You enter a name and tick a box, download the PDF, then cannot click those fields again. This can happen because the form was flattened. For FileMyLove's fill PDF form tool, flattening is part of saving the completed file.
The fields become page content
PDF-LIB explains that flattening places the field appearance in the page content and removes the interactive fields and their associated annotations. Those fields are no longer available for form editing.
| What you see | What it means for this output |
|---|---|
| Names and ticks remain visible | Entered values appear on the page |
| Clicking a former field does nothing | The interactive field has been removed |
| No new password prompt | Filling did not add a password |
Flattening is not a promise that nobody can alter the document. A PDF editor may still change page content. Do not treat this output as tamperproof.
Keep two files
Our recommendation is to retain the original interactive form separately from the completed copy, for example original-form.pdf and completed-form.pdf. To correct a name or selection, open the original and fill it again.
The tool currently has no export option that preserves editable fields. If a recipient needs to continue typing into the same fields, agree on the required file format before delivery.
Check the downloaded result
- Open the saved PDF, not just the input screen.
- Check names, reference numbers, selections and text near field edges.
- Zoom in on Thai text and long entries for clipping or overlap.
- Retain the original until the work is confirmed.
Thai text may be rendered as an embedded text image by this tool. Visible content is therefore not necessarily selectable or copyable in every field.
If the original had no fields
A scan or a page containing only blank lines is a different case. See the PDF editing and form guide for placing text onto a page. Unlocking or renaming the file does not recreate absent interactive fields. The fill-form tool processes your document in the browser without uploading it.
