Someone sends you a PDF to fill in and sign: a rental application, a consent form, a contract. You don’t need to print it. A Mac can fill in the fields and place a signature on the page, and the result is a PDF you can email back.
There are two kinds of PDF form, and it helps to know which one you have:
- A form with real fields. When you click on a line or a box, a cursor appears in it. The file knows where the answers go.
- A flat form. It is a picture of a form, often a scan. Clicking does nothing, so you place your own text on top of the page.
With Preview
Preview comes with every Mac and opens PDFs when you double-click them.
To fill in a form with real fields, click a field and type. Press Tab to move to the next one. Tick boxes by clicking them.
For a flat form, show the Markup toolbar (View > Show Markup Toolbar), click the Text button, which looks like an A in a box, and drag the text box that appears to the right place on the page. Type your answer and change the font size in the toolbar if it doesn’t fit the line.
To sign:
- In the Markup toolbar, click the Sign button.
- The first time, choose Create Signature. You can sign with your finger on the trackpad, hold a signature on white paper up to the camera, or sign on an iPhone or iPad.
- Click your signature in the list. It appears on the page.
- Drag it to the signature line and resize it by its corners.
Preview keeps the signature for next time. One thing to know: Preview saves your changes into the file you opened. If you want to keep the empty form, duplicate the file in Finder first.
With JOV Office
JOV Office opens PDFs alongside Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, so if you already use it for those you can fill in and sign without changing apps.
Switch to Edit Mode (View > Edit Mode), then:
- For a form with real fields, click a field and type. Text fields, check boxes, radio buttons and pop-up lists all work, and each change can be undone.
- For a flat form, choose PDF > Add Text Box and place the text where the answer goes.
- To sign, choose PDF > Add Signature. Draw your signature or type your name, then place it on the page, move it and resize it. You can save the signature to use again. Saved signatures stay on your Mac, and Settings lists them so you can delete one.
Use File > Save As to save the filled-in form under a new name, so the empty form stays as it was.
Some forms can’t be filled in. A PDF that is encrypted or already carries a certificate signature can’t be changed, and JOV Office tells you so. Forms made with XFA, an older Adobe form technology that some government forms still use, need Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Send a flattened copy
A filled-in form still has live fields, and a signature you placed is still an object that can be selected and moved. Anyone who opens the file could change an answer or drag your signature somewhere else, by accident or on purpose.
Flattening fixes that. It makes the signature, the text boxes, the highlights and the drawings part of the page itself. In JOV Office, choose PDF > Save Copy with Markup Flattened. You get a new PDF, your working file is unchanged, and the text on the pages can still be selected and searched.
If you use Preview, the usual way to get the same effect is File > Print, then choose Save as PDF from the PDF menu at the bottom of the print dialog.
Send the flattened copy and keep the original in case you need to correct something.
Black out what shouldn’t be shared
Sometimes a form or its attachments include something the recipient doesn’t need, such as an account number on a bank statement. Drawing a black rectangle over it is not enough, because the text underneath is still in the file and can be copied.
Use redaction instead. In JOV Office, choose PDF > Mark for Redaction, drag over the areas, then choose PDF > Apply Redactions. Each marked page is replaced by a picture of the page with those areas blacked out, so the text under them is gone for good. The rest of the text on that page can no longer be selected either, which is the price of being certain. Preview has a Redact tool in its Tools menu that also removes the text under the selection.
What this kind of signature is
A drawn or typed signature is a picture of your signature on the page. For most everyday paperwork that is what the other side expects, and it is the same thing you would get by printing, signing and scanning.
It is not a digital signature. A digital, or certificate, signature uses a cryptographic certificate to prove who signed and that the document hasn’t changed since. Some contracts, tax filings and tenders require one. Neither Preview nor JOV Office creates certificate signatures. If the form says it needs a digital or qualified electronic signature, use the signing service the sender names, or Adobe Acrobat with your certificate.
Quick answers
- The fields don’t respond when I click. The form is flat. Add text boxes on top.
- My text is too big for the box. Lower the font size, or make the text box wider.
- The recipient says the form is empty. Some viewers, especially in web browsers and mail apps, don’t show field values. Send a flattened copy.
- I need to put several signed pages into one file. See how to combine or split PDF files on a Mac.
JOV Office needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later and is free for 7 days, then $2 a month or $15 a year. When the trial or a subscription ends you can still open, read and print your files.
Related guides
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How to combine or split PDF files on a Mac
How to merge several PDFs into one, pull pages out, split a long PDF into parts and rotate or reorder pages on a Mac, with Preview or JOV Office.
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How to open a Word file on a Mac without Microsoft Office
Ways to open and edit a .docx file on a Mac without Word, what each one is good at, and how to choose which app opens Word files.
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Microsoft Office alternatives for Mac: what each one costs and does
Microsoft 365, Apple’s iWork, Google Docs, LibreOffice and JOV Office on a Mac: what each costs, whether it works offline, and who should still buy Office.