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PDF (Portable Document Format) is a file format developed by Adobe in 1991 to enable reliable digital document sharing and viewing.
The key benefits of PDFs are:
Before PDFs, transferring documents digitally was problematic - formatting and content could easily become distorted. PDFs solved this by ensuring a completely consistent experience regardless of the viewing environment.
As Bob Wulff, Adobe’s Senior VP, stated, “PDF allows the user to precisely view a file - down to the pixel, of what the author intended.”
This reliability and fidelity made the portable document format wildly popular. PDFs revolutionized digital documentation and remain a universal standard for document sharing today.
Today, PDFs are a common file format in our digital world, found in smart offices, remote healthcare, virtual classrooms, and metaverse businesses. This widespread use began in 2008 when Adobe revolutionized digital documents by enabling free creation and secure sharing.
PDFs are widely used across industries, from sharing company memos and e-magazines to virtual sales presentations. While most people know how to use and open them, we often overlook the potential to explore this familiar file format in depth.
In the metaverse era, PDFs can store not only static information but also integrate multimedia content, IoT data, and AI analysis to provide immersive experiences. Through smart contracts, PDFs can enable encrypted content transactions and copyright protection. As extended reality and digital twin technologies evolve, PDFs are transforming into innovative information carriers, offering new opportunities across sectors.
Pro Tip: Tools like PlatoForms can help you convert your PDF files to online PDF forms where you can add fields, pages, and data to your originally created PDF online.
PDF is one of the most used and well-known file formats because of its numerous features you cannot find in other file formats—so, what are these unique advantages?
Compact and Space-Saving
PDFs make file sharing and data management a breeze by compressing loads of information into a small file size. They save space on your device and are easy to share online and offline.
Secured
PDFs offer robust security features, including password protection, ensuring your files remain private and protected from data leakage.
Convenient
PDFs maintain their formatting across all devices, so you don’t have to worry about compatibility issues. They can be opened easily on any browser, smart device, or computer.
Versatile
PDFs can contain text, images, links, videos, and more in a single file. They’re perfect for sharing forms, presentations, magazines, portfolios, and other documents.
Accessible
PDFs are easy to share via links or downloads, making them accessible on any device, including smartphones.
Small File Size
Despite their ability to include high-quality graphics and multiple pages, PDFs maintain a small file size, making them easy to upload, download, and share.
Continuously Improving
PDF technology has evolved over the years, allowing for more features and functionalities, with even more advancements expected in the future.
Widely Known
Most people are familiar with PDFs, so there’s no need to train others on how to use, share, or open them. They are a universally recognized and user-friendly format.
Since PDF was launched in the early 1990s, it has helped many organizations manage data and go paperless. With its accessibility, versatility, and convenience, PDFs undoubtedly offer comfort and ease. However, like any other software tool and file format, PDFs have their drawbacks.
Not Editable
One major disadvantage of PDFs is that they are not originally editable. To modify a PDF file, you need a PDF editor, which often comes with a cost. Additionally, not all PDF editors are user-friendly and may require time to learn.
Costly Editors and Converters
Editing and converting PDFs can be expensive. While there are many tools available, finding an affordable one can be challenging.
Limited Compatibility with Linux and UNIX
PDFs are primarily compatible with Mac and Windows operating systems. Linux and UNIX users may need additional tools to open, create, and read PDF files. Some PDF tools for Linux include:
Navigation issues
PDFs with small fonts can be difficult to navigate. Users may need to zoom in and out frequently to read or search for specific data, especially on smaller screens like smartphones. This can make viewing the entire page challenging.
Despite these disadvantages, PDFs remain one of the most used and favored file formats among computer users today. The decision to use this file format ultimately depends on your needs and preferences.
Imagine an office in the 1990s, drowning in paperwork. Every little task - vacation requests, project bids, you name it - required printing out forms, filling them in by hand, then passing them around or mailing them off. What a slow, error-prone, paper-wasting headache!
In this environment, Adobe introduced PDF forms, a significant innovation. PDF forms allowed users to fill out and complete all kinds of forms digitally within the PDF file itself. No more printing, no more handwriting - just type it right in. Genius!
PDF forms had some major advantages:
From that point on, PDF forms spread like wildfire as a crucial digital transformation tool. They solved countless paper headaches across every industry, saving organizations and individuals immeasurable time and resources.
Today, PDF form capabilities integrate with cloud, mobile, e-signatures and more - continuing to innovate the paper-free revolution that Adobe started years ago. What began as a solution to clunky paper processes ended up signaling the demise of the paper era altogether, ushering in a new age of streamlined, intelligent, digital workflows.
From big corporations to humble non-profits, PDF forms swoop in to save the day for organizations across countless industries. Here are some businesses where these document superheroes work their magic:
Financial Fortresses
Banks, insurers, investment giants - these financial fortresses handle tons of sensitive data. PDFs are their trusty sidekicks for secure account openings, claims, and contracts.
Healthcare Heroes
Hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices - the healthcare heroes wield PDF powers for patient intakes, medical histories and ensuring HIPAA-compliant record keeping.
Government Guardians
These civic crusaders at federal, state and local levels rely on PDF forms to brave the paperwork storms of applications, permits and licenses.
Legally Binding Forces
The legal eagles at law firms can’t fight their documentary battles without the PDF form backup for client onboarding, contracts and court filings.
Educational Excellences
Schools, colleges, universities - these educational excellences use the PDF form utility belt for student applications, financial aid, registrations and more.
Real Estate Rangers
Finding the perfect home needs PDF form power! Real estate rangers use them for listings, leases and all kinds of property pioneering paperwork.
Corporate Commanders
The HR heroes across companies big and small depend on mighty PDF forms for hiring, onboarding, benefits - the foundation of organizational order!
Charitable Champions
The compassionate non-profit and charity champions leverage PDF donation forms, volunteer registrations and event sign-ups to spread goodwill.
Shipping Superheroes
Those packing and delivering our precious parcels - the logistics and transportation superheroes - wield PDF powers for shipment docs, customs forms and more!
Industrial Titans
The manufacturing and construction titans building our cities use PDF forms as part of their operational armor for orders, safety checks and more.
So whether you’re a bank, hospital, government body or any other established entity, PDF forms are the document superheroes ready to support your mission! Embrace their powers for a smoother workflow.
Complexity and High Costs
Premium PDF form tools like Adobe Acrobat are often complex beasts to tame, with steep learning curves for non-technical users. Their advanced features also come at a premium price, with licenses potentially running into the hundreds per user.
Limited Customization
While you can add pre-built form fields, the ability to fully customize the look and behavior of forms down to the pixel level is restricted. This limitation can hamper brands seeking truly unique, on-brand form experiences.
Lack of Integration
As stand-alone desktop tools, traditional PDF form creators lack deep integration with other business software and cloud platforms. Automating form workflows and transferring data becomes an uphill task.
Poor Mobile Experience
Though viewable on mobile, PDF forms generally provide subpar experiences on smaller touchscreens. Users have to do tedious pinching, zooming, and cumbersome input methods.
No Live Data Flows
Static PDF forms cannot dynamically integrate live data from external sources like web services or databases. All form data Entry has to be manual.
Limited analysis capabilities
While form submissions can be exported to spreadsheets, these PDF tools miss built-in analysis features to easily visualize data and gain insights from response patterns.
As customer needs evolve, the drawbacks of traditional PDF form builders are becoming glaringly apparent. Many organizations are making the shift to more modern, code-free form solutions to overcome these limitations.
An online form tool/builder/creator is a web-based application that allows users to create, customize, and manage digital forms that can be filled out online. These tools often include features such as drag-and-drop form fields, templates, and integration with other software and services for data collection and analysis.
Discover how online form builders differ from traditional PDF forms and why they might be the better choice for your needs.
Accessibility
Ease of Use
Interactivity
Integration
Real-Time Collaboration
Data Collection and Analysis
Updates and Maintenance
Cost
Overall, online form tools offer more flexibility, ease of use, and integration capabilities compared to traditional PDF form creators like Adobe Acrobat.
PlatoForms is an online form builder that makes it easy to convert your PDFs into interactive forms. Just drag and drop your PDF, and it will automatically recognize and create editable fields. You can also add or modify fields to fit your needs. Plus, our powerful form editor lets you create online PDF forms or web forms from scratch.
We provide a list of tips to help you make the most of your PDF files.
Now, let’s explore some key highlights of PlatoForms.
Most companies use PDFs for their forms. While PDFs are compact and compatible with any browser and device, they can be difficult to fill out because they require additional software or steps. If your company relies on PDFs for organizational forms, you can improve their usability by converting them to web forms.
A web form is an online page where people can easily enter information. They are efficient and highly accessible, making it simple for users to fill out various forms like registration forms, complaint forms, and more. Converting your PDFs to web forms makes the process more convenient for everyone involved. All it takes is a great PDF-to-web form converter.
Pro Tip: PlatoForms is an online PDF tool that includes a PDF-to-web form converter. With PlatoForms, you can simply upload your PDF file and convert it to a web form.
Why waste time filling out multiple PDF forms with the same information if you can create a master form for all your PDFs?
A master form is a central document that can hold all your PDF files and allow you to fill in similar information once. This feature is best for documents like contracts and agreements where you need to sign multiple pages. Creating a master form for your PDFs allows you to organize data online as well.
Sending and approving files is one of many organizations’ challenges. Still, with the help of PDFs, combined with a powerful tool, you can now create a quick process for this. PDF workflow automation enables you to work with your team online, even during the approval process of documents.
Creating a workflow for your PDFs makes way for you and your team to fill out the documents in multiple steps providing you with a more efficient process. It eliminates time-consuming tasks such as printing papers, going to each other’s desks, and face-to-face follow-ups.
If you’re looking for ways to save more time, workflows will help.
Admit it. Filling out forms can be boring sometimes, so you need to optimize your PDF forms to encourage users to finish them.
How do you do it?
You can improve your PDF forms and increase their completion rate by enabling their pre-filled function. This form functionality will help your users save time by instantly having their data on the form. In some cases, all they have to do is click the “submit” button.
Just imagine how quick the filling out process would be if your users could do that.
While PDFs don’t originally have this setting, PDF tools are here to help you out. First, you have to make your PDF forms fillable online; from there, you can set this function up. Make sure to find a tool that has a Pre-filling feature.
With the help of integration software, you can now connect your PDF forms to your work tools. One example is receiving notifications to your Slack once a user submits a form. The good news is it’s possible with any other applications like Google Drive, Stripe, Dropbox, and more.
This hack will not only help you save time. It’ll also help you establish a more organized and standardized process for your organization.
The world is becoming increasingly digital today, so it’s time to level up your forms too!
Use Rest API to create efficient and interactive PDF forms. Rest API is also called representational state transfer. It allows the use of already established protocols. It can meet any program need resulting in developers having the power to create software tools without experiencing compatibility issues.
If your PDF tool has this feature, you can freely create forms that are highly accessible; forms that can be opened in any browser, forms that are personalized, and forms that can be automated.
Suppose you want to send a customized email inviting your users to fill out your form. That said, you want to add specific greetings, fields, and other messages to help you connect with your audience.
Sounds great, right?
But what if you have to create this email every time you want to invite someone to fill out your form? Now, it sounds like a hassle. Good thing there are PDF form creators that allow you to set up an email template for your online PDF forms once.
With PDF forms and email invite templates, you can automatically send an email every time you have a new lead—no need to set up new ones.
Have you ever experienced designing your forms and your computer suddenly crashed? To make it even worse, you also forgot to save your online form. Meaning you have to restart building your PDF forms from scratch. What a waste of time, isn’t it?
Thankfully, you can now create and design online PDF forms without worrying if you saved them or not. Innovation brought us form creators that don’t need you to click the save button. They automatically save every change you make, so you can convert your forms to online PDFs or create your PDF forms without fear of losing what you started.
If you use forms for events or special dates only, you can set their availability and expiration date. Through this, you can control the number of people who can access them and the dates when your PDF forms are usable.
Let’s say that you created a form for a seven-day giveaway campaign. With that said, you have to close the form after seven days to prevent people from joining when the campaign period is over. You can do this automatically by setting an expiration of this online form dated after seven days.
Pro Tip: If you want to get started with maximizing PDF use, you can start using PlatoForms to make and convert PDF form to fillable forms online. PlatoForms also allows you to create PDF master data forms, PDF workflow designs, and more.
PDFs are truly innovative and efficient. You don’t have to ask the question, “Do I need Adobe to edit PDFs?” anymore because now, you can do more than that. Whether you want to convert them into editable PDFs, set PDF form notifications, or automating your form-filling process, these are all made possible.
All you have to do is to take advantage of each PDF usage and improve your organization’s process and productivity.