Create a fillable PDF form
Draw text fields, checkboxes and dropdowns straight onto the page.
Free: 3 jobs per UTC day, 25 MB per file. PDF exports include a visible Made with Bindery watermark. Pro exports clean PDFs.
Prefer the full studio? Open Create PDF Form in the app →
Pick a field type, drag a rectangle where it belongs, name it — that is the whole workflow. Bindery writes standard AcroForm fields into the PDF, so the form fills in Acrobat, Preview, every browser, and Bindery’s own Fill forms tool.
Application forms, intake sheets and agreements are exactly the documents that should never sit on a third-party server while you build them. Bindery runs entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded, so there is nothing to delete from a server afterwards.
How it works
- Drop the PDF and open Create form
- Drag fields onto the page and name them
- Download the fillable PDF
Real fields, in any viewer
Pick a field type, drag a rectangle where it belongs on a real render of the page, name it — that is the whole workflow. Bindery writes standard AcroForm fields, so the form fills in Acrobat, macOS Preview, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, phone PDF apps and Bindery’s own Fill forms. Text fields for names and dates, checkboxes for yes/no, dropdowns with your own options for choices. Build it on a PDF exported from Word, on a scanned paper form, or on a blank page.
- Intake sheets, booking forms, applications, feedback forms.
- Agreements where the counterparty fills their details before signing.
- A paper form your organisation still uses, made fillable in ten minutes.
Detect fields on a flat form
On a form made on a computer, press Detect fields and Bindery proposes the fields, so you do not have to drag a rectangle over every blank. It reads the lines and boxes the page is drawn with — answer lines, rectangles, checkbox squares, rows of equal boxes for comb fields — and its text: underscore and dot leaders, ☐ glyphs, labels ending in a colon with space after them, empty table cells. Each proposal lands on the page board named from its printed label. Rename it, change its kind or delete it, and draw anything it missed by hand, before anything is written. Detected fields sit on the lines and boxes the form already prints, with no second border, and comb fields take one character per printed box. Detection works on digital forms; scanned forms are not supported yet, so on a scan draw the fields by hand as before. Adding fillable fields automatically walks through it.
Naming fields well
Field names are what everything else keys on. Detect fields starts each one with a name made from its printed label; either way, name them like data — full_name, date_of_birth, agree_terms — and two things become easy later: Fill from spreadsheet maps columns to fields automatically when the names match, and exported data stays readable. Keep names unique unless two fields should share a value on purpose. Test the form in Fill forms before sending it out, then keep an unfilled master.
Building in the browser versus uploading
| Create PDF form | Bindery | Upload-based tools |
|---|---|---|
| Where the file is processed | In your browser tab, on your device | Uploaded to the service’s servers |
| Fields | Text, checkbox, dropdown — standard AcroForm | Similar; some produce proprietary forms |
| Your template | Never leaves the device | Uploaded, retained for a period |
| What exists afterwards | The original and the new file, both on your device | A server copy until the retention window ends |
| Works offline | Yes, once the app has loaded | No |
Collecting responses without collecting the file
To gather filled copies from many people, a form link seals the blank form on your device, and each response is encrypted on the filler’s device to your key — Bindery only stores ciphertext. Responses decrypt in your browser and export as a CSV. Free includes one open link; it is set up from the form builder and the account panel.
Questions people ask
Which field types can I add?
Text fields, checkboxes and dropdowns with your own options — the standard AcroForm fields every PDF viewer supports. On a flat digital form, Detect fields can also propose multi-line and comb (one character per box) text fields.
Will the fields work outside Bindery?
Yes. They are real PDF form fields, fillable in Acrobat, macOS Preview, Chrome, Firefox and Edge.
Is my document uploaded while I build the form?
No. The page board, the fields and the output are all produced in your browser.
Can I add radio buttons or a signature field?
You can draw text, checkbox and dropdown fields; Detect fields can also propose comb (one character per box) and multi-line text fields. Radio groups are not supported — use a dropdown for exclusive choices — and signatures go on with the Sign tool or Request signatures.
Can I change the fields later?
The builder writes a new PDF each time, so keep the field-free original as your master and rebuild from it when the layout changes. To remove all fields from a copy, flatten it.
Will the form work when printed?
Yes — hand-drawn fields print as boxes, and detected fields sit on the lines and boxes the form already prints.
Can Bindery find the fields for me?
On a digital form, yes: Detect fields proposes text, multi-line, checkbox and comb fields from the page’s lines, boxes and labels, and you review them before anything is written. Scanned forms are not supported yet, and radio groups and dropdowns are not detected, so draw those by hand.