Creating PDF Forms

By | March 12, 2021
0 Comment

A document can be easily converted to a fillable PDF form using either Adobe Acrobat Pro DC or Bluebeam Revu eXtreme (this feature is not available with Revu CAD or Revu Standard). If you are starting with a Word or Excel file, first convert that to a PDF, then follow these instructions:

Adobe Acrobat Pro DC:

  1. Open your document in Acrobat.
  2. In the top left corner above the document, click “Tools.”
  3. Under Forms & Signatures, select “Prepare Form.”
  4. If your document will contain a signature field, check the box that appears underneath the document preview and click “Start.”
  5. Acrobat will automatically detect areas of the document that it believes to be form fields. Anywhere you see white text on a black background has been determined to be a form field.
  6. Edit form fields:
    1. Right-click and delete any superfluous fields
    2. Resize any fields to fill the appropriate space by dragging the corners of the box
    3. Define field types (Text, date, etc.): right-click on any field and choose Properties. The important option here is the Field Type. You can also set a field to be required.
  7. Use the blue Preview button at the upper right to preview your form, then click “Close.” This step closes the form editor, not the document itself. Lastly you need to save the form (use Save As if you do not want to replace the original PDF).

Bluebeam Revu eXtreme:

  1. Open your document in Revu eXtreme.
  2. Go to Tools>Form>Automatically Create Form Fields. Revu will automatically attempt to identify the type of form field, either by general shape (for example, non-text circles become radio buttons and boxes become check boxes) or by text clues (for example, if the word “Signature” appears immediately to the left of what appears to be a text field, Revu will automatically create a signature field there). The following fields can be auto-detected:
    • Text input fields
    • Check boxes
    • Signature fields
    • Date-formatted fields
    • Radio buttons
  3. Edit form fields (shown in blue):
    • Go to Windows>Panels>Forms or press Alt+Q to open the Forms panel.
    • Resize any fields to fill the appropriate space by dragging the corners of the box
    • Define field types (Text, date, etc.): right-click on any field and choose Properties.
  4. Use the blue Preview button at the upper right to preview your form, then click “Close.” This step closes the form editor, not the document itself. Lastly you need to save the form (use Save As if you do not want to replace the original PDF).