Interactive buttons question - How do I make this look better?

Question

Hi -- I'm working on a form for a client that has a rating system using these color-coded circles. There are four colored circles in a row, and the user of the interactive PDF is to choose one. Naturally, radio buttons make the most sense. However, as you see in the PDF (right-hand side of screen shot), it displays this awful square inset. I don't see any way in InDesign to adjust this so that the circles stay solid and only display an asthetically-pleasing indicator of some sort (checkbox, radio circle, outline, etc. ) when clicked.

I've tried leaving them solid circles in InDesign and then adding radio buttons in Acrobat, but it still doesn't look the best.

Is there something simple or creative I'm missing that would make this PDF form look better?

Screenshot 2026-01-26 at 10.34.22 PM.png

Eugene Tyson · Answer

You’re not missing something obvious this is a known limitation with interactive PDFs.

The short version - InDesign’s native radio buttons are limited, and Acrobat doesn’t truly let you restyle them either. But there are a couple of clean workarounds.

Best-looking solution: Fake the radio buttons (custom appearance)

Design your four circles normally in InDesign
Solid colored circles
No form fields yet
Export to PDF
In Acrobat > Prepare a Form

Add radio buttons, but:

Make them transparent
Remove border + fill
Place each one exactly over a circle

Use custom button appearances

In Acrobat:

Properties > Appearance > Create custom appearances

Set:

Normal = solid circle

Selected = same circle + checkmark, dot, ring, or glow overlay

You can even import artwork for the “On” state

This should give:

No square inset
No default Acrobat styling
You control exactly how “selected” looks

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