How to Create a form from an existing document in Adobe's Acrobat Reader

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

How to Create a form from an existing document in Adobe's Acrobat Reader

2. Create a form from an existing document

1. Choose Tools > Prepare Form
2. Select one of the following options:
3. Single file
4. Converts an existing electronic document (for example, Word, Excel, or PDF) to an interactive PDF form.
5. Scanner
6. Scans a paper form and converts it to an interactive PDF form.
7. Create New
8. Start creating a form from scratch with a blank page. For more information, see
9. Launch How to Create or edit a PDF form in Adobe's Acrobat Reader
10. Clicking this shortcut will mark this step as "Completed," and if you complete the next Guided Path, this Guided Path will be completed automatically
11. If you want others to sign this form, select the This Document Requires Signatures check box.
12. The form field auto detection is ON, by default. To change this setting, click the Change link and choose the settings as appropriate. 
13. Click Start.
14. Acrobat creates the form and opens it in the Form Editing mode. The right pane displays options for editing the form. The toolbar contains form field tools for adding additional fields.

1. Review the form fields Acrobat created. Add fields using the form field tools in the toolbar. Delete, resize, or arrange the fields as needed. You can add any of the following types of form fields:
2. Add Text field
3. Add text to the PDF document.
4. Barcodes
5. Encode the input from selected fields and display it as a visual pattern that can be interpreted by decoding software or hardware (available separately).
6. Buttons
7. Initiate a change on the user’s computer, such as opening a file, playing a sound, or submitting data to a web server. These buttons can be customized with images, text, and visual changes triggered by mouse actions.
8. Checkboxes
9. Present yes-or-no choices for individual items. If the form contains multiple check boxes, the user can typically select as many or as few of these as wanted.
10. Date field
11. Lets the user enter a date in the PDF document.
12. Digital signature field
13. Lets the user electronically sign a PDF document with a digital signature.
14. Drop-down list
15. Let the user either choose an item from a pop-up menu or type a value. You can set a form field property that enables the user to enter a custom value.
16. Image field
17. Adds an image field. Allows users to browse and select the image to add to the PDF document.
18. List boxes
19. Display a list of options the user can select. You can set a form field property that enables the user to Shift-click to select multiple items on the list.
20. Radio buttons
21. Present a group of choices from which the user can select only one item. All radio buttons with the same name work together as a group.
22. Text fields
23. Let the user type text, such as name, address, or phone number.
24. To change existing text or images, click Edit in the toolbar. All the text and image fields are enabled for editing

1. If you don't see the Edit option in the toolbar, update your Acrobat. To automatically update from Acrobat, choose Help > Check for updates, and then follow the instructions in the Updater window to complete the update process 
2. To test your form, click the Preview button in the toolbar. Previewing a form allows you to view the form the same way the form recipients will and gives you a chance to verify the form. If you are previewing a form, you can click the Edit button to go back to the edit mode
3. When your form is complete, save the form, and then click the Close button towards the right end of the toolbar to close the form editing.