The Easiest Way To Create an Editable Printable For Your Readers

This article will show you how to take any worksheet or printable that you’ve designed and convert it into an editable PDF! Editable PDF’s are perfect for those who want to reduce their paper consumption and keep everything organized electronically.

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Have you ever downloaded a workbook or even worksheet/printable and couldn’t edit it on your computer?

There were textboxes that couldn’t be used and checkboxes that couldn’t be checked.

The only way to make it work was to print it out.

But, not everyone has a printer or the money to keep buying ink cartridges that need replaced after just a few prints.

On top of that, you can only use the print-out once which means more printing, and more money.

The thing is, ANY workbook, worksheet, printable, you name it can be converted into an editable format.

Most bloggers think they need fancy tools or Adobe Acrobat which is just not true!

We have a solution that’s completely FREE. The best part?

It’s incredibly fast and easy and can be done on both a Mac and PC!

WHAT IS AN EDITABLE PDF?

We have a lot of readers that consider creating a printable in Canva and letting their readers edit it.

Unfortunately, there’s a major problem with this.

Depending on your audience, they may not know how to use Canva or have Canva account. In fact, unless they’re a blogger or online business owner, chances are they have NO idea what Canva is!

We know how frustrating it can be to buy or even opt-in to something to find our we need to download an app or program to use said item. So not user-friendly, right?

Creating a chore chart that has someone signing up for Canva just to add their kids’ name is NOT going to be super helpful.

We want your reader to click on the document, type in what they need to customize and hit save or print. Quick wins are the name of the game!

So, how can we do that? We do this by converting our printable into an editable PDF.

PDF’s can be created AND opened on any computer regardless if it’s a PC or Mac, making an editable PDF the perfect solution for both sides of the print and digital spectrum.

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STEP 1: UPLOAD YOUR PDF

Once you have your printable created, you can download as a PDF as usual. Leave any spots that your reader would edit or customize blank.

Related Post: How to Design a Workbook in Canva

Next, you’re going to head over to PDFEscape.com 

This is a free online program. You do not need to pay anything, you don’t even need to create an account.

Once you are on that website, go ahead and upload your PDF.

Once it’s uploaded, the screen is going to look like this:

*Notice the top left, that’s where you will find your tools.

STEP 2: ADD FORM FIELDS

The tool we will use is called “Form Field”. You will be able to select various types of forms including:

• Text
• Text paragraph
• Checkbox
• Radio
• Dropdown
• Listbox
• Reset button
• Submit button

For most printables, you will use the “text”, “text paragraph”, and “Checkbox” fields.

Choose the one you want and use your mouse to create the area on the printable.

You will need to repeat that process for every area that you want someone to be able to type in.

You don’t have to reselect the “Form Field” button unless you change the form field type. So, for this example, the top two areas are “Text Paragraph” and then I changed the “Form Field” to “Text” and did each of the bullet points.

The areas don’t have to be perfectly sized, the green will not show up when you download the printable.

STEP 3: ADD CHECKBOXES

Next, I changed the “Form Field” to “Checkbox” and filled in all my checkboxes

STEP 4: DOWNLOAD YOUR EDITABLE PDF

Now we will simply click on “Save & Download” once we have filled in all of our editable sections.

Once it’s downloaded, the reader should be able to click on any section and type away! Checkboxes will simply need to be clicked on and a check will appear. Pretty cool, right?

So, if you have worksheets or planners you want your reader to fill in. Chore charts to edit or budgets with customizable categories– the possibilities are endless.

You can get super creative with this and your reader will be able to edit it with ease!

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WANT TO SAVE THIS FOR LATER? PIN IT TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!⬇