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georgeb1251557
Participant
Aug 10, 2017 6:08 PM UTC
Answered

How to alter text alignment for interactive text fields?

I have been trying to make an interactive form in inDesign with reasonable success, but there is one feature that I need to make the whole thing work; the capability to centre the text in the text field box that I have drawn. The Buttons and Forms tab gives me the option to change text size, but that seems to be the only option available in terms of text formatting.

Knowing how to do other features such as making inputted text bold or underlined would also be helpful.

I have looked around on tutorials but none seem to address my specific issue as far as I'm aware. If anyone is able to help it would be greatly appreciated.

      BobLevine
      BobLevineCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      Nov 12, 2025 6:24 PM UTC

      Bob, could you please elaborate on the replace pages command in Acrobat- we know how to replace it but how to keep formatting that we have already done in acrobat?  We have a form we are doing in Indesign and it will not keep the flush right command in one of the fields. Our concern is months down the road if they make a change to the form in Indesign we don't want to have to change all the time in Acrobat. Thanks so much for your help. 


      View > Tools > Organize Pages. You'll see thumbnails of your pages.

      From the menu at the top, select Replace, navigate to the new PDF and a Replace Pages pop up will allow you to choose the pages to replace and which pages to replace them with.

      View reply

      31 replies

      tawnie5FEC
      Participant
      Dec 13, 2024 8:06 PM UTC

      I actually just struggled with this. When you are in InDesign, select the text box, and then you will be able to click the font alignment tools. Just click whichever alignment you want, and once you export and open in Adobe it works perfectly! I just did it a few minutes ago!

       

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      michaelm87209950
      Participant
      Jan 17, 2025 10:36 PM UTC

      tawnie5FEC - This does not work 

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        jaberle
        Participant
        Sep 8, 2021 4:52 PM UTC

        Has anyone seen or heard any reasoning behind why you can't do this natively in InDesign? It doesn't make much sense to me why Adobe wouldn't allow you to set these things to be applied upon export, instead of having to jump between programs (and to another user's reply, potentially have to reformat if any updates to the base form need to be made). 

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          PCubillos
          PCubillos
          Participant
          Feb 1, 2022 8:07 PM UTC

          I totally agree with jaberle!

          However all I hear is crickets!!!!

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            trentf94967098
            Participant
            Sep 30, 2020 10:08 PM UTC

            put fillable text boxes where you want them in InDesign then export pdf (interactive). Open pdf in Acrobat then click on tools tab>prepare form. Double click on fillable text box to open panel and under options select Center under Alignment drop down.

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              Keicha Tea World
              Participant
              Nov 12, 2020 11:01 PM UTC

              This was extremely helpful - thank you!

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                TᴀW
                TᴀW
                Legend
                Aug 10, 2017 7:25 PM UTC

                It's all possible with our FormMagic | Id-Extras.com

                A free edition is available for short forms.

                Ariel

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                id-extras.com | InDesign tools & scripts for typesetters, form designers, and translators
                  Casamia
                  Known Participant
                  Jun 25, 2022 11:32 PM UTC

                  Maybe, offer a version that one can purchase without a recurring charge.

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                    JakobSternberg
                    Known Participant
                    Jan 6, 2025 11:53 AM UTC

                    Like Adobe? 😅

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                    Barb Binder
                    Community Expert
                    Barb BinderCommunity Expert
                    Community Expert
                    Aug 10, 2017 7:06 PM UTC

                    True, but don't fix it in Acrobat until the form is finished, because if you have to update the form in InDesign, and output a new PDF, you will lose the editing you added in Acrobat.

                    ~Barb

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                    ~Barb at Rocky Mountain Training
                    BobLevine
                    Community Expert
                    BobLevineCommunity Expert
                    Community Expert
                    Aug 10, 2017 7:31 PM UTC

                    Not necessarily. You could always use the replace pages command in Acrobat.

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                    marie_1962
                    Participating Frequently
                    Nov 12, 2025 5:34 PM UTC

                    Bob, could you please elaborate on the replace pages command in Acrobat- we know how to replace it but how to keep formatting that we have already done in acrobat?  We have a form we are doing in Indesign and it will not keep the flush right command in one of the fields. Our concern is months down the road if they make a change to the form in Indesign we don't want to have to change all the time in Acrobat. Thanks so much for your help. 

                    Translate
                    winterm
                    winterm
                    Legend
                    Aug 10, 2017 6:33 PM UTC

                    Can’t be done natively in InDesign. Try in Acrobat. Tools > Forms > Edit. Double click on the text field to get Properties. Change its Alignment in Options tab.

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