Overview
Check Boxes
Adding a Submit Button to Collect Data
Embedding Images/Signatures
Other Ways To Generate Documents in Formstack Documents
Overview
If you have fillable PDFs you have created using software programs like Nitro Pro or Adobe to build customized formatted documents and capture specific data, Formstack Documents can work with them and help you get the most out of the data you are trying to collect and distribute.
Note - These screenshots are from Adobe Acrobat and may look different than what you see when you go to edit your fillable pdf.
- In your PDF, set the document to be in an edit mode, or form preparation mode.
- Define the different fields you want to use in your document. This part is important as these fields are what Formstack Documents uses form the merge tags in our system.
- Naming conventions matter. Make sure to use unique names for each field name. Do not use numbers on their own (eg '123') or include spaces, punctuation, special characters, or hyphens in the field names to ensure an easy integration process.
Checkboxes
Note: Radio buttons essentially work the same as check boxes so the guidance given to check boxes can be applied to radio buttons as well.
Each checkbox in your PDF has an "On" value or an "Export" value. When the value that you are passing to the PDF matches this "On" value, the checkbox will be checked. For example, if you have checkboxes for Household Pets (2 boxes - Dog and Cat), you will want to make the "On" value of the Dog checkbox be "Dog." It's imperative that checkbox fields have their own merge field to properly trigger a checkmark to display.
Note: The Export value for a checkbox/radio buttons is limited to 49 characters including spaces.
Adding a Submit Button to Collect Data
The easiest way to collect data from your users and then use that data to create documents, or send to external systems is to use our Formstack Forms product. Our drag and drop form builder offers a quick, easy, and powerful option to make highly customizable forms that can be shared, or embedded in a webpage. For more information please check out our product page.
If you are not using our Forms product, but are looking for a way to collect the data added on a fillable pdf and have it generate a document via Formstack Documents, we’ve got a pretty easy solution! In a nut shell, you are going to add a submit button to your PDF form, then the PDF will send the data entered by the user to Formstack Documents and we generate the PDF with the data saved in it.
Here is how this is setup:
Take your Fillable PDF and setup a new Formstack Documents document.
Copy the Fillable PDF Submit URL provided at the bottom of the "Merge" tab page. The URL will look like this: https://www.webmerge.me/merge/12345/abcde?download=1
Open the Fillable PDF you uploaded in your PDF editor and add a submit button if you haven’t already. For the URL of the button, use the Merge URL from the step above. Make sure to select HTML as the export format.
Save the PDF and you are ready to test!
Embedding Images/Signatures
Embedding Images and Signatures in a fillable PDF can be tricky, but we have a complete guide to help you make sure your images are positioned and formatted perfectly to attain the best results. Please refer to this guide.
Once you have the PDF created, edited the way you need it, and uploaded into Formstack Documents we'll automatically detect the fields and take it from there! If you need to make any changes, simply make the changes in your PDF editor, then upload the updated version to Formstack Documents.
Other Ways to Generate Documents
*Looking for even more flexibility?
Fillable PDFs can be tricky to work with. Formstack Documents provides support for Microsoft Word templates. For the easiest approach, Formstack Documents has a robust drag and drop document builder which can cut out a lot of the work and rigidity that comes with manipulating fillable pdfs and formatting behaviors that come with Microsoft Word.
Take a look at how we can take your document building to the next level:
Document Template Approaches With Formstack Documents
Formstack Drag and Drop Builder
FAQ:
Q: What are the supported export formats for fillable pdfs that are uploaded to Formstack Documents?
A: For fillable PDFs we can output to: pdf (flattened or unflattened) and jpg. These options can be found under the settings tab of your document after it's been uploaded.