Forms
Make a fillable PDF from a form
A fillable PDF is a document with real form fields in it. People open it in any reader, type into the boxes, save it and send it back. It is what you need when the recipient will not use a link but will use a computer.
What makes it fillable
The export builds real PDF form fields rather than drawing boxes on a page. Text fields accept typing, choice fields behave as choices, and the whole thing can be filled in and saved in any standard reader without printing. That is the difference between a fillable PDF and a blank template, which is just a picture of a form.
When it is the right answer
When the recipient is an organisation with a document process rather than a person with a phone. Procurement, legal and government workflows often require a returnable file rather than a link. It is also the honest answer for anyone who will not click a link from an email, which is a real and reasonable position in a lot of industries.
What you give up
Everything the online form does after submission. No responses table, no export, no email alert, no webhook, no validation, no required-field enforcement. A returned fillable PDF is a file in your inbox, and somebody has to read it. Use it for the recipients who need it, and keep the link for everybody else.
The plan gate
Fillable PDF export is available from the Starter plan. On a free account the request comes back refused with an upgrade message. The blank template PDF and the response PDF are not gated, so a free account can still print a form and download a submitted response as a document.
How it works, in three steps
Step 1
Lay out the PDF version first
The fillable export follows the PDF layout, so reorder or hide fields there before exporting.
Step 2
Export the fillable PDF
It is generated in a queue and downloads when ready.
Step 3
Test it in a reader
Open it, tab through the fields and save. Tab order is the thing worth checking before you send it out.
The full walkthrough with screenshots is in the guide Shape the PDF version of your form.
Limits worth knowing
- Available from the Starter plan. Free accounts get an upgrade message.
- A returned fillable PDF does not appear in your responses table. It is a file, not a submission.
- No required-field enforcement or validation inside the PDF.
- Classic forms only.
See it on a finished piece
Questions people ask
Do I need a paid plan for a fillable PDF?
Yes, from the Starter plan. The blank template PDF and the response PDF are not gated, so a free account can still print and still download submitted responses.
Do fillable PDF answers come back into my responses?
No. A returned PDF is a file somebody has to open. Only submissions through the link become rows in your responses table.
Which readers can fill it in?
Any standard PDF reader, because the export uses real PDF form fields rather than drawn boxes.
Make your own form
The button opens the generator with this use case already described. Change the wording to match yours, generate, then edit anything you like.
Create a form with OneCraftRelated pages
Download a form response as a PDF
A response is a row in a table, which is right for you and useless for anyone downstream. The response PDF turns one submission into a document: the questions, the answers, the photos and the attachments in one file.
Download a form as a PDF
Not everyone will use the link. A blank template PDF gives you the same form as a printable page, laid out properly rather than screenshotted, with a header, a footer and page numbers.
Convert a PDF form to an online form
A PDF that people print, fill in by hand and scan back is a form with three extra steps in it. Uploading that PDF gives you the same questions as a web form on a link, with the answers arriving as rows rather than images.
More finished work of this kind is on the form examples hub.