What you'll build
By the end of this guide, you'll have a fully structured, editable online form generated directly from an existing PDF or image. Formaloo AI reads your file, extracts every field and section, and builds a ready-to-use form — no manual rebuilding required. You can then review, adjust, and publish it in minutes.
When to use this
You have a printed or digital form (intake sheet, application, order form, waiver) that you need to put online quickly.
Your team is still using static PDF forms and you want to replace them with something respondents can fill out on any device.
You inherited a legacy document and don't want to spend hours recreating it field by field.
You want AI to do the heavy lifting while you focus on reviewing and publishing.
You have a rough document you want to transform — even a photo of a handwritten form.
Step-by-step guide
Video guide
Text guide
Step 1: Open Magic Create
From your Formaloo dashboard, click + New Formaloo and select Magic Create from the options. The Magic Create modal will open.
📖 New to Magic Create? Start here: How to create any form with AI using Magic Create in Formaloo
Step 2: Upload your document
In the upload section at the top of the modal, drag and drop your file directly into the upload zone — or click it to open the file picker and select your file. Once uploaded, a preview will appear. You can remove or replace it at any time before generating.
📝 Good to know before uploading:
Supported formats: PDF, PNG, JPG, and JPEG only. DOC and DOCX are not supported at this time.
One file at a time: Magic Create supports a single file per generation. If you have multiple documents, combine them first or run Magic Create separately for each one.
Step 3: Add a text description (optional)
In the AI text box below the upload area, you can type additional instructions to guide how the form is generated. Uploading a file alone is enough — but combining both gives you more control over the output.
💡 Pro tip: Upload your document for structure, then use the text box to shape it. For example:
"Make this shorter and focus only on contact fields."
"Turn this into a job application form and add a cover letter field."
"Add required fields for email and phone number."
Your text instructions always take priority over the document content.
Step 4: Click "Create"
Click the Create button. Formaloo AI will parse the document, extract field labels, input types, sections, and structure, then generate a complete form. This takes a few seconds.
📝 If your file cannot be parsed: You will see the message "We couldn't fully understand this file. Try adding a short description to guide us." This usually happens with low-quality images or very complex documents. Add a text description in the AI box to guide the AI, then try again.
Step 5: Review the generated form in the editor
You'll land directly in the Formaloo form editor with your generated form ready. Check each field — labels, field types (text, email, dropdown, checkbox, etc.), required status, and section grouping. Edit anything that needs adjustment.
💡 Want to understand all available field types and how to edit them? Read: Form editor and field types
Final result
You now have a fully editable online form built from your existing document — complete with the right field types, labels, sections, and required fields. What used to take an hour of manual setup is done in under a minute. Your respondents get a clean, mobile-friendly experience instead of a static file they have to print, fill, scan, and send back.
Start from a template
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Perfect for HR teams who want to digitize their existing evaluation sheets and turn them into structured, repeatable online review forms.
👉 Use this ready-to-use template
AI job post description generator
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👉 Use this ready-to-use template
Blog introduction generator
Ideal for content teams who have rough outlines or briefs in document form and want to convert them into structured content input forms.
👉 Use this ready-to-use template
Blog post outline generator
Use this to turn a content brief or document into a structured form that captures all the inputs needed to generate a full blog post outline.
👉 Use this ready-to-use template
Related articles
Want to explore everything Magic Create can do beyond document uploads?
👉 How to create any form with AI using Magic Create in Formaloo
Prefer to build your form from scratch instead?
👉 How to create a form
Not sure what fields to use or how to edit them in the form editor?
👉 Form editor and field types
Want to add a digital signature to your generated form?
👉 How to add a signature field to your forms
Need respondents to attach files or photos when submitting?
👉 How to let users upload multiple documents and images in a Formaloo form
Want to automate what happens after someone submits the form?
👉 How to add advanced logic to your form
Ready to share your form with your team or make it public?
👉 Share your form or app with your team or audience
Want to place the form directly on your website?
👉 How to embed a form into your website
Want all fields visible at once on a single page instead of step by step?
👉 How to create a classic (single-step) form
Want to tighten up the layout of your generated form?
👉 Field width in Formaloo: how to create compact and well-structured forms
Ready to build this?
🚀 Use a template
Start in minutes with a pre-built version of this workflow.
💬 Get help from our concierge team
Our team will help you set this up for your specific use case.
📅 Book a demo for Team/Enterprise setup
See how teams use Formaloo at scale with advanced permissions and integrations.