Create a Google Form from a PDF?
March 10, 2023 5:30 PM   Subscribe

Is there a method or (free!) add on that will allow me to take a PDF and make a Google Form from it, add in fields for multiple choice and fill-in-the-blank answers, and save the answers generated?

I realize this is a longshot but I thought I'd try. I am a teacher and have a PDF version of a textbook. I want to use the quizzes/tests in the book to quiz my students. But if I use a standard Google Form that means transcribing those tests word by word, which isn't really an option. But if I could take the PDF and somehow add fields to it in Google Forms, allow users to answer questions as with any Google Form, and record the data--as with any Google Form. I have seen a paid add on that does this but it's far too expensive.

BTW I have tried to convert the PDF to a Google Doc but that just turns into a jumbled mess; there are too many graphics and odd margins for that to work. In short I am looking for Google Forms to be a kind of layer over a PDF, but a layer that I can add fields, questions, etc. Any help with this would be great.
posted by zardoz to Computers & Internet (2 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Automagical Forms claims to be able to do exactly this using PDFs in your Google Drive. The free tier only allows 6 pages/year - basically just enough the try it out/for one-off use but the individual tier is only $26/month for unlimited pages.
posted by gible at 7:47 PM on March 10, 2023


Similarly, I have used jotform, which has a restrictive free tier. It works surprisingly well, although you will need to do a little massaging.

Alternatively, you can substitute elbow grease for money. Google Forms will let you insert graphics into questions, so you could clip out the relevant sections in your PDFs and insert those as questions.
posted by adamrice at 7:43 AM on March 11, 2023 [1 favorite]


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