Government applications, tax forms, HR paperwork and school forms are often provided as PDFs with fields you can type into. Opening them in the wrong program shows blank boxes that will not accept text, which is why so many people print, handwrite and scan. This tool reads the form fields in a fillable PDF, shows them as a simple list on the page, lets you complete them and saves the result as a new file.

How to fill a form

1. Upload your fillable PDF using Upload PDF Form.
2. The tool detects the fields and lists them with a count, for example "12 fields".
3. Type into each text box, tick or untick checkboxes and pick values from dropdown lists.
4. Press Save Filled PDF. The browser downloads filled.pdf.

If the document has no fields, you are told that none were found. That usually means it is a plain PDF or a scan, which this tool cannot fill.

How fields are shown

Notice that fields are labelled with their internal names, which form designers sometimes choose to be cryptic, such as topmostSubform[0].Page1[0].f1_01[0]. The list follows the order stored in the file and does not show the page layout. If a form has many fields with unclear names, open the original PDF alongside it to work out which box is which, or fill a few values and test.

Limits you should know

• Forms built on XFA technology, used by some older government and enterprise documents, are not supported.
• Calculated fields and scripts inside the form do not run here, so totals may not update. Enter calculated values yourself.
• The saved file keeps its fields, so it remains editable. Use Flatten PDF if you want to fix the entries.
• Password-protected forms that need a password to open cannot be loaded.

Making form filling go smoothly

1. Gather the information first: names, dates, numbers and reference codes.
2. Match the format the form expects, such as day-month-year or a certain number of digits.
3. Fill, save and view the result at full size before sending it.
4. If a value does not show, check whether the field is one of the unsupported types, or whether it contains non-Latin characters.
5. For a signature, use Sign PDF after filling. Save the final copy under a clear file name.

When the form has no fields

Many documents that look like forms are only pictures or plain pages with lines to write on. For those, you have three options: print, handwrite and scan; use a desktop editor that can place text boxes on any page; or recreate the page in a word processor. This tool only fills fields that are already built into the PDF.

Sensitive information

Forms often ask for personal details. Because the filling happens inside your browser, nothing is sent to a Tantool server. Still, treat the saved file with care: store it securely, share only with the intended recipient and delete copies from shared computers.

Working through long forms

For long forms, work in sections. Fill in the first group of fields, save, open the result to verify, and then continue on a fresh load of the saved file if you need to add more. Keep a list of values that you have already typed, since the list of fields is shown in file order rather than page order. When a value must be selected from a dropdown, the options are exactly those defined in the form, so if the choice you need is missing, it is not a mistake on your side; the form's author may have limited it. For tax and legal forms, always read the instructions that accompany the document, and ask the issuing office when a field is unclear, because an incorrectly completed official form can cause delays.

Privacy

The form is loaded and saved locally on your device. The file and the values you type are not uploaded.

Frequently asked questions