How do I map a form field to a PDF checkbox or radio group?

Last updated: September 25, 2026

A PDF Checkbox carries one option each — you place one per answer. A PDF Radio Group carries the whole answer in a single field. Picking the wrong one is the most common reason a tick mark lands in the wrong place.

Which one you need

Look at the PDF, not at your form. The original document decides this.

The PDF shows

Use

How many PDF fields

Separate boxes to tick — one per answer, or a single yes/no box

Checkbox

One per answer you want to be able to tick

A set of mutually exclusive circles that already behave as one control

Radio Group

One, holding every option

The difference comes down to what gets sent to the PDF. A Checkbox receives a condition — "tick this box when the answer is Employee and spouse." A Radio Group receives the answer itself, then finds the option inside the group whose value matches and selects it.

That makes Checkbox the more forgiving choice. It works no matter what your form field's option labels are, because the comparison happens before the value reaches the PDF. A Radio Group only works when the group's option values already match your form field's option values.

Map to a PDF checkbox

This is the path you'll use most, and it's what Onboarded creates for you when you drag a field onto the page.

  1. Open your form's draft version and go to the PDF tab.

  2. Drag the form field from the field list onto the box on the page. Because the field has options, Onboarded asks which one this box represents — Choose a value from the options below.

  3. Pick the single option that should tick this box, then confirm. You should see a new mapping named for the field and the option you chose.

  4. Repeat for each remaining box on the page. A field with four options and four boxes on the PDF needs four mappings.

If the form field is a plain yes/no checkbox rather than a multi-option field, step 2 asks a narrower question instead — Choose which checkbox state should check this PDF field — and offers true and false. Pick true for a box that should be ticked when the employee says yes, and false for the paired "no" box some forms print alongside it.

One box per option is not optional. If you map a single PDF checkbox to a multi-option field and skip the rest, only the one option you chose ever ticks — every other answer leaves the whole group blank on the finished PDF, with no error to tell you.

Map to a PDF radio group

Dragging a field onto the page always creates a Checkbox, so a radio group is something you add yourself.

  1. Right-click where the control belongs on the page and choose Radio Group from the field menu.

  2. Set Radio value on each circle in the group to the option value it stands for — Yes, Male, Option A. Every circle in the group shares one field name and differs only by this value.

  3. Map your form field to the group. The employee's answer passes through as-is; the group selects the circle whose Radio value matches.

If nothing is selected on the finished PDF, the values don't line up. A form field storing Full time against a circle whose Radio value is Full-time finds no match and leaves the group empty. Make them identical, or switch to Checkbox mappings, which don't care.

Confirm it worked

Preview the form, answer the question each way, and generate the PDF each time. The right box ticks on every answer, and switching answers moves the tick rather than adding a second one.

If a box never ticks, check these in order:

  • The mapping exists for that specific option — not just for the first one you set up.

  • The option value in the mapping matches the form field's option value exactly, including case.

  • On a hand-placed checkbox, On value matches the appearance state the PDF expects. Onboarded defaults it to Yes, which is what most PDFs use.

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