PDFGym
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Create a fillable PDF form

or drop one here
Choose a PDF first.

Open a flat PDF, drag text boxes, checkboxes, date boxes and dropdowns onto its pages, name each one, and save a verified file people can type into. Boxes the file already holds keep working, and everything you draw is read back from the saved file before the download appears. Neither the PDF nor any field name leaves this browser tab.

A signup sheet that stops being paper

This page fits PDFs that were never given fields: a signup sheet, a permission slip, an order form exported flat. If the page shows lines and boxes made of ink but nothing accepts typing, you draw the real fields on top.

Say the neighborhood group sends Riverside-Cleanup-Signup.pdf, two pages, ready to print but useless on a phone. On a Wednesday evening you open it here: text boxes over the name and phone lines, a Long text box across the notes area, three checkboxes beside the day options, a date box for the signature day, a dropdown for T-shirt sizes. Each drag lands where the answer belongs, and a misplaced box moves with a second drag.

Name every box in Field name before you drag, or fix it later under Selected field. Names travel inside the PDF and label extracted answers, so Volunteer phone beats Text field 4. Tick Answer required where skipping is not allowed, list dropdown options one per line, and let repeats gain a number suffix such as Guardian 2.

The five kinds, and where each earns its place:

Field types and when to use them
Field typeBest forWorth knowing
TextNames, phones, one line answersSingle line only
Long textNotes, addresses, anything wrappingWraps inside the box
CheckboxYes or no options, consentTiny drags grow to a tappable size
DateSignature days, birthdaysPlain text capped at 40 characters
DropdownFixed option setsOne option per line, at most 100

Pressing Create fillable PDF writes the boxes as standard interactive widgets, then reopens the file and reads back every name, type, page position and required mark before Download fillable PDF appears. The download tidies your filename and adds -fillable, so the signup sheet returns as Riverside-Cleanup-Signup-fillable.pdf. Open it in Fill PDF form and tab through once to feel what the recipient will feel.

From flat page to working form in four steps

  1. Choose a PDF

    Press Choose a PDF or drop the file onto the page. The first page renders ready for dragging, and any fields the file already holds are counted and left alone.

  2. Drag each field onto the page

    Pick Text, Long text, Checkbox, Date or Dropdown, then drag where the answer belongs. Drag a placed box again to move it, or find anything lost through the Placed fields list.

  3. Name each field and set options

    Type a clear name into Field name, tick Answer required where skipping is not allowed, and list dropdown options one per line. Select any placed box to rename it or press Remove selected field. Undo, Redo and Clear all sit below for bigger rethinks.

  4. Create and download the form

    Press Create fillable PDF once at least one box sits on a real page. The saved file is reopened and every box is read back before Download fillable PDF appears.

Boxes that land wrong, and how to fix them

A drag too small to tap does not stay tiny: the tool grows it to a minimum tappable size, which can cover a neighboring line. Drag roughly the size you want and nudge the box after. On a rotated page the box follows the page rotation, so drag along the text you see, not along the screen.

Repeated names fix themselves with a number suffix, but vague names still hurt later: three boxes called Text field 1 through 3 turn extracted answers into a guessing game. Rename before downloading. A dropdown with no options gains Option 1 and Option 2, and no list keeps more than 100 options, so paste long catalogs with care.

Two stops have plain causes. A file that refuses to open is usually password locked; open it with Unlock PDF first. A run that asks you to place at least one field means every drag landed outside the page range, or nothing was dragged at all.

When this builder is the wrong tool

Calculated totals, boxes that appear only when a checkbox is ticked, and buttons that submit to a server are beyond a browser builder. If the form must add up prices or branch by answers, build it in a desktop form editor instead; this page draws boxes, not logic.

Certificate backed signature fields are out of reach too. Collect typed answers here and add a visible mark later with Sign PDF, or route the finished file through your organization's signing service when the process wants a certificate. When the page under the boxes needs new wording or a moved paragraph, How to edit a PDF walks through what a browser can and cannot change about the page itself.

Short answers about building fillable forms

My date box shows no calendar. Is that normal?
Yes. The date box is a plain text field capped at 40 characters, so every reader shows a typing box and none shows a picker. Put the format in the box name, such as Start date YYYY-MM-DD.
What happens if two boxes share a name?
The second gains a number suffix automatically, such as Guardian 2, because two live fields cannot share one name. Rename vague duplicates anyway; clear names make extracted answers usable.
How many dropdown options can I add?
Up to 100 per dropdown, one per line, with duplicates removed. A dropdown left empty receives Option 1 and Option 2 as placeholders.
The run asks me to place at least one field. Why?
Every drag landed outside the page range, or nothing was dragged yet. Check the Placed fields list: if it is empty, drag at least one box onto a rendered page and try again.
Will my boxes work in other readers?
Yes. They are standard interactive widgets, so Acrobat Reader, Preview, Foxit and browser viewers with form support all open them. Fill one test copy before sending the file out.

The rest of the bench, same tab, same habits

Each tool below runs fully in the browser, reopens its own output for a check before the download, and needs no account. Chain them: build the form here, fill a test copy, flatten or sign the result.

Test it, lock it, sign it