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Participating Frequently
May 29, 2017
Answered

Change Text size on Acrobat Reader

I have Acrobat Reader and I'm typing on a fillable PDF form and I would like to change the font/text size. I've read some questions and answers on the Adobe forum and it seems that the text functions on what's called "Auto-Fit" in which the text size changes to the size that needed to fit the box that you're typing in and the text consequently becomes smaller as  more text is added so that it fits the box. However, sometimes the text ends up much too small for the size of the box and is therefore difficult to read so I'd like to enlarge it.  I would also like to be able to reduce the size of the text in other boxes when it comes out very large because I only typed a sentence or two. After reading the forums, I'm wondering if I need to purchase Acrobat DC in order to do this. Thank you.

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Bernd Alheit
Bernd AlheitCorrect answer
Community Expert
May 29, 2017

When the form is not protected you can change form fields with Adobe Acrobat, not Acrobat Reader.

10 replies

Participant
December 31, 2021

It is possible to increase size by 7% on A4 paper, simply by going to 'More Settings' and choosing ' Customised'.

Makes a significant improvement for reading.

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Participating Frequently
May 30, 2017

Thanks for your feedback

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Participating Frequently
May 30, 2017

I also figured out that I could copy the small text in the box to Word, enlarge it there, cut it from the PDF doc and then paste it back to the PDF doc in a larger font.

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Participant
March 1, 2020

I found this worked for me, but then I reached out to the people who made the product I was editing, and they told me to go to the dropdown menu --- View>Show/Hide>Toolbar Items>Show properties bar.  I was able to adjust the size once this bar popped up. I know it's old, but maybe someone else can use this info!

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Participant
April 24, 2020

Oh my gosh, I badly needed this info for an overdue school project (we have to submit our forms in specific-sized text boxes and my text was overflowing so my teacher let me figure out how to make it smaller and resubmit). Thank you so much, you are a lifesaver! 

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jane-e
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 29, 2017

https://forums.adobe.com/people/Barbara+Frey  wrote

After reading the forums, I'm wondering if I need to purchase Acrobat DC in order to do this. Thank you.

Yes. But you can get a 7-day trial version to make sure it works for you.

If you have questions about forms, ask them here:

PDF Forms

And as Bernd said, if the form is locked, you won't be able to make changes. If, however, it was saved so that users of versions early than Reader XI can save the form, it is locked for editing and you can make it editable again with File > Save a Copy.

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Participating Frequently
May 30, 2017

I figured out that I could copy the text that is too small from the PDF doc, paste it into Word, enlarge it there and then paste it back on the PDF doc in larger font.

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Bernd Alheit
Community Expert
Community Expert
May 30, 2017

You can select the text in field, press ctrl-e, and change the font size.

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Bernd Alheit
Community Expert
Bernd AlheitCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
May 29, 2017

When the form is not protected you can change form fields with Adobe Acrobat, not Acrobat Reader.

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