Create Form Fields in React PDF Viewer

21 Oct 202624 minutes to read

Create or add new form fields visually with the Form Designer UI or programmatically using the React PDF Viewer API. This guide explains both methods and shows field‑specific examples and a complete runnable example.

Outcome:

The guide explains the following:

• How to add fields with the Form Designer UI.
• How to add and edit fields programmatically (API).
• How to add common field types: Textbox, Password, CheckBox, RadioButton, ListBox, DropDown, Signature, Initial, DateTime picker.

Steps

1. Create form fields using Form Designer UI.

• Enable the Form Designer mode in the PDF Viewer. See Form Designer overview.
• Select a field type from the toolbar and click the PDF page to place it.
• Move/resize the field and configure properties in the Properties panel.

2. Create Form fields programmatically

Use addFormField method of the formDesigner module inside the viewer’s documentLoad handler or in response to user actions.

Use this approach to generate form fields dynamically based on data or application logic.

index.js

import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import React, { useRef } from 'react';
import './index.css';
import { PdfViewerComponent, Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, Annotation, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner, Inject } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-pdfviewer';

export function App() {
  const viewerRef = useRef(null);

  const onDocumentLoad = () => {
    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('Textbox', {
      name: 'First Name',
      bounds: { X: 146, Y: 229, Width: 150, Height: 24 }
    });
  };

  return (
    <div className='control-section'>
      <PdfViewerComponent
        ref={viewerRef}
        id="container"
        documentPath="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/content/pdf/form-filling-document.pdf"
        resourceUrl="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/31.2.2/dist/ej2-pdfviewer-lib"
        style=
        documentLoad={onDocumentLoad}
      >
        <Inject services={[Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, Annotation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner]} />
      </PdfViewerComponent>
    </div>
  );
}

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('sample'));
root.render(<App />);

Use programmatic creation when:

• Building dynamic forms
• Pre-filling forms from databases
• Automating form creation workflows

Field‑specific instructions

Below are concise UI steps and the programmatic examples for each common field type. The code samples below are complete per‑field examples you can reuse unchanged.

Textbox

Add via UI: Open Form Designer toolbar → select Textbox → click page → configure properties

Add Programmatically (API):

index.js

import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import React, { useRef } from 'react';
import './index.css';
import { PdfViewerComponent, Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, Annotation, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner, Inject } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-pdfviewer';

export function App() {
  const viewerRef = useRef(null);

  const onDocumentLoad = () => {
    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('Textbox', {
      name: 'FirstName',
      pageNumber: 1,
      bounds: { X: 100, Y: 150, Width: 200, Height: 24 },
      isRequired: true,
      tooltip: 'Enter your first name',
      maxLength: 40
    });
  };

  return (
    <div className='control-section'>
      <PdfViewerComponent
        ref={viewerRef}
        id="container"
        documentPath="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/content/pdf/form-filling-document.pdf"
        resourceUrl="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/31.2.2/dist/ej2-pdfviewer-lib"
        style=
        documentLoad={onDocumentLoad}
      >
        <Inject services={[Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, Annotation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner]} />
      </PdfViewerComponent>
    </div>
  );
}

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('sample'));
root.render(<App />);

Password

Add via UI: Open Form Designer toolbar → Select Password → place → configure properties

Add Programmatically (API):

index.js

import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import React, { useRef } from 'react';
import './index.css';
import { PdfViewerComponent, Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, Annotation, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner, Inject } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-pdfviewer';

export function App() {
  const viewerRef = useRef(null);

  const onDocumentLoad = () => {
    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('Password', {
      name: 'AccountPassword',
      pageNumber: 1,
      bounds: { X: 100, Y: 190, Width: 200, Height: 24 },
      isRequired: true,
      maxLength: 32,
      tooltip: 'Enter a secure password',
    });
  };

  return (
    <div className='control-section'>
      <PdfViewerComponent
        ref={viewerRef}
        id="container"
        documentPath="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/content/pdf/form-filling-document.pdf"
        resourceUrl="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/31.2.2/dist/ej2-pdfviewer-lib"
        style=
        documentLoad={onDocumentLoad}
      >
        <Inject services={[Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, Annotation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner]} />
      </PdfViewerComponent>
    </div>
  );
}

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('sample'));
root.render(<App />);

CheckBox

Add via UI: Open Form Designer toolbar → Select CheckBox → click to place → duplicate for options.

Add Programmatically (API):

index.js

import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import React, { useRef } from 'react';
import './index.css';
import { PdfViewerComponent, Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, Annotation, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner, Inject } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-pdfviewer';

export function App() {
  const viewerRef = useRef(null);

  const onDocumentLoad = () => {
    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('CheckBox', {
      name: 'AgreeTerms',
      pageNumber: 1,
      bounds: { X: 100, Y: 230, Width: 18, Height: 18 },
      isChecked: false,
      tooltip: 'I agree to the terms',
    });
  };

  return (
    <div className='control-section'>
      <PdfViewerComponent
        ref={viewerRef}
        id="container"
        documentPath="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/content/pdf/form-filling-document.pdf"
        resourceUrl="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/31.2.2/dist/ej2-pdfviewer-lib"
        style=
        documentLoad={onDocumentLoad}
      >
        <Inject services={[Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, Annotation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner]} />
      </PdfViewerComponent>
    </div>
  );
}

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('sample'));
root.render(<App />);

RadioButton

Add via UI: Open Form Designer toolbar → Select RadioButton → place buttons using the same name to group them.

Add Programmatically (API):

index.js

import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import React, { useRef } from 'react';
import './index.css';
import { PdfViewerComponent, Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, Annotation, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner, Inject } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-pdfviewer';

export function App() {
  const viewerRef = useRef(null);

  const onDocumentLoad = () => {
    // Group by name: 'Gender'
    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('RadioButton', {
      name: 'Gender',
      value: 'Male',
      pageNumber: 1,
      bounds: { X: 100, Y: 270, Width: 16, Height: 16 }
    });

    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('RadioButton', {
      name: 'Gender',
      value: 'Female',
      pageNumber: 1,
      bounds: { X: 160, Y: 270, Width: 16, Height: 16 }
    });
  };

  return (
    <div className='control-section'>
      <PdfViewerComponent
        ref={viewerRef}
        id="container"
        documentPath="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/content/pdf/form-filling-document.pdf"
        resourceUrl="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/31.2.2/dist/ej2-pdfviewer-lib"
        style=
        documentLoad={onDocumentLoad}
      >
        <Inject services={[Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, Annotation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner]} />
      </PdfViewerComponent>
    </div>
  );
}

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('sample'));
root.render(<App />);

ListBox

Add via UI: Open Form Designer toolbar → Select ListBox → place → add items in Properties.

Add Programmatically (API):

index.js

import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import React, { useRef } from 'react';
import './index.css';
import { PdfViewerComponent, Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, Annotation, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner, Inject } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-pdfviewer';

export function App() {
  const viewerRef = useRef(null);

  const onDocumentLoad = () => {
    const option = [
      { itemName: 'Item 1', itemValue: 'item1' },
      { itemName: 'Item 2', itemValue: 'item2' },
      { itemName: 'Item 3', itemValue: 'item3' }
    ];

    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('ListBox', {
      name: 'States',
      pageNumber: 1,
      bounds: { X: 100, Y: 310, Width: 220, Height: 70 },
      options: option,
    });
  };

  return (
    <div className='control-section'>
      <PdfViewerComponent
        ref={viewerRef}
        id="container"
        documentPath="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/content/pdf/form-filling-document.pdf"
        resourceUrl="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/31.2.2/dist/ej2-pdfviewer-lib"
        style=
        documentLoad={onDocumentLoad}
      >
        <Inject services={[Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, Annotation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner]} />
      </PdfViewerComponent>
    </div>
  );
}

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('sample'));
root.render(<App />);

DropDown

Add via UI: Open Form Designer toolbar → Select DropDown → place → add items → set default value.

Add Programmatically (API):

index.js

import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import React, { useRef } from 'react';
import './index.css';
import { PdfViewerComponent, Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, Annotation, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner, Inject } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-pdfviewer';

export function App() {
  const viewerRef = useRef(null);

  const onDocumentLoad = () => {
    const options = [
      { itemName: 'Item 1', itemValue: 'item1' },
      { itemName: 'Item 2', itemValue: 'item2' },
      { itemName: 'Item 3', itemValue: 'item3' },
    ];

    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('DropDown', {
      name: 'Country',
      options,
      bounds: { X: 560, Y: 320, Width: 150, Height: 24 },
    });
  };

  return (
    <div className='control-section'>
      <PdfViewerComponent
        ref={viewerRef}
        id="container"
        documentPath="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/content/pdf/form-filling-document.pdf"
        resourceUrl="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/31.2.2/dist/ej2-pdfviewer-lib"
        style=
        documentLoad={onDocumentLoad}
      >
        <Inject services={[Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, Annotation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner]} />
      </PdfViewerComponent>
    </div>
  );
}

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('sample'));
root.render(<App />);

Signature Field

Add via UI: Open Form Designer toolbar → select Signature Field → place where signing is required → configure indicator text/thickness/tooltip/isRequired.

Add Programmatically (API):

index.js

import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import React, { useRef } from 'react';
import './index.css';
import { PdfViewerComponent, Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, Annotation, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner, Inject } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-pdfviewer';

export function App() {
  const viewerRef = useRef(null);

  const onDocumentLoad = () => {
    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('SignatureField', {
      name: 'Sign',
      bounds: { X: 57, Y: 923, Width: 200, Height: 43 },
      tooltip: 'Sign here',
      isRequired: true,
    });
  };

  return (
    <div className='control-section'>
      <PdfViewerComponent
        ref={viewerRef}
        id="container"
        documentPath="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/content/pdf/form-filling-document.pdf"
        resourceUrl="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/31.2.2/dist/ej2-pdfviewer-lib"
        style=
        documentLoad={onDocumentLoad}
      >
        <Inject services={[Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, Annotation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner]} />
      </PdfViewerComponent>
    </div>
  );
}

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('sample'));
root.render(<App />);

Initial Field

Add via UI: Open Form Designer toolbar → select Initial Field → place where initials are needed → configure text/isRequired.

Add Programmatically (API):

index.js

import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import React, { useRef } from 'react';
import './index.css';
import { PdfViewerComponent, Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, Annotation, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner, Inject } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-pdfviewer';

export function App() {
  const viewerRef = useRef(null);

  const onDocumentLoad = () => {
    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('InitialField', {
      name: 'Sign',
      bounds: { X: 57, Y: 923, Width: 200, Height: 43 },
      tooltip: 'sign Here',
      isRequired: true,
    });
  };

  return (
    <div className='control-section'>
      <PdfViewerComponent
        ref={viewerRef}
        id="container"
        documentPath="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/content/pdf/form-filling-document.pdf"
        resourceUrl="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/31.2.2/dist/ej2-pdfviewer-lib"
        style=
        documentLoad={onDocumentLoad}
      >
        <Inject services={[Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, Annotation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner]} />
      </PdfViewerComponent>
    </div>
  );
}

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('sample'));
root.render(<App />);

DateTime Picker

Add via UI: Open the Form Designer toolbar, select DateTime Picker, and click on a PDF page to place the field. The DateTime Picker tool adds date and time fields in Form Designer mode.

Select the field to configure its general properties, such as its name, value, visibility, and whether it is read-only or required.

Manual Entry and Picker

The field accepts values either by direct typing or through the integrated picker UI:

• Date Field – Enter a date manually, or open the calendar dropdown to pick a date.

  

• Time Field – Enter a time manually, or open the time dropdown to pick a time.

  

Strict Format Validation

Invalid values are rejected and a validation popup is displayed. The invalid value is not applied to the field.

For example, with the format m/d/yy:

Input	Result
10/19/2026	Accepted
19/10/26	Rejected
not-a-date	Rejected

Date / Time Toggle and Format Editing

The Format tab in the Properties panel lets you:

• Switch between Date Picker and Time Picker modes.
• Edit the display format string.
• Preview formatting changes before saving.

Common Formats

Format String	Example Output
m/d/yy	10/19/26
mm/dd/yyyy	10/19/2026
HH:MM	14:30
HH:MM:ss	14:30:45

Form Designer Appearance

Placed DateTime pickers have a distinct visual appearance in Form Designer mode, including:

• Colored background
• Visible border
• Field-type indicator

Add Programmatically (API):

index.js

import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import React, { useRef } from 'react';
import './index.css';
import { PdfViewerComponent, Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, Annotation, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner, Inject } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-pdfviewer';

export function App() {
  const viewerRef = useRef(null);

  const onDocumentLoad = () => {
    // Add a Date field
    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('Textbox', {
      name: 'DateField1',
      bounds: { X: 146, Y: 200, Width: 200, Height: 24 },
      pageNumber: 1,
      isDateField: true,
      fontSize: 10,
      color: 'black',
      fontFamily: 'Helvetica',
      backgroundColor: '#daeaf7ff',
      borderColor: '#303030',
      alignment: 'Left',
      isReadOnly: false,
      visibility: 'visible',
      isRequired: false,
      isPrint: true,
      tooltip: '',
      thickness: 1,
      actions: {
        format: { script: 'AFDate_FormatEx("m/d/yy")' }
      }
    });

    // Add a Time field
    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('Textbox', {
      name: 'TimeField1',
      bounds: { X: 146, Y: 250, Width: 200, Height: 24 },
      pageNumber: 1,
      isDateField: true,
      fontSize: 10,
      color: 'black',
      fontFamily: 'Helvetica',
      backgroundColor: '#daeaf7ff',
      borderColor: '#303030',
      alignment: 'Left',
      isReadOnly: false,
      visibility: 'visible',
      isRequired: false,
      isPrint: true,
      tooltip: '',
      thickness: 1,
      actions: {
        format: { script: 'AFTime_FormatEx("HH:MM")' }
      }
    });
  };

  return (
    <div className='control-section'>
      <PdfViewerComponent
        ref={viewerRef}
        id="container"
        documentPath="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/content/pdf/form-filling-document.pdf"
        resourceUrl="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/31.2.2/dist/ej2-pdfviewer-lib"
        style=
        documentLoad={onDocumentLoad}
      >
        <Inject services={[Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, Annotation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner]} />
      </PdfViewerComponent>
    </div>
  );
}

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('sample'));
root.render(<App />);

Add fields dynamically with setFormFieldMode

Use setFormFieldMode() to switch the designer into a specific field mode and let users add fields on the fly.

Edit Form Fields in React PDF Viewer

You can edit form fields using the UI or API.

Edit Using the UI

• Right click a field → Properties to update settings. (Image here)
• Drag to move; use handles to resize.
• Use the toolbar to toggle field mode or add new fields.

Edit Programmatically

index.js

import * as ReactDOM from 'react-dom/client';
import React, { useRef } from 'react';
import './index.css';
import { PdfViewerComponent, Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, Annotation, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner, Inject } from '@syncfusion/ej2-react-pdfviewer';

export function App() {
  const viewerRef = useRef(null);

  const onDocumentLoad = () => {
    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.addFormField('InitialField', {
      name: 'Sign',
      bounds: { X: 57, Y: 923, Width: 200, Height: 43 },
      tooltip: 'sign Here',
      isRequired: true,
    });
  };

  const editTextbox = () => {
    const fields = viewerRef.current?.retrieveFormFields() || [];
    const field = fields.find((f) => f.name === 'FirstName') || fields[0];
    if (field) {
      viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.updateFormField(field, {
        value: 'John',
        fontFamily: 'Courier',
        fontSize: 12,
        color: 'black',
        backgroundColor: 'white',
        borderColor: 'black',
        thickness: 2,
        alignment: 'Left',
        maxLength: 50
      });
    }
  };

  const addPasswordField = () => {
    viewerRef.current?.formDesignerModule.setFormFieldMode('Password');
  };

  return (
    <div className='control-section'>
      <button onClick={editTextbox}>EditTextBox</button>
      <button onClick={addPasswordField}>Add Form Field</button>
      <PdfViewerComponent
        ref={viewerRef}
        id="container"
        documentPath="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/content/pdf/form-filling-document.pdf"
        resourceUrl="https://cdn.syncfusion.com/ej2/31.2.2/dist/ej2-pdfviewer-lib"
        style=
        documentLoad={onDocumentLoad}
      >
        <Inject services={[Toolbar, Magnification, Navigation, Annotation, LinkAnnotation, BookmarkView, ThumbnailView, Print, TextSelection, TextSearch, FormFields, FormDesigner]} />
      </PdfViewerComponent>
    </div>
  );
}

const root = ReactDOM.createRoot(document.getElementById('sample'));
root.render(<App />);

View Sample on GitHub

Troubleshooting

• If fields do not appear, verify resourceUrl matches the EJ2 PDF Viewer library version and that the document loads correctly.
• If using WASM or additional services, confirm those resources are reachable from the environment.

Related topics

• Form Designer overview
• Form Designer Toolbar
• Modify form fields
• Style form fields
• Remove form fields
• Group form fields
• Form validation
• Form Fields API