. If your device comes with Preview, there are typically settings in place to prevent it from ever being deleted.

To set Preview as the default PDF viewer, right-click on a PDF and click Get Info. Then choose Preview from the drop-down menu under Open With. With Preview selected, click Change All. When you double-click a PDF, it will now launch in Preview. To open a file from the Preview application, choose Open on the File menu and select the desired document. To open a file in Preview without changing your default or launching the app, you can right-click your file and choose Open with Preview.

If your form is interactive, you can fill it out directly by selecting the text boxes and inserting your text. If your PDF is not interactive, you can insert text by choosing Text from the Annotate subsection of the Tools menu. From there, you can select your font style and size.

Create a signature on the Preview app using the trackpad or camera on your Mac device. The on-screen instructions will take you through each option. Most users achieve a cleaner, more attractive signature using the camera method. When you’re satisfied with your signature, use the Sign button to add it to your PDF and save the document in your files.

If you don’t have the form in your hand, chances are you’re getting it online. That means you’ll have to download it. If you have your form in hand and want to fill it out electronically, you can use a scanner or scanning application. PDFs can be pulled from your email or browser and opened in PDFChef for Mac.

Choose the PDFChef software for Mac and download it on your device. Then install and launch the program.

Open your form in PDFChef by clicking Open File or dragging the file to the workspace. If there are fields highlighted in blue, that means the form is fillable, and you can click the fields to enter the appropriate information quickly.

Check that all the fillable fields are completed correctly, then insert a signature with the Signature option in the Edit drop-down menu. You can draw a signature by clicking the Draw tab. When you’re ready to insert it in your form, click Add. You can also upload a signature as an image by clicking Image on the Edit menu’s Signature option. If you have a touchscreen, you can draw your signature using your finger or stylus, then drag it to the right place.

Once your PDF form is completed and signed, or if you need to step away from an incomplete form, you can save it as a new file on your computer. This allows you to share the file with the appropriate parties and access it for future editing.

To save a form as a new file on PDFChef, open the Save As option under the File menu and enter a new name for your file. Then click Save. You can save changes to the original download by choosing the Save option instead. Many users prefer to save their edited forms as new files so that the original, unedited download will be available in the future if they need it.

Adobe^® works for Windows 10 and previous releases, as well as Mac devices. You can find the version you need on the Adobe^® website and download it to get started.

Once you have the Adobe^® software, you can open your documents in the program by right-clicking them and selecting Open with Adobe or going to the Adobe^® application and opening the desired file from the File menu.

With your document open, you might see a purple bar across the top of the window. That bar indicates that the form is fillable. If there is no purple bar, you will have to print the form and fill it out manually.

You can use the Auto-Complete feature to fill an interactive form. For a non-interactive or “flat” form, you can use the Add Text Comment tool to add text to the desired fields. The Add Text Comment tool will only be available if the creator of the PDF enabled it.

A yellow bar across the top of the page indicates the potential for malicious content. You can select Enable All Features to turn off Protected View.