Creating your First Fillable PDF

With Docdown, you can easily customize your documents to include fillable fields, allowing for an interactive and efficient experience for your recipients.

Note

The following example demonstrates customizing an Intake Form.
For beginners, you can use our Demo Document to familiarize yourself with creating fillable forms.

Customizing a PDF with Fillable Fields

To add fillable fields to your PDF:

Click Documents from the navigation sidebar.
Here you have several options:
- Select one of the available documents from the list.
- Click Upload New Document and upload the PDF file you want to customize.
- Click Add From Library and choose any of the available forms as a starting point.
Once the document is selected, click on it to open the Document Editor.
Use the Editor Toolbar (top-left) to add fillable fields to your PDF like text, number, checkbox, date, signature, image, and group.
Select and drag your desired field type onto your document, label it, set its properties, then click Create Field.
As you add fields to the file, the Editor populates the field names on the left pane. Adjust the field properties, such as formatting and conditional logic, using the options in the right pane.
Pro Tip: For an advanced organization of your fields, you can use the Group feature, which allows you to categorize fields based on specific characteristics.
After setting up all desired fields, click Save.
To simulate the recipient's view, select Form.
Input test data in the left form and click Preview Document for a dual view: entered data on the left and the corresponding generated PDF on the right.
If the preview meets your expectations, click Clear. Click Generate to get a preview and save a copy of the PDF form.
Your dynamic fillable PDF is now ready to be used in workflows.

You can save your customized PDFs as templates for future reuse.

Exploring the Demo Document

You can make a copy and use the Demo Document to get started and learn more about customizing the fillable fields and setting their properties.

Go to Documents.
Click the Demo Document to open it in the Editor.
Within the Editor, you can preview the field additions highlighted in blue.
Click on any field and review the Properties (right pane). The experience will help you learn more about specific field settings and conditions you can use on your documents.