How to fill in a PDF form on Mac
Complete it on screen and save it back, filled. In Verso the form never leaves your Mac.
The usual routine is print, fill in by hand, scan, email, apologise for the quality. None of that is necessary, and for a form containing your bank details or your medical history, the uploading step in the online version is worse than the printing.
Filling forms is part of Premium, so it carries a small lock in the document actions panel and in the menu bar. The lock is a label rather than a barrier — you can open the feature and see what it does before deciding to unlock it. Reading and every page operation stay free.
Fill a form, step by step
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Open the form
If it has real fields, they are highlighted and ready to take input.
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Click the first field and type
⇥ moves to the next field and ⇧+⇥ goes back, in the order the form's author set. Using tab rather than clicking is faster and means you do not miss a field. -
Handle the other kinds of field
Tick boxes take a click or the space bar. Radio buttons take one of a set. Menus open with a click or the down arrow.
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Sign it if it needs signing
Place your signature where it belongs. That is a separate feature and worth its own guide.
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Check every page
Forms hide fields below the fold and on later pages constantly. Look at each page before you send it.
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Save
⌘+S writes the answers back into the document, so the file you send is the filled form.
Forms with no real fields
Plenty of “forms” are just lines printed on a page — a scanned paper form, or one exported carelessly. Clicking does nothing because there is nothing to click.
Text boxes are the practical answer. Place one in each blank and type the answer. Line the text up with the printed rule underneath and the result looks filled in rather than annotated. It takes a little longer than a real form and it is still far quicker than printing.
If a form with no fields comes round every month, it is worth building real fields into it once. After that it tabs in order, every copy fills in a couple of minutes, and you can send it to other people to fill in too.
Before you send it back
| Check | Why |
|---|---|
| Every page, including the last | A signature block on page four is the single most commonly missed field. |
| The fields you tabbed past | Tab order does not always match reading order if the form was built carelessly. |
| Anything that should not be there | A form you copied from a previous submission may still hold last year's answers. |
| Whether it should be flattened | A filled form that is still editable can be altered after it leaves you. |
Locking the answers
A filled form can be changed by whoever receives it. If that matters — an application, a claim, anything that becomes a record — flatten the document before sending. The answers become part of the page and cannot be altered. Keep the unflattened copy for yourself, because the flattened one cannot be edited either.
Why doing this locally matters
Forms are, by their nature, the documents that contain the most personal information in the smallest space: names, addresses, dates of birth, account numbers, medical answers. Filling one in an online tool means uploading all of it to somebody else's server. Here it stays on your Mac, and there is no account for it to be attached to.
Frequently asked questions
How do I fill in a PDF form on a Mac?
Open it in Verso, click the first field and type, using ⇥ to move between fields. Save and the answers are written into the document.
How do I fill in a PDF that has no fields?
Place a text box in each blank and type the answer, lining it up with the printed rule. If the form comes round regularly, building real fields into it once is worth the effort.
Can I save a filled PDF form?
Yes. Saving writes the answers into the document, so the file you send is the filled form.
How do I stop someone changing my answers?
Flatten the document before sending. The answers become part of the page. Keep the unflattened copy, because a flattened form cannot be edited either.
Does filling a form upload my details anywhere?
No. Everything happens on your Mac, which matters more for forms than for almost any other document.
Why is a field not accepting my text?
Either the document has no real fields — in which case use text boxes — or the field is read-only because its author locked it.