PDF forms come with their own vocabulary, and some of it is used loosely. These definitions are written for the person deciding how to put a form online, not for PDF specialists.
- AcroForm
- The standard interactive-form technology inside PDF files. When a PDF is "fillable", its fields are usually AcroForm fields, each with a name, a type and a position on the page. DocAIFlow extracts existing AcroForm fields when you upload such a PDF, so you do not have to place them again.
- Fillable PDF
- A PDF that contains interactive fields a reader can type into or tick in a compatible viewer. The completed result is still a file, which has to be saved and returned. See fillable PDF vs web form.
- Flat (non-fillable) PDF
- A PDF with no interactive fields: a scan, an export from a word processor or a fillable PDF that has been flattened. To collect answers on it, fields have to be placed over the page.
- Form field
- One place on the form where an answer goes. In DocAIFlow each field has a type and a position on the PDF page, and becomes one column when responses are exported.
- Field types
- The kind of answer a field accepts. The DocAIFlow beta supports text (one line), long text (several lines), checkbox (on/off), radio group (exactly one of several options) and dropdown (one option from a list).
- Required field
- A field that must be answered before the form can be submitted. Validating this in the browser catches missing answers while the respondent is still there, rather than after a file comes back incomplete.
- Public form link
- The URL at which a published form is completed. Anyone with the link can open and submit it without an account. The link does not expose the owner's dashboard or other people's responses. See share a PDF form as a link.
- Form owner and respondent
- The form owner is the account that uploads the PDF, publishes the form and reviews responses. A respondent is anyone who completes the form through its link. For data protection, the owner is the controller of the responses and DocAIFlow is the processor.
- Response (submission)
- One completed and submitted form. Responses are stored against the published form with the same fields, so they can be compared side by side.
- CSV export
- A plain-text table file in which each row is a response and each column a field. Excel, Google Sheets and most databases open or import CSV directly. See collecting responses.