How to Create Fillable PDF From Word.

Keen to gather customer or employee information using a digital form? Discover what you need to do to create a fillable PDF from Word.

There are plenty of good reasons to create a PDF form from a Word document. You may be the owner of a customer-facing business or the organizer of a local sports team, for example. Whatever your goals and needs, fillable PDF forms allow you to:

• Quickly request information, with the ability to share them digitally in seconds.
• Save time by setting up forms for routine processes like customer enquiries, tax, client feedback and employee onboarding.
• Cut down on errors by removing the need for handwritten responses.
• Improve customers’ experiences of your brand by offering a professional, standardized template.
• Support the environment by going paper-free.
• Secure important information by adding a password to fillable PDFs.

Read on to explore how to make a fillable PDF in Word. With a little help from Adobe Acrobat, you’ll soon be on your way.

What You’ll Learn.

• How to Create a Fillable PDF From Word.
• How Else Can I Make a PDF Editable in Word?
• FAQs.

How to Create a Fillable PDF From Word.

You’ll generally require two pieces of software to convert a Word document to a fillable PDF. As you’d probably expect, the first of these is Word. The second is Adobe Acrobat.

Here’s the main way to generate a fillable PDF from Word:

1. Open Word, click File and choose to create a new document.

2. Enter the questions, sections and any other details you want to include on your form.
3. Enter underscores _ like this _ to help Acrobat identify where fillable fields should go.

4. Once you’ve typed everything into your Word document, it’s time to save the form as a PDF. Go File > Save As. When saving, select PDF as the format.

5. Ensure your computer has Acrobat. Then right-click your PDF file and choose Open with Acrobat Reader.
6. In Acrobat, select Tools > Prepare Form. Acrobat will then identify any horizontal lines and create fillable fields.

7. Once that’s done, go File > Save As and choose the folder you want to store your fillable PDF form.

How Else Can I Make a PDF Editable in Word?

You’ve also got a few other options to create an editable PDF from Word. Below are the main steps to follow.

How to Make an Editable PDF From Word Using Templates.

1. Open Word and go File > New.
2. Type ‘Forms’ into the search bar ‘Search for online templates. Hit Enter.

3. You’ll see a list of different form templates. Choose the one that best suits your needs. Then click Create or Download.

How to Make a Word Document Fillable Using Content Controls.

The Developer tab in the top navigation of Word allows you to insert ‘controls’ — ringfenced boxes designed to contain specific pieces of content. For example, a respondent’s name or date of birth. They fix the position of particular words, making them useful when creating a structured form.

Here’s how to set up controls in a Word document:

1. Open Word, then go File > New and select Blank Document.

2. Find the Developer tab at the top of your screen. Select the area of the document you want to insert a control.
3. Go to Developer then Rich Text Content Control or Plain Text Content Control.

While it’s useful to know how to turn a Word document into a fillable PDF, Adobe Acrobat can provide a more direct option.

It’s simple to create a PDF form using our online Acrobat service. We make it easy to customise fields or select from existing templates.

And once it’s time for people to complete the document, our Fill and Sign and e-signature collection tools can get the job done. You can also protect a PDF form if you need to.

FAQs

Related Content.

How to Add Page Numbers to PDF.

How to Add and Remove Highlights in PDF.

How to Open and Edit PDF on Android.