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Best app to fill out PDF forms

P

pi6xjdskfa

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 10, 2014
169
48
Hi,

I need to often fill in forms such as W9 etc. where I need to enter data. I am looking for app that just easily
adds text to PDF forms. Nothing fancy and definitely don't want to spend $100+ on Readdle Pdf Expert, or
Adobe Acrobat subscription fees.

What would you recommend for one-time purchase for PDF editing.
 
For filling out tax forms, I just use Preview.
Some of the font sizes seem odd now and then, but I just use it anyway...
 
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+1 for Preview. Constantly trying to exclusively go with the built-in Apple's ecosystem solutions, and avoid 3rd party apps (and :mad: subscriptions that often come with them).
 
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+1 for Preview, at times I will use Adobe Reader but that is mostly to fix occasional PDF printing issues I have inside Preview.
 
Some PDF forms require the use of the Adobe Reader program since they cannot be viewed by Preview.
The free version of Reader has worked for me whenever I run into one of these forms. You can find it at Adobe.com
 
Hi, I used preview but maybe I'm doing it wrong but have to create Text box, type text in then move the text box to the field. Am I doing it wrong?
 
pi6xjdskfa said:
Hi, I used preview but maybe I'm doing it wrong but have to create Text box, type text in then move the text box to the field. Am I doing it wrong?
Click to expand...
Maybe. Some PDF forms are created to validate the data entered into the boxes of the form. If you use Preview Text Boxes, you are could bypass the logic built into the form. It may look right if you print the PDF, but if you send it electronically, you may not get the right results.
 
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I used demo of PDFExpert from Readdle and it allows me to click on a form field box and type text. It's still cumbersome to fill out a three page form this way and no way I am spending $130 for the feature. However, it is way easier than Preview as the text box originates from the center of the window then you have to move it to the field you are trying to fill. WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT?
 
Also I filled in text boxes with Preview and then when I printed it out none of the entered text was visible. I opened in PDFExpert and the text showed up thankfully! A lot of PDF's do not have predefined text boxes that you can just tab through.

IF there is an app you bought please let me know. I tested "free" PDF Professional for $29 IIRC but they seem shady with their upgrade path which does not allow you to try out all the features on their demo without upgrading. The app woud not allow me to option edit unless I upgraded and even then would not be sure it would edit properly.
 
pi6xjdskfa said:
I used demo of PDFExpert from Readdle and it allows me to click on a form field box and type text. It's still cumbersome to fill out a three page form this way and no way I am spending $130 for the feature. However, it is way easier than Preview as the text box originates from the center of the window then you have to move it to the field you are trying to fill. WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT?
Click to expand...
Maybe the creator of the pdf has flattened it, causing the final document to be not much more than a bunch of pixels.
IOW, maybe the creator didn't want anyone to edit the document. In which case any software will probable fail.
 
Yes. A lot of pdfs I need to fill out are like this including onboarding forms for certain clients on their payment systems. Actually just had to fill one out for new doctor visit. So would be great to have an app that scans a pdf form and automagically figures out where the blank areas are where you can fill in required data then open up a text box sized
to the space availanble.

GerritV said:
Maybe the creator of the pdf has flattened it, causing the final document to be not much more than a bunch of pixels.
IOW, maybe the creator didn't want anyone to edit the document. In which case any software will probable fail.
Click to expand...
 
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