When you receive a digital PDF form—like a job application, a lease agreement, or a tax document—you might assume you need to print it out, fill it in with a pen, and scan it back into your computer. Or, you might think you need to purchase an expensive Adobe Acrobat subscription. However, macOS includes a highly intelligent, built-in PDF engine. Using the native Preview application, you can interact with and perfectly fill out digital PDF forms without spending a dime or wasting printer ink.
How to Fill Out Interactive PDF Forms
If the person who sent you the PDF correctly formatted it as an “interactive form,” the process takes only a few seconds.
- Double-click the PDF file to open it in Preview.
- Look closely at the document. If the document is interactive, you will notice faint, light-blue boxes hovering over the blank lines where you are supposed to type.
- Click directly inside one of those light-blue boxes. A blinking text cursor will immediately appear.
- Type your information (e.g., your name or address).
- Press the Tab key on your keyboard. Preview will automatically jump your cursor into the next logical blue box, allowing you to rapidly fill out the entire form without ever touching your mouse.
This interactive support extends to checkboxes and radio buttons. Simply click the empty square next to an option, and Preview will drop a perfect digital checkmark into the box.
How to Fill Out “Flat” Non-Interactive PDFs
Often, a company will simply scan a piece of paper into a PDF and email it to you. This “flat” PDF has no interactive blue boxes; it is essentially just a photograph of a form. Preview’s advanced AI can still help you fill it out.
- Open the flat PDF in Preview.
- Hover your mouse slightly above the solid black line where your name is supposed to go.
- Preview’s AI will detect the line. A small text cursor icon will appear. Click your mouse.
- Preview will automatically generate a perfectly sized text box directly on top of the black line, allowing you to type your name seamlessly.
If the AI fails to detect the line, you can always manually insert a text box. Click the Markup Toolbar icon (the pencil tip in a circle) at the top right of the window, then click the Text icon (the square with a ‘T’). You can manually drag this text box over any line on the document, type your information, and adjust the font size to fit.