AddThisFeature

Fillable PDF Forms

Let people fill in a PDF form on screen and download the completed copy.

involved Documents & Files

What it adds

An on-screen fill layer over a PDF form that writes the entered values back into a downloadable file.

What your agent is told to do

5
  1. 1

    Render the document and place editable inputs over its real form fields, so the user types on the page they recognise rather than into a separate form beside it.

  2. 2

    Extend the app's existing PDF Export and document viewing paths rather than introducing a second renderer. Two renderers will disagree about fonts and page size, and the user will see the difference between screen and download.

  3. 3

    Save progress as the user types using the app's existing Autosave, and restore the partly filled form on return.

  4. 4

    Flatten the values into the page content on download so the completed copy cannot be edited back into a blank form.

  5. 5

    Do not attempt a general document editor. Fill the fields that exist, offer a simple positioned overlay for documents that have none, and leave the rest of the file untouched.

Edge cases it handles

8
  • Form fields in real documents are frequently unnamed or share a name across pages. Key stored answers to a stable position-based identifier rather than trusting the field name alone.
  • Checkbox and radio groups whose members sit on different pages must move together. Selecting one option has to clear the others even when they are not on screen.
  • A long form filled over twenty minutes must survive a refresh, a phone call, and a dropped connection. Save as the user goes rather than only on submit.
  • A downloaded copy with live fields can be blanked and refilled by whoever receives it. Flatten on export and keep the fillable version separate from the completed one.
  • Some documents that look like forms carry no field definitions at all, only printed lines. Fall back to a text overlay the user positions, and say plainly that this is what is happening.
  • A value longer than its field must shrink or wrap rather than overflow into the neighbouring box or disappear at the boundary.
  • The completed document usually contains personal data. Decide who may read the saved copy back, how long it is kept, and whether the partly filled draft falls under the same rule.
  • Required fields must be checked before the download is offered, or people will send an incomplete form believing it is finished.

Definition of done

9
  • Users fill fields directly on the rendered page and see their values in place.
  • Progress saves automatically and is restored after a refresh or a new session.
  • Grouped checkboxes and radios stay consistent across pages.
  • The downloaded copy is flattened and cannot be edited back to blank.
  • Documents without real form fields get a usable overlay rather than an error.
  • Long values fit their field without overflowing or being cut off.
  • A partly filled form is readable only by the person filling it and expires on the app's normal schedule for stored user files.
  • The feature matches the existing design system.
  • No existing functionality is broken.

Related features

How it works

  1. 1

    Copy the link

    Grab the Markdown instruction URL for this feature.

  2. 2

    Give it to your AI

    Paste it into Claude Code, Cursor, v0, Lovable — whatever you build with.

  3. 3

    It inspects, then implements

    Your agent reads your existing app first, then adds the feature to fit it.

Works with your stack

These instructions are written to adapt. They tell the agent to detect your framework, match your existing design system, and reuse what you already have — rather than assuming a particular stack.

Need it tighter than that? Customize the feature and tell it exactly what you're running.