# PDF AcroForms

## 📄 **What are PDF AcroForms ?**

PDF AcroForms are forms embedded in PDF files that enable users to input data directly within the document. These forms can be completed offline, without an internet connection, and are easily shared and distributed among respondents.

ngSurvey enables you to export your existing surveys and forms into PDF AcroForms with full support for numeric field calculations, validations, [skip logic](/form-management/form-designer/questions/question-properties/skip-hide-logic.md) and [branching](/form-management/form-designer/pages/branching.md). Once you a PDF has been filled by a respondent you can re-import that PDF and ngSurvey will automatically save it as a respondent for your survey.

{% hint style="info" %}
If you dont want to show some questions in the PDF AcroForm export you can set the [skip logic rules](/form-management/form-designer/condition-rules/conditions-rules.md) on the question along with the device type set to PDF.
{% endhint %}

## 🔅 PDF  properties

* **`Use table layout for matrixes`** allows you to choose how matrix questions are rendered either as a table / row layout or as individual questions for each matrix row.
* **`Highlight required answers`** required answers will be highlighted on error.
* **`Use checkboxes for multi-selection dropdowns`** will render the dropdown list options as checkboxes.  

## 👥 **Export existing respondent to PDF AcroForms**

ngSurvey also enables you to generate editable PDFs based on existing respondents that were already stored for a survey. This way you can export the answers in PDF let the respondent edit them using its PDF reader and then re-import them back to update previous answers of that respondent.  

<figure><img src="/files/2y3DB04aDSujeCZKlZHN" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
If you're using piping from security items ngSurvey will keep them as well in the exported respondent PDF form.
{% endhint %}


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