Walkthrough: Filling Out a PDF Form That Has No Fillable Fields

A previous article covered why scanned PDF forms can't be clicked into. This one is a full walkthrough showing how to combine several tools to fill a "flat" form out completely.

Step 1: zoom in to see each field's boundary clearly

After loading the form into LocalPDF, zoom in with the "+" control in the top toolbar so you can see exactly where each blank field starts and ends, avoiding misaligned text later.

Step 2: fill each field with the Text tool

Switch to the "Text" tool (shortcut T), click the first blank field, and type the content. Once the size and position look right, click the next field and keep going. Size and color can be adjusted uniformly from the top toolbar so everything you fill in looks consistent.

Step 3: use Draw for checkboxes or circled options

For a "check the box" field or something that needs to be circled, switch to the "Draw" tool (shortcut D) and mark it directly.

Step 4: use Image or Draw for the signature line

If you already have a transparent-background signature image ready, use the "Image" tool (shortcut I) to insert and align it on the signature line. If not, hand-drawing a signature with the Draw tool works too — a trackpad or touchscreen gives a more natural stroke.

Step 5: review everything, then download

Switch back to "Select" (shortcut V), zoom out to check the whole page at once, confirm every field is aligned with nothing missed, then click "Download."

A small tip

If the content for one field is longer than the space provided, shrink the font size a bit, or nudge the text box slightly into adjacent blank space rather than overlapping the field's lines or border.