FormFill PDF

Draw fields. Export fillable PDFs.

FormFill PDF is a desktop application that lets you turn any existing PDF into a fully fillable form.
Simply open a PDF, click and drag where you want fields to go, choose the field type, and export a professional AcroForm-enabled PDF.

No design tools. No complex editors. Just point, drag, and generate.

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✨ Features

• 🖱️ Click & drag field placement directly on the PDF
• 🧾 Supports:
  • Text fields
  • Multi-line text areas
  • Checkboxes
  • Radio buttons (grouped automatically)
  • Dropdown menus
• 📄 Multi-page PDFs supported
• 🔁 Copy / Paste / Duplicate field groups for fast form building
• 📐 Move multiple fields together for clean layouts
• 👁️ Preview a "filled" version to see how the final form will look
• 📤 Export a true fillable PDF (AcroForm) --- not flattened, fully interactive
• 💾 Save/load layouts via JSON templates

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🚀 Typical Workflow

1. Open a PDF you already have (contract, worksheet, intake form, etc.)
2. Choose a field type (text, checkbox, radio, dropdown, textarea)
3. Click and drag on the page to place fields
4. (Optional) Copy, paste, and duplicate blocks of fields for repeated sections
5. Export as a fillable PDF
6. (Optional) Generate a preview-filled version to verify layout

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🛠️ Installation

FormFill PDF runs as a Python desktop app.

Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• Windows (macOS/Linux may work but are not officially tested)

Install dependencies

pip install reportlab pikepdf pymupdf pillow

Run the app

From the project folder:

python designer_app.py

You can also launch it via a .bat file for one-click startup on Windows.

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🧩 Supported Field Types

Field Type Description

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Text Single-line text input Textarea Multi-line text input Checkbox Independent on/off field Radio Grouped selection (one choice per group) Dropdown Select from predefined options

Radio buttons copied as a group are automatically renamed so each question remains independent.

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📤 Export Options

1️⃣ Fillable PDF

Generates a fully interactive PDF with real AcroForm fields that can be filled in any standard PDF viewer.

2️⃣ Preview-Filled PDF

Creates a version with sample data inserted so you can visually confirm layout and spacing before distributing.

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🧠 Why FormFill PDF?

Most tools for making fillable PDFs are either: - Expensive - Web-based (privacy concerns) - Overly complex

FormFill PDF focuses on speed, control, and simplicity.
If you can draw a box on a page, you can build a form.

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📁 Project Structure

FormFillPDF/
│
├── designer_app.py      # Main desktop application
├── README.md
└── (optional)
    └── launch_formfill.bat

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⚠️ Known Notes

• This tool generates AcroForm fields (not XFA).
• Field names must be unique per form (handled automatically when duplicating).
• Background PDFs are never modified --- the fillable layer is merged safely.

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🧭 Roadmap Ideas

• Snap-to-grid alignment
• Label text overlay support
• Batch processing of multiple PDFs
• Custom themes / dark mode
• Packaging as a standalone EXE

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📜 License

This project is currently provided as-is for personal and experimental use.
If you plan to distribute or commercialize it, verify third-party library licenses.

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💬 About

FormFill PDF was built to make creating professional, fillable PDFs as intuitive as drawing boxes on a page.

If you've ever said "Why is this so hard?" when trying to make a form --- this tool is for you.