PDF Fillable Fields From HTML

This page documents the supported HTML input types and custom attributes for generating fillable PDF fields from HTML using our API. For detailed usage examples, see the Fillable Fields guide.

Supported Fields

Below is a list of all the available HTML input types you can convert. The Custom Attributes column defines the custom PDFGate attributes you can use for each input type, while the Standard HTML Attributes column describes the standard HTML attributes that the API uses to customize the PDF fillable fields.

Field Type	Description	Custom Attributes	Standard HTML Attributes
input[type='text'] input[type='email'] input[type='tel'] textarea	These elements share the same behavior and are used to create standard text-based input fields in the generated PDF. Inputs with no type attribute (`<input />`) are also treated as text fields.	pdfgate-role pdfgate-optional pdfgate-description pdfgate-form-ignore pdfgate-font-size pdfgate-border-width pdfgate-max-length pdfgate-font pdfgate-border-color pdfgate-text-color pdfgate-background-color	name value disabled
input[type='number']	This element will create a numeric input field in the generated PDF, allowing the user to enter or view a numerical value.	pdfgate-role pdfgate-optional pdfgate-description pdfgate-form-ignore pdfgate-font-size pdfgate-border-width pdfgate-font pdfgate-border-color pdfgate-text-color pdfgate-background-color	name value disabled
input[type='datetime-local']	Accepted format tokens: yyyy yy mm dd HH hh MM tt ss Default format (if not provided): yyyy-mm-dd HH:MM The value should follow the standard datetime-local input format (e.g., 2025-10-13T15:30:43 or 2022-11-13T11:30). If the value is valid, the PDF field will be pre-filled in the given or default format. If the value is invalid, it will be safely ignored and displayed as an empty field in the PDF.	pdfgate-role pdfgate-auto-fill pdfgate-optional pdfgate-description pdfgate-form-ignore pdfgate-font-size pdfgate-border-width pdfgate-font pdfgate-border-color pdfgate-text-color pdfgate-background-color pdfgate-datetime-format	name value disabled
input[type='date']	Accepted format tokens: yyyy yy mm dd Default format (if not provided): yyyy-mm-dd The value should follow the standard HTML date format (e.g., 2025-10-13). If the value is valid, it will be pre-filled in the PDF. Otherwise, it will be safely ignored and displayed as an empty field.	pdfgate-role pdfgate-optional pdfgate-description pdfgate-form-ignore pdfgate-font-size pdfgate-border-width pdfgate-font pdfgate-border-color pdfgate-text-color pdfgate-background-color pdfgate-datetime-format	name value disabled
input[type='time']	Accepted format tokens: HH hh MM tt ss Default format (if not provided): HH:MM The value should follow the standard HTML time input format (e.g., 15:30:43 or 11:30). If the value is valid, it will be pre-filled in the PDF. Otherwise, it will be safely ignored and displayed as an empty field.	pdfgate-role pdfgate-optional pdfgate-description pdfgate-form-ignore pdfgate-font-size pdfgate-border-width pdfgate-font pdfgate-border-color pdfgate-text-color pdfgate-background-color pdfgate-datetime-format	name value disabled
select	The text content of each <option> tag is used as the option value. Disabled options are filtered out. For multiselect fields, all options marked with the selected attribute will be pre-selected in the generated PDF. Note: multiselect filling is not supported on our digital-signature feature	pdfgate-role pdfgate-optional pdfgate-description pdfgate-form-ignore pdfgate-font-size pdfgate-border-width pdfgate-font pdfgate-border-color pdfgate-text-color pdfgate-background-color	name value disabled multiple
input[type='checkbox']	If the HTML input is checked, the corresponding PDF field will appear checked as well.	pdfgate-role pdfgate-optional pdfgate-description pdfgate-form-ignore pdfgate-border-width pdfgate-border-color pdfgate-text-color pdfgate-background-color	name value disabled checked
input[type='radio']	If the HTML radio input is checked, the corresponding PDF field will appear checked as well. Radio inputs sharing the same name behave as a group. When using pdfgate-description , set it on the first radio input in the group — only the first button's description is shown in the signing UI.	pdfgate-role pdfgate-optional pdfgate-description pdfgate-form-ignore pdfgate-border-width pdfgate-border-color pdfgate-text-color pdfgate-background-color	name value disabled checked
<pdfgate-signature-field />	Defines a field in the PDF where a recipient can provide their signature. Primarily used with the digital signatures feature to collect signatures in the signing UI. It is also compatible with standard PDF tools such as Adobe Acrobat.	pdfgate-role pdfgate-optional pdfgate-description	name

Custom Attributes

Below is a list of all the custom PDFGate attributes you can apply to your HTML inputs to customize the PDF fields.

Attribute	Description	Example
pdfgate-role	Used in the digital signatures feature when your document includes multiple recipients. Specifies which recipient a field belongs to. The value must match the `recipient.role` parameter defined when creating the envelope.	`1<input type="text" pdfgate-role="client" />2<input type="text" pdfgate-role="manager" />`
pdfgate-auto-fill	Automatically fills the field with the current datetime when the document is signed. Used in the digital signatures feature to populate signing timestamps without requiring user input. Values are generated on the server in UTC.	`1<input type='datetime-local' pdfgate-auto-fill='true' />`
pdfgate-form-ignore	Excludes the element from being generated as a fillable PDF field. The field will appear as static content.	`1<input type='text' pdfgate-form-ignore='true' />`
pdfgate-optional	Marks the field as optional in the digital signatures workflow. By default, all fields (including signature fields) are required. Adding this attribute makes the field optional, meaning recipients are not required to fill it in before completing the document.	`1<input type='text' pdfgate-optional='true' />2<pdfgate-signature-field pdfgate-optional='true'></pdfgate-signature-field>`
pdfgate-description	Adds a description to the field, displayed to the recipient in the signing UI to provide context or instructions for that specific field.	`1<input type='text' name='fullName' pdfgate-description='Enter your full legal name as it appears on your ID' />2<pdfgate-signature-field pdfgate-description='Sign here to confirm you agree to the terms above'></pdfgate-signature-field>`
pdfgate-font-size	Sets the font size of the field. If not specified, it is automatically calculated based on the field size.	`1<input type='text' pdfgate-font-size='12' />`
pdfgate-border-width	Sets the border width of the field in PDF points.	`1<input type='text' pdfgate-border-width='3' />`
pdfgate-max-length	Sets the maximum number of characters the field can accept (when applicable).	`1<textarea rows='4' pdfgate-max-length='400'></textarea>`
pdfgate-font	Sets the font used for the field text. Accepted values: times-bold times-italic times-bolditalic helvetica helvetica-bold helvetica-oblique helvetica-boldoblique courier courier-bold courier-oblique courier-boldoblique	`1<input type='text' pdfgate-font='courier-boldoblique' />`
pdfgate-border-color	Sets the border color. Accepts standard hex (e.g., #eb4034 ), RGB (e.g., rgb(235, 64, 52) ), or named colors (e.g., blue , transparent ).	`1<input type='text' pdfgate-border-color='#a84d6a' pdfgate-border-width='1' />`
pdfgate-text-color	Sets the text color. Accepts hex, RGB, or named colors.	`1<input type='text' pdfgate-text-color='#a84d6a' />`
pdfgate-background-color	Sets the background color. Accepts hex, RGB, or named colors.	`1<input type='text' pdfgate-background-color='#a84d6a' />`
pdfgate-datetime-format	Defines the display format for datetime-local , date , time fields (e.g., dd/mm/yyyy HH:MM:ss ). Supported format tokens: yyyy – Full year yy – Two-digit year mm – Month dd – Day of the month HH – Hours in 24-hour format hh – Hours in 12-hour format (if hh is used, include tt as well) MM – Minutes tt – Time period indicator (AM or PM) ss – Seconds	`1<input type='datetime-local' pdfgate-datetime-format='mm/dd/yy hh:MM:ss tt' />`

Note

The fields pdfgate-datetime-format and pdfgate-max-length may not work as expected in all PDF readers. They are fully supported in readers that allow embedded JavaScript, such as Adobe Acrobat.

Standard HTML Attributes

Below is a list of all the standard HTML input attributes that the PDFGate API considers when creating PDF fillable fields.

Attribute	Description	Example
name	Sets the name of the PDF field. If not provided, an incremental name is assigned based on the field type.	`1<input type='text' name='textField' />`
value	Pre-fills the PDF field with the specified value. Also used in the digital signatures feature to prefill the field in the signing UI.	`1<input type='text' value='value' />`
multiple	It can be used on a select element and creates a multiselect component instead of a dropdown.	`1<select id="fruits" name="fruits[]" multiple size="5">2 <optgroup label="Citrus">3 <option value="orange" selected>Orange</option>4 <option value="lemon">Lemon</option>5 </optgroup>6 <optgroup label="Berries">7 <option value="strawberry" selected>Strawberry</option>8 <option value="blueberry">Blueberry</option>9 </optgroup>10</select>`
disabled	Marks the field as disabled in the PDF.	`1<input type='text' disabled />`
checked	Marks the checkbox or radio button as checked.	`1<input type='checkbox' name='skill' value='Java' checked />`
selected	Used in HTML select elements and marks the specified option as selected by default.	`1<option value='orange' selected>Orange</option>`