How to Build a Form on a Mac

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Once you've created a PDF form, recipients can print it from their own computers.
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Your Mac computer offers you a number of tools to design forms and save them in format that is easily recognizable -- even by people who don't have Mac computers. If you want to create a simple form that people can print and fill out, you can use iWork's Pages program to design it. The tool allows you to insert images and shapes that can improve the look of your form. On top of that, there's the option of using templates that do most of the work for you.

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Step 1

Open Pages from the dock on your Mac.

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Step 2

Click "Blank" from the Template Chooser. Click on the "Blank" form that appears on the screen, and then click "Choose."

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Step 3

Type in a heading for your form at the top of the page. Highlight the text and then use the font, size and color tools from the menu bar at the top of the Pages window to give the heading the look you want.

Step 4

Click "Insert" from the top menu, and then click "Choose." Navigate to and double-click a logo from the files and folders on your computer. When the logo is placed on the page, click on it to highlight its edges. You can then drag one corner in or out to make it larger or smaller. Then click on the logo and drag it to the location you want it to appear on the page.

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Step 5

Click the "Text Box" icon from the menu bar. When the text box is added to the page, click on it. Drag a corner to make it a rectangular shape, and then drag the entire box to the top of the page. Click the "Type to enter text" box and type in the first piece of information you want on the form. For example, the first field could be the Name or Address field. Repeat for each field you want to include.

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Step 6

Place your cursor just after the text in the first field and press the "_" key at least 20 times or more to create a line where people can enter in their information. Repeat for each field you want people to fill out.

Step 7

Use the "Shapes" icon to create check boxes for your form. For example, if you want to have people indicate their preference among three choices, you could create three boxes and ask them to check one. To do this, click the "Shapes" icon from the menu bar, and then select a square shape. Click the "Fill" icon, and then click the white square from the list of color options. This removes the automatic color fill in the shape. Drag the corners of the shape to make the box smaller. Then use text boxes to place text next to the check boxes.

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Step 8

Click "File" from the top menu. Then click "Export." Click "PDF" from the various options that appear on the screen and click "Next." Give the file a name at the next window, and then click "Export."

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