How to Easily Make an Interactive PDF: Your Complete Guide

Do you want to transform your static PDFs into dynamic, more engaging experiences? The answer lies in making an interactive PDF!

Interactive PDFs are digital documents with many interactive elements, such as clickable buttons, hyperlinks, forms, multimedia, and more. These are a powerful way to engage the readers and allow quick access to a variety of information in a single document.

Do you want to make an interactive PDF of your own? This guide will explore the elements of an interactive PDF and how to create one in a few simple steps! Let’s get started.

Part 1. Key Features of Interactive PDF

An interactive PDF format has many useful elements that make it more engaging. These elements will enhance your PDF, whether you’re making an interactive catalog, brochure, report, or something else.

• Hyperlinks: You can add links to external resources, websites, or content in the PDF. Links allow you to add references for quick access to information.
• Clickable Buttons: These allow you to perform actions such as play videos and audio, submit forms, navigate the PDF, etc.
• Bookmarks: These provide quick access to sections of a long PDF. You can create a table of contents to jump between sections without scrolling.
• Form Fields: Interactive forms contain fillable text boxes, dropdowns, radio buttons, and checkboxes. These offer an easier way to fill out and submit forms online.
• Embedded Multimedia: These are great for tutorials or product demos. You can insert videos, audio, or files into the PDF to provide additional explanation of the content..
• Animations: You can also add animations in the form of GIFs. These can enhance the document's visual appeal through slides, fade-in effects, etc.

Let’s see how to utilize these elements to build an interactive PDF.

Part 2. How to Make an Interactive PDF with UPDF

If you want to make professional-looking interactive documents, you need a powerful PDF editor that meets the needs of these dynamic documents. UPDF is an excellent tool for this purpose.

It offers comprehensive editing tools to build interactive designs. With UPDF, you can easily attach external files, insert hyperlinks to websites or PDF pages, and add form fields, dropdowns, and more. These tools allow you to create polished catalogs, interactive magazines, brochures, and other documents.

So, download UPDF. Then, apply the following simple steps to build an interactive PDF.

1.    How to Attach a File in PDF

Inserting attachments in the PDF is an excellent way to provide references or information about the document’s content. This feature can help you create interactive catalogs or educational documents that offer additional resources.

Here is what to do:

Step 1. Launch UPDF. Click “Open File” to upload your PDF.

Step 2. Once your file is opened, select “Comment” from the left menu and click “Attachment” at the top.

Step 3. Click where you want to add the attachment. Then, select the file from the new window. You can choose Excel, Word, PPT, PDF, Video, or any other format.

Step 4. Click the attachment icon to access the customization options. From here, you can:

• Open, download, or delete the attachment.
• Click “Copy” to paste it into other PDF sections
• Select “Note” to add additional details about the attachment.

• Click “Properties” to customize it. You can change the icon’s color, style, and opacity.

2.    How to Add a Link in PDF

UPDF also allows you to create internal links to easily navigate between pages. You can also attach external website links for professional materials like brochures or flyers.

Apply these instructions to do it.

Step 1. With your PDF open in UPDF, click “Edit PDF” from the left menu. Then, choose “Link” from the tools above.

Step 2. Click anywhere on the page where you want to add a link. Then, select “Link to Web” to attach an external website or choose “Link to Page” for internal linking.

Step 3. Once you have added the web address or page number to the link, click “Properties” to customize it.

Step 4. Select the link type to be visible or invisible. You can also adjust the line style, thickness, and broader color for visible links.

3.    How to Make an Interactive PDF Form

Interactive forms are indispensable for job applications, surveys, medical records, and customer feedback collection. Here’s how to create one interactive PDF form with UPDF.

Step 1. Open your PDF in UPDF. You can upload a static form template and make it interactive with UPDF. Once your file is opened, click “Prepare Form” from the left.

Step 2. You can access all the interactive form elements from the top. You can add text boxes allowing users to input their details, such as name, occupation, or email address.

• Select “Text Field” and click where you need to add it. Then, double-click the box to adjust its settings.

Step 3. If you want the users to select between different options, click “Check Box.” Then, click the relevant place to add it. Double-click to change its name or select a button style.

Step 4. If you want users to choose an option from a list, select “Dropdown” and click where to add it.

Step 5. You can also add a date field for specific dates, such as date of birth, appointment, or event registration. To do this, select “Add a Date Field” and click anywhere to add it.

Step 6. Do you want formal consent or approval in the form? Select “Digital Signature” from the toolbar. Click the place to add it and then adjust its settings.

Part 3. How to Share Interactive PDF

Once you have created an interactive PDF, UPDF lets you share it directly. Here’s what you can do:

Step 1. Click “Share this File with Others” from the right. Choose “Share a Link” and click “Create.” Then, copy the link or share it via QR Code.

Step 2. If you want to send the PDF to a lot of people at once, select “Share with Others” to share via email. Add multiple email addresses separated with “Enter.” Then click “Send.”

Besides creating an interactive PDF format, UPDF offers advanced tools to manage and edit your documents. Here are some of these:

• Run OCR to make static or scanned PDFs editable and searchable.
• Convert PDF to and from Word, Excel, PPT, images, etc.
• Organize PDF pages, split, crop, and extract them in clicks.
• Batch-process documents to speed up your PDF tasks.

Why not try it yourself? Click below to download it with a free trial. You can also read this review article to learn more about it.

Conclusion

That’s all about creating an interactive PDF! UPDF offers an easy way to convert plain documents into dynamic and engaging PDFs. Whether you want to make interactive PDF forms, catalogs, flyers, or presentations, UPDF can help you. It offers a broad range of interactive elements that are super easy to work with. Plus, you can share the PDFs directly! Download UPDF and try it now for a productive way to handle your PDFs.