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    Technology Manager of Test Dept.
 

Summary
Discover the most efficient and user-friendly methods to fill in PDF forms with a professional PDF form filling tool, ensuring your document content remains securely protected.



I. About PDF form filling

free pdf filler
Before the PDF format was widely used, many forms were presented as Word documents. However, during use, the content in the Word document is easily tampered with, and the PDF document is not easy to be edited, so the PDF format is gradually used to save the form. Due to the fact that PDF is not easy to edit, it will be more troublesome when filling out forms or forms.
PDF (short for Portable Document Format, meaning “Portable Document Format”) is one of the most commonly used file types today. A file format originally developed by Adobe Systems for file exchange in a manner independent of applications, operating systems, and hardware. PDF files are usually only used as read-only files, and it cannot be modified at will. In daily life and work, we sometimes need to modify some PDF files, but due to the characteristics of PDF files, editing it will be more complicated than other file formats.
Note: Not all forms are fillable, and sometimes form creators do not convert PDF documents into interactive fillable forms. If it is a non-interactive form, you can also directly insert text into it through PDF editing software, and place it in the specified position.
To fill out PDF forms and insert text, you need professional PDF editing tools. In the choice of software type, you can choose professional PDF editing software (such as Adobe Acrobat) or PDF editing and conversion tools (such as Renee PDF Aide ). With these two types of PDF editing software, you can quickly modify and edit tables, texts, pictures and other information in PDF files. In order to quickly fill in the PDF form, the following will recommend a variety of different methods for filling out the PDF form, and you can choose the method that suits you best.

II. Convert PDF to Word/Excel and fill in the form

To fill out the PDF form, you can actually fill out the form by converting the PDF to an editable document format such as Word or Excel. After you convert PDF to Word or Excel, you can modify the content of the document freely and without restriction. In addition to the content of the table, other content such as text or pictures can be directly modified. After editing, you can directly save it as a PDF in Word or Excel software, and the operation is relatively simple.

1. Renee PDF Aide

The fastest way to edit a PDF is to convert it directly to a Word document, whereRenee PDF Aide It is the fastest to operate. The user interface of Renee PDF Aide is simple, easy to use, and has high conversion efficiency. It supports converting PDF to various file formats, includingword , Excel, PowerPoint, ePub, Text, HTML, Image formats. This software is a PDF conversion software that integrates multiple functions. In addition to format conversion, you can also edit, optimize, repair, encrypt PDF files, etc. Although the functions are diverse, the operation interface is simple and it is very easy to operate in practice. As the best alternative to Adobe Acrobat DC software, it offers a free trial and is more suitable for personal use.
Supported operating systems: Windows 10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP/2000 (32-bit and 64-bit versions).
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In Renee PDF Aide, it only takes three steps to convert a PDF file to Word/Excel format, and the converted page display is consistent with the source document.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After installing Renee PDF Aide, open it. Select (Convert PDF).
Convert PDF
② Click (Word / Excel) in the top menu bar, and then select the save location of the target document.
Click Word
③ Click the (Add File) button to add the PDF file to be converted. After the file is successfully added, the information of the file to be converted will be displayed in the conversion list, click (select page) to set the page for file conversion.
add files
tipsIf you need to convert the scanned PDF to text format, you can choose (Enable OCR). The software provides three text recognition modes:

  • A: Recognize text in pictures or PDF scans: This option defaults that the text on the PDF page is on the picture/scanned image, and the program will directly use the OCR function to recognize the text on the file and then convert and output it (selecting the corresponding language will have a better effect).
  • B: Identify built-in fonts: This option defaults to using embedded fonts for the text on the PDF page, and the program will convert these fonts into images, and then use the OCR function to recognize the text of the file and convert the output (selecting the corresponding language will have a better effect).
  • A+B (slower): The program automatically recognizes whether the font in the file is a picture or a PDF embedded font, and then converts and outputs it. But the recognition is time-consuming, and the conversion time will be longer.


④ Finally, click the (Convert) button to convert. At the end of the prompt conversion, the software will display the total number of converted files and the number of successfully converted files. At this time, the PDF has been successfully converted into a Word/Excel document. In Word/Excel documents, you can use various editing tools to edit and modify them. After modification, you can click (File) > (Save As), select (PDF) in the save type to save it as PDF again.
Select PDF format

2. Convertio

Convertio online conversion tool can help you convert PDF to word, PowerPoint, EPUB, HTML, JPG, RTFD, PNG and other formats, and even supports conversion between more than 300 different file formats. The operation of this online converter is simple and the conversion speed is fast. Convertio supports simultaneous conversion of a single PDF file or multiple PDF files.
Conversion link: https://convertio.co/
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open the Convertio online conversion link in the browser, click (select file) to upload the PDF file to be converted. If you need to upload more files, please click (Add more files).
convertio online conversion
② Select to convert to DOCX / XLSX format, click the (Convert) button to start converting the file. After the conversion is complete, click (Download) to save it to your computer. Open the Word/Excel document in your computer and fill in the form. Finally, click (File) > (Save As), select (PDF) in the save type to save it as PDF again.
Convert PDF files online

III. Recommended PDF form filling tools

In addition to using the method described above to fill in the form after conversion, the most direct method is to fill in the form through the PDF form filling tool.

1. Adobe Acrobat DC

Adobe Acrobat DC is an electronic word processing software developed by Adobe, which can be used to fill out PDF forms, as well as create, edit, export, organize, share or sign PDFs. The software can fill PDF electronic forms and paper forms, and it can automatically recognize static form fields and convert them into fillable text fields. The best PDF editor out there is Adobe Acrobat DC, but it’s not free and costs a lot more than other software. After downloading and installing the Adobe Acrobat DC software, click (File) > (Open) (shortcut key: Ctrl+O) on the top menu bar to import the PDF file of the form to be filled into the software. Then select the (Prepare Form) tool to fill in the PDF form.
AcrobatPDF form filling

2. PDFill PDF Form Maker

PDFill PDF Form Maker is specially designed for fillable PDF forms, which can create, fill, edit and delete form fields in PDF documents. When filling out the PDF form, you can set the font format, size and color, as well as data calculation, etc. Plus, all PDF forms created by PDFill can be shared via email and websites. It should be noted that this software is not free.
PDF form filling software

3. Blueberry PDF Form Filler

Blueberry PDF Form Filler is a free downloadable desktop software that can be used to fill any type of PDF form. After opening the PDF document in the software, you can fill in the data by selecting the appropriate fields, which offers a variety of fonts and font sizes to choose from. In addition, you can use tools to highlight important content, insert comments in text dialogs, erase erroneous content with an eraser, and more.
How to fill out the PDF form

4. EasePDF

EasePDF is a versatile online PDF editing and conversion tool that can help you better handle PDF documents. This online PDF tool provides more than 20 tools, including “Edit PDF”. Its operation interface is very clear, and it is very simple to fill out the PDF form. After you upload and open the PDF file in EasePDF, you can enter text and move it to the table. Although the online tool is free, there is a limit to the size of uploaded files, and the size of a single file cannot exceed 10MB.
EasePDF online link: https://www.easepdf.com/cn/edit-pdf/
easePDF online editing PDF form

5. PDF Buddy

PDF Buddy is a free PDF online editing tool that can be used to fill out forms and add signatures online. The online site can be opened in any operating system and browser, so you can complete PDF forms at any time and improve work efficiency. It should be noted that this online tool can edit up to 3 PDF files for free per month, and if you need more editing services, you need to make additional purchases. The page of this conversion website is relatively simple, without advertisements and pop-up windows, I believe you can quickly complete the PDF form filling operation.
PDF Buddy online link: https://www.pdfbuddy.com/
Online PDF Form Filler

IV. Other commonly used PDF editing operations

In addition to the editing needs of PDF filling forms, if you want to perform other PDF editing needs, you can edit documents through Renee PDF Aide. Commonly used operations are not only PDF form filling, but also splitting, merging, rotating, watermarking, etc. The following will introduce the specific operation method through Renee PDF Aide, the most simple and easy-to-use PDF editing software.
Hot Topic - ADsRenee PDF Aide - Powerful PDF Editing Tool

Easy to use Friendly to computer beginners

Multifunctional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/add watermark

Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms

Quick Edit/convert dozens of PDF files in batch

Compatible Convert PDF to Excel/PowerPoint/Text, etc.

Easy Use with simple steps

Functional Encrypt/decrypt/split/merge/watermark

Safe Protect PDF with AES256 algorithms

Free TrialFree TrialNow 800 people have obtained the free version!

1. Split PDF files

Splitting a PDF file is to split a multi-page PDF into multiple small PDF files according to requirements; or to remove redundant pages and only split out specified pages. If your PDF file is too large or has unwanted content, you can split it. With Renee PDF Aide Converter software, you don’t need to convert it to other editable file formats and then split it.
Split mode:

  • Split into multiple smaller files.
  • Keep specified pages (remove unneeded ones).
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After opening the software, click (PDF Toolset).
PDF toolset
② Click (Split) > (Add File) to import the PDF file.
Split PDF
③ Then, select one of the split modes. There are two split modes: split into multiple smaller files, retain specified pages (remove unnecessary).
④ Finally, click (Convert) to export the file.

2. Merge PDF files

Merge PDF files, as the name suggests, is to merge multiple PDF files into one PDF. Before merging, you can choose to specify pages to be merged or to merge all pages directly.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After opening the software, click (PDF Toolset) > (Merge) > (Add File) to import the PDF file.
Merge PDFs
② In the drop-down box on the right of “Pages to Merge”, select “All” or “Use Generator”. After clicking “Use Generator”, you can manually select the pages to merge, or use the various automatic merge options provided by the software.
use generator
③ Finally, click (Convert) to export the file.

3. Rotate PDF files

If you find that the angle is not correct after the PDF file is opened, you can also adjust it through this software. Adjust the display angle of the PDF file, the angle options are 90, 180, 270.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After opening the software, click (PDF Toolset) > (Rotate) > (Add File) to import the PDF file.
Rotate PDF
② Set the angle to be rotated in “Angle of rotation (clockwise)” or select 90, 180 or 270 in “Quick selection angle”.
③ Finally, click (Convert) to export the file.

4. Add watermark to PDF

In order to prevent PDF files from being stolen and used by others and protect the ownership of the files, personal watermarks can be added to the PDF. In Renee PDF Aide, you can add foreground watermark/background watermark to PDF files. Watermarks can choose images and PDF files.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After opening the software, click (PDF Toolset) > (Watermark) > (Add File) to import the PDF file.
Add watermark to PDF
② You can choose (Add watermark (cover surface)) or (Add background), and then choose (Watermark file) and (Location information).
③ Finally click (convert).

5. Image to PDF

The “Image to PDF” function in the software refers to the conversion of multiple or single images into multiple or one PDF files.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① Open Renee PDF Aide, click (PDF Toolset) > (Add File), and add the image to be converted. The image formats supported by the software are: BMP, PNG, JPG, GIF and TIFF.
② Click (Image to PDF), please choose (Merge into one file) or (One image, one PDF file).
Description of image conversion settings:

  • Merge into one file: Generate all the added pictures into one PDF file, and generate one page of PDF for one picture.
  • One image and one PDF file: generate multiple PDF files for all added images, and generate one PDF file for each image.
Image to PDF
③ After completing the output settings, click (Convert) to export.

6. Optimize PDF files

Sometimes when you encounter a large PDF file, it will take a relatively long time to open the file. To save time, you can use the “Optimize” function to compress large PDF files so that they can be opened quickly.
The specific operation steps are as follows:
① After opening the software, click (PDF Toolset) > (Optimize) > (Add File) to import the PDF file.
Optimize PDF
② Select optimization options:

  • Online page loading speed (linearize): This optimization is suitable for webpage PDFs, and the loading of files will be smoother after optimization.
  • Compress Images: Compress images in PDF files.
  • Compress data stream: Compress PDF file data stream. (PDF file capacity becomes smaller)
③ Finally click (convert).

7. Encrypt/decrypt PDF files

In the encrypted PDF file option, you can add password protection to the file to ensure that it will not be directly opened and modified by a third party. In Renee PDF Aide, you can set the relevant editing and printing permissions of the encrypted PDF file, such as whether to allow printing, modification, text and image extraction, annotation, form filling and signature. If you forget the password of the PDF file, you can quickly decrypt it by clicking the “Decrypt PDF File” option.
Steps to encrypt PDF:
① After opening the software, click (PDF Toolset) > (Encryption & Decryption) > (Add File) to import the PDF file.
② Select (encrypt PDF file). Then please enter the encryption password and set the editing and printing permissions of the file.
Encrypt PDF
③ Finally click (Convert) to export PDF.
Steps to decrypt PDF:
① Select (Decrypt PDF file).
② Click (Modify), and enter a possible password in the pop-up window. NOTE: Please keep one password per line.
Decrypt PDF
③ Finally, click (Convert) to export PDF.