PlatoForms User Guide
Ctrl+K
  • Form Builder

    Creating an Online Form for an Existing PDF

  • Custom Domain

    With Builder you can build three types of forms: online web forms, online PDF forms, and master forms.

  • Master Form Builder

    you will arrive at the Form Builder. On the form Builder, there are three main sections:

Explore the form builder

Once you’ve created an online PDF form, you can access the form builder to customize it for gathering information.

Note

Starting from Sep 21, 2023, we have introduced a new form builder for online PDF forms. You can also switch back to the old version anytime.

Introduce the form builder

PDF-form-builder
New form buidler interface

The new form builder consists of:

  • Top Action Buttons

    These buttons assist you in performing key actions such as adding logic, previewing, sharing, and adjusting settings.

  • Far left Toolbar

    Choose various field types to add to your form.

  • Left PDF Form Area

    Resize field widgets and access their attributes panel for adjustments by clicking on a field.

  • Right Page Thumbnails Panel

    View PDF page thumbnails, preview the total page count, and switch to specific pages by clicking their thumbnails.

Switch to old form builder

To return to the old form builder, click the Switch button in the lower right corner of the form builder interface.

Switch to the old form builder

Action Buttons

Form action buttons

In the top left corner of the form builder, you’ll see action buttons that perform the following functions:

Main Functions

  • Logics: Create conditions and rules to automate actions and workflows when respondents fill out the form.
  • Preview & Design: Check how your form looks and customize its appearance.
  • Publish: Make your form available for sharing when it’s ready for submissions.

More Functions

Next to the “Main Functions” buttons, you’ll find a small ••• icon. Clicking this icon opens a dropdown menu with various form settings options, including:

More functions dropdown

  • Form Settings

    Configure form-related options like submission messages and languages.

  • Submission Notification

    Personalize email notifications for form submissions.

  • Send Invitation

    Customize form submission invitations.

  • Universal Field Styles

    Customize the form’s appearance.

  • History

    Track previous form versions and revert to them if needed.

Toolbar

The Toolbar includes frequently used form fields like Text Input and Dropdown.

PDF Form Area

In the PDF Form Area, you have several options:

Reposition fields

  • Rearrange fields by simply dragging and dropping them.
  • Adjust a field widget’s size by dragging its sides or manually entering dimensions when selecting it.

Edit a single field

Each field is enclosed within a widget. When you hover over a specific field, the field widget will be highlighted. Here’s what you can do:

  • Click the field widget to open and edit its attributes.

  • To delete a field widget, select it and press the Delete button on your keyboard.

  • Select a field widget, and in the top of the PDF Form Area, set the field status by choosing Required, Read-only, or Hidden.

Page Thumbnails Panel

When no field widget is selected, the Page Thumbnails Panel on the right will appear, displaying thumbnails of each PDF page. You can use it to preview the total number of pages and click on a specific page’s thumbnail to switch to that page.

Adjust panel sizes

In the new form builder, you can resize the PDF Form Area and Page Thumbnails Panel by clicking and dragging the horizontal divider line between them.

Resize the panels

For form with multiple pages, you can navigate them by using the Page Toggle Located at the bottom of the left PDF Form Area.

Page toggle

Is the content helpful?