How to fill out a PDF on a Mac

Updated 15 October 2026. Steps follow Apple’s Preview guide; button names can change between macOS versions.

Fill out a form with Preview

1. Open the form in Preview

   Double-click the PDF. If it opens in another app, right-click it and choose Open With › Preview. To keep a blank copy, choose File › Duplicate and fill in the duplicate.

2. Type into the fields

   Click a field and type. Tick checkboxes and choose options with a click.

3. Use a text box where you can’t type

   If the PDF has no fields, click the Show Form Filling Toolbar button, then the Text Box tool, and place text on the page.

4. Sign

   Click the signature button in the toolbar. Create a signature with the trackpad, the Mac’s camera or your iPhone or iPad, then choose it and drag it into place.

5. Save and check

   Preview saves changes automatically. Choose File › Save on a duplicate to name it, then reopen the file to check your answers are there.

Apple says your signatures are kept for next time, and if you use iCloud Drive they are also available on your other Macs. If you change your mind about an edit, File › Revert To lets you go back to an earlier version of the file.

Before you send a form, it can help to flatten it so the answers can’t be changed; Apple’s guide notes that File › Print then Save as PDF flattens annotations.

Fill out a form in Chrome on a Mac

Chrome’s PDF viewer also fills in standard form fields: drag the PDF into a Chrome window, click a field and type, then choose Download › With your changes. Chrome downloads a new file and leaves the original as it was, which suits anyone who doesn’t want to think about autosave. Full steps are in how to fill a PDF form in Chrome without Adobe.

Fill out a form with Quire PDF

Quire PDF is our Chrome extension. It fills the same standard fields, and keeps the form in a local library with a recovery copy, so a long form can be finished over several sittings.

1. Open the form

   Click the Quire PDF icon in Chrome’s toolbar and choose Open a PDF, or drop the file on the page (up to 100 MB).

2. Fill and sign

   Click into the fields and type. Use Text on pages without fields, and Sign for a typed or drawn signature you can save and reuse.

3. Save a copy

   Press ⌘+S or click Save a copy. Quire downloads a filled PDF and never overwrites the blank form.

When a form won’t work on a Mac

• The page says “Please wait…” and nothing else. It is an XFA form, which Preview, Chrome and Quire PDF can’t display. See what the “Please wait” PDF message means.
• Totals don’t add up by themselves. Some forms use scripts to calculate. Quire PDF has PDF scripts turned off, so type totals yourself, or try the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
• The signature has to be “digital”. Preview and Quire PDF place a picture of your signature. A certificate-based digital signature needs a digital ID; ask the sender which they need. See how to sign a PDF without Adobe.

Questions

More guides

• How to fill a PDF form in Chrome without Adobe
• How to sign a PDF without Adobe
• What the “Please wait” PDF message means
• How to add comments to a PDF

All guides · Quire homepage