Interactive PDFs

Over the years, we have had the pleasure of designing Her Corner's worksheets. We transformed the clients' loose sketches into beautiful and accessible worksheets geared to women business owners. We recently partnered with Her Corner to update the worksheets into interactive PDFs.

But what exactly are interactive PDFs?

Simply put, they are PDFs that can be easily edited and filled out, much like an online form. They usually include text fields, buttons, and check boxes.

Using interactive PDFs comes with a number of benefits. They are more convenient than printed documents. They can be quickly and easily completed and sent back via email. There’s also no need to waste paper or ink printing the forms. This saves money and time.

The process of creating an interactive PDF can be a little tricky. For one, all the elements used must have unique names. For example, if two text fields share a name then typing in one box will cause the same type to appear in the second box. In the worksheets for Her Corner, there were multiple selections in which a particular word or image needed to be circled or highlighted. This was a little more diffficult to create. In order to accomplish this, two buttons had to be made. When clicked, the first button would cause itself to vanish and the second button to appear. This second button would highlight or circle the text or image that was chosen. When this button is clicked, it disappears and the first button reappears.

That is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to interactive elements. You could also have certain sounds or even videos play when the user clicks a button. Simulating a mobile app is even possible through the use of interactive elements. Buttons can allow you to jump from page to page and objects can be made scrollable.

One last thing to mention to all the creators out there. Always remember to test your interactive pdfs before sending them out. Test to make sure all the elements work properly!