PDFs are a popular way to store and share data. But if you’re using them to store fillable form data, you need to be careful about how you store the data. If your PDF is filled with fillable form data, it can become vulnerable to theft or other damage. You also need to be careful about how you use PDFs to store your data. If you use them for things like emailing or sharing the forms with others, they may not be as secure as they could be. To protect your PDFs from theft or other damage, follow these tips:

  1. Use strong passwords for each PDF file and for the PDF itself. This will help protect your data from being stolen or damaged.
  2. Store the forms in a safe place where they can’t be accessed by anyone else than those who need to use them legitimately. This could include a secure server or storage device, or a location where the forms can’t be seen by anyone but those who need them legitimately.
  3. Don’t share the forms with others unless they have been specifically authorized by you to do so. If someone gets their hands on one of your forms without being authorized by you, they may be able to misuse it in ways that are harmful to you and your business.

Having a filled out copy of the form isn’t just good “for your records,” it’s also useful if you notice a typo or small mistake after printing out the form. If you accidentally close Adobe Reader, then you’ll have to type in all that information again!

Fortunately there is a free PDF viewing program that allows you fill out fillable forms and save the changes, to be edited later if need be: PDF-XChange Viewer.

After you install PDF-XChange Viewer, open your fillable PDF form (right-click and choose Open With… if PDF-XChange Viewer isn’t the default for opening PDFs).

Fill out the form.

Click on File > Save, or just press Ctrl+S.

Close the file. If you open it again, you will see that your changes are still intact! In fact, even if you open this file with Adobe Reader, you will find that your changes are still there.

That’s all you need to do!

We did run into a few cases where the filled out form didn’t open quite right in Adobe Reader, even though it still looked fine in PDF-XChange Viewer. You should keep Adobe Reader around just to confirm that your filled out forms look right if you have to send them digitally.

PDF-XChange Viewer is a great all-purpose PDF viewer, and the ability to save filled out PDF forms makes it even better!

Download the free version of PDF-XChange Viewer