Why is Your PDF not Editable and Fillable?

Introduction

PDF files have become very important in today’s technical and advanced working environment. Most of the online forms need to be filled online. Problems may arise while filling and editing an online form. You may not be able to fill or edit it. There could be many reasons for it.

Main Reasons

A few of the most common reasons why PDF is not editable are as follows:

• Sometimes, the security settings of that PDF file may not allow you to fill the form. The owner may have secured the PDF file by setting a password. Keep in mind that a PDF can be protected in other ways too.
• Non-interactive PDF files are also not fillable. Sometimes, the creators forget or intentionally do not convert the PDF to interactive form, and it may not be fillable in the future.
• You may be using a browser that does not support to fill an online form. For instance, Microsoft Edge does not support filling an online form, and you must download it first.

Tips on How to Make a PDF File Fillable

There are several ways to make a PDF file fillable, some of which are as follows:

1. Using Adobe Acrobat

• Open Adobe Acrobat and select the Tools tab > Prepare form.
• Select a file that you wish to edit or scan a document.
• Acrobat will automatically investigate your PDF file and add fillable fields. You can also add new form fields in the following steps by using the top toolbar and adjust the layout using tools in the right pane.
• Save your fillable PDF file. You can also share the file with other viewers. Also, click on the Distribute tab to collect responses automatically.

2. Using Google Docs

It is another free method to make your PDF files fillable or editable. In this method, you only need to have a Google account. If you do not have one, you can create a new account easily. By using this method, you can make a PDF file fillable. The steps are given below:

• Open Google Drive on your web browser and log in to your existing account or create a new one.
• On Google Drive, click the New tab and select File Upload. Open the PDF file that you wish to make Fillable or editable.
• When the file gets uploaded to Google Drive, right-click on it, and select Open with Google Docs. Let the Google Drive process and open your PDF file.
• Once the file opens in Google Docs, select the File tab and click on Download as. You can just save the file in the format of your choice. It can be Microsoft Word (.docx), PDF (.pdf), etc.

3. Using a Mac OS

The Preview app comes preinstalled in your Mac OS that you can use to make a PDF fillable. In addition to the Preview app, you can also use online tools on your Mac device to do your job. Quick Look is another option if your Mac OS has been updated to Mojave. You can use the Preview app in the following way to make your PDF file fillable:

• Open the folder where the PDF file has been saved and right-click on it, then select Open with > Preview.
• Select the Tools menu bar on the Preview app and then click on Annotate > Text.
• A small text box will appear, and then drag it to a position where you wish to write or add text. Once you add the text box, you can write there. 
• Save your fillable PDF file once done.

4. PDF WIZ

PDF WIZ is another option to make a PDF file fillable. In this method, you can do it by converting the PDF file to Word (.docx) format. PDF WIZ is a marvellous tool that not only deals in converting PDFs to all the forms but also merges, splits, and compresses PDF files. You can convert a PDF to Word format in the following steps:

• Download the PDF WIZ software and launch it on your device.
• Select “Convert PDF to” on the home screen and drag the files that you wish to convert and choose Word, below the document.
• Select the file destination at the right of “Saved in” and click on “Convert Now” to start converting.

Conclusion

You can make a PDF file fillable using any of the ways stated above. We can also use Adobe Acrobat, but the software is expensive. That is why our recommended method to make PDF fillable without using adobe acrobat is by using PDF WIZ. To learn more about making a PDF file fillable, visit this website. Join our community for amazing tech-related articles and tools.