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Cannot change font, size or anything for typewriter tool

Forum|Forum|16 years ago
April 7, 2009
43 replies
346679 views

Hello all,

I am having an issue with the typewriter tool. I cannot seem to change my font on about 95% of my PDFs? Every once in awhile I am able to change the font and size. But I cannot find a consistancy and cannot figure out the issue? When I want to write on the PDFs to change size or font, it won't allow me to. Any ideas?

Thanks,

Lorne

Create PDFs

Correct answer CtDave

Bon dia lorne17,
Perhaps you need to run a "repair" on Acrobat?

While the change options for Acrobat 8.x Pro/3D are not as fully featured
as those in Acrobat Pro Extended, both do have change options.

With either application I can consistently access the available choices in a fairly
straight forward manner.

Using Acrobat 3D (8.1.4)
Open the Typewriter toolbar. With the Hand tool selected, single click on a text string
entered earlier by the Typewriter tool. The cursor shape becomes up-down, left-right
arrows. Double Click.
The mouse pointer is now an "I-beam" and a blinking cursor line is present at the insertion point. Click-drag to select text.

The Typewriter toolbar's change options become accessible.
(text size and line spacing)
With the text string still selected, right click for the context menu. Go to the bottom
entry (Text Style) from which a secondary menu is presented for some choices for
text style.

Using Acrobat Pro Extended (9.1)
A similar approach. Hand tool > double click > use "I-beam" to click-drag for text selection.
Options for change are now accessible on the Typewriter toolbar.
Unlike Acrobat 8, you have font color, font type and font size as choices with
Acrobat 9.

Be well...

Show previous replies

M

mlukac

Participant

I have had the same problem recently. (cannot change typewriter properties, document has no security features, etc.) I just recently discovered the Adobe hasn't been closing properly all the time. It looks like it closes, but something is hung up and it is still running in the background.

Try this:

Close Acrobat

Open the Windows Task Manager and go to the Processes tab. You should NOT see Acrobat.exe. If you do, End Process.

Open the file again and see if it's fixed.

Note:

I find this happens more often than I like. I rarely turn off my computer. I have a desktop sheet-fed scanner (where I got Acrobat 8). I also have pdf creator software from both Quickbooks and tax software programs. I wonder if Windows sometimes gets confused about how to handle pdf files/regeistry/etc.

Matt

M

Marty95

Participant

Using Acrobat 9.3

This was caused by an Adobe Reader update.

In Adobe Reader go to Tools> Customize toolbar> scroll down & check the Typewriter toolbar.

It worked for me.

A

Anonymous

This solution is intended for Windows 7 users. If you're using another operating system, please Google "user rights management" for ideas on how to do this on other operating systems.a

1. Locate the file you want to edit (the one in which you’d like to change the typewriter font size)

2. Right-click on the document

3. Select “Properties” from the popup menu

4. Select the “Security” tab

5. Click the “Edit” button to the right of where it says “To change permissions, click Edit”

6. Under the “Group or usernames” box you should see multiple different users

7. Select the “Users (your computer name\Users)"

8. Click the “Allow” checkbox to the right of “Full control”

9. Select the “OK” button

10. Select “apply” if it is not grayed out

11. Select “OK”

12. You should now be able to edit the document completely.

It is possible there is a more permanent solution for this, but let’s face it, this one works, and I’m too lazy to search any more on the topic.

U

Ubertam

Participant

I've had this same issue (90% of documents not allowing typewriter to change font, as the selection is grayed out) for a long time. I think I realized the problem: PDF version.

When I generate a PDF from a certain app I use, it is in PDF 1.2 (Acrobat 3.0). I cannot change the font/size/color of the typewriter. I print to PDF in a newer version, and I can.

Check the PDF version (Ctrl+D, Description Tab, Advanced Section) and see if we can figure out if this is truly the case.

I could be wrong, but it just worked for me.

H

HPeters423

Participant

Well.................I do a lot of forms that I scan and then use 9.0 Pro to fill out. Ran into this problem this AM.

I just uninstalled and did a complete reinstall and the problem was solved.

I know this is not the best, fastest or easiest but it worked for me and only took about 1/2 hour. Better than the hour I spent trying to fix the problem and look up the different answers.

Now, I may run into this again but this worked for me and I would not hesitate to do it again to save the time.

Good luck.

H

HPeters423

Participant

Well.................I do a lot of forms that I scan and then use 9.0 Pro to fill out. Ran into this problem this AM.

I just uninstalled and did a complete reinstall and the problem was solved.

I know this is not the best, fastest or easiest but it worked for me and only took about 1/2 hour. Better than the hour I spent trying to fix the problem and look up the different answers.

Now, I may run into this again but this worked for me and I would not hesitate to do it again to save the time.

Good luck.

brennao

Participating Frequently

IN the past we ran into a problem where the typewriter font color would change to something invisible. Our fix for it was to go into the registry. See this article:

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/search/index.cfm?loc=en_us&term=kb%20article%20320120

D

dojistan

Participant

These workarounds are interesting but are of no use to my users.

This is a pixel location problem in my opinion, and definitely a bug which Adobe should fix ASAP.

I have solved this problem in several ways.

1. help tab - repair acrobat installation. Easy; doesn't always work, but definitely worth a try.

2. Check for updates regularly and install them. Again, doesn't always do the trick.

3. Perform registry edit. Close Adobe software. Type "run" in Microsoft Windows Search box - type "regedit" in Run box.

Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER - Adobe Acrobat (or Reader if that is where the problem arises) - Window - cAV files.

Open these and click on the icon of anything that has a large number (in the tens of thousands) in brackets, type in "0", then close registry editor.

This is a fairly serious bit of hacking, so be careful. Normal registry editing disclaimers apply.

On the other hand, you will solve problems like the failure of the pan, zoom, and loupe tool this way too.

4. Remove and reinstall software if all else fails.

Hope this helps!

F

Friedrich225998698lne

Participant

Thank you dojistan

your defenitely right. It is just a pixel location problem.

your solution helped, but may not have been necessary.

I worked through your advice, accept of new installation - typewriter foramt toolbox was still not availabe.

Checked the pdf Standard - it was set to 1.7 so it should work. it didn#t even show up with a self produced pdf where i used it just two day ago.
Finaly I thought about pixel location and as I'm working with a notbook and an upright 24" screen and decieded to set the screenmode to only one monitor. And voila Problem solved formatbox showed up at the bottom as the regedit info states now 0.

So for all who work with multiple windows and an older adobe version I use Adobe X. This might help.

Adobe just saves, wher the boxwindow had been last, and gets mixed up by multiple windows.

J

jbaitis

Participating Frequently

I believe the correct way to do this is to choose the menu option: "Tools"->"Typewriter"->"Enable Typewriter Tool in Adobe Reader..."

Even though you can use the typewriter in Acrobat Pro, for some reason, the font and size is fixed until you "enable" it in Adobe Reader. It looks like it has something to do with security signatures or something. Anyhow, the way this is presented to the user seems profoundly confusing.

A

Anonymous

That works, sort of, but it fundamentally changes the file, after which

other things don't work or work differently. It's for files

specifically being directed to users with only Acrobat Reader. It's not

the way the tool is supposed to work in Acrobat.

No, there's a bug there all right. Nothing seems to work all the time,

but at least I've been able to get something to work every time it's

happened. Enabling the file for Acrobat Reader would be a desperation

option for me.

Spots Stoddard

B

Bruce404ATL

Participant

I, along with countless millions of Acrobat 8 and 9 users, I am sure, have the same problem. If you enable the full formatting of typewritten text (font size, color, line spacing) by "enabling" Adobe Reader then you lose other desired features of the Adobe Acrobat software that you purchased.

This is definitely a serious, inherent software design defect of Acrobat that Adobe is remiss and irresponsible and unresponsive to its customers in not fixing.

Bruce404

A

Anonymous

I'm having the same problem

i started with a "normal pdf"

after adding a few text fields, text boxes and a button my normal pdf tuned into a form.

as soon as i click the text field button in a "normal pdf" the font dropdownlist becomes highlited.

when i click the text field button in a "form pdf" the font dropdownlist stays greyed out.

does anyone know how to work with textfields and not create a form? / why it becomes a form? / activate the font dropdown and more button?

thanx in advance

ps very frustrating seems like a bug to me. don't reply saying: just use the touchUp tool

A

Anonymous

The problem hasn't progressed that far for me. I have found that if I start text 'off page' in the grey area and then move them to where they are wanted, things have continued to work indefinitely. There is also another entry in the string about ensuring all of the text functions are switched on which also helped. But yes it is frustrating how many people will tell you the obvious, especially the dude with the German flag. The problem being of course that the touch up text and typewriter tools are available so erratically.

Bill Medhurst

Environmental Consultant

ELP & Muddy Boots

Level 27, 288 Edward Street, Brisbane QLD 4000

GPO Box 559 Brisbane QLD 4001

P: 07 3239 9700 F: 07 3220 2135

E: bill.medhurst@elp.com.au

W: www.elp.com.au / www.muddyboots.net.au

A

Anonymous

As I admitted earlier, I'm an Acrobat Pro newcomer, so I'm quite sure

I've not encountered every problem. The solutions I posted have worked

for scanned docs for me, though.

On non-scanned forms, my experience is the same as yours (best I can

tell). If I start typing off-page, the Typewriter Tool options come

alive. I've then found I don't even need to drag the field into the

doc. Just click again and it stays working. Usually that persists if I

re-open the file later. Not always. Haven't pinned that down.

This is clearly a bug or more likely a bunch of related bugs. I'd bet

anything up to a nickel one or more of them have to do with non-text

and/or B&W layers, but that still remains a conjecture from afar. And

really irrelevant to workarounds except for twigging to what might be a

possible solution when it happens to you. I almost wish I'd left the

conjecture out of my earlier post, except I thought it might help in

case Adobe ever gets around to taking notice of all this frustration.

Regards,

Spots

eliteflyers_com

Participating Frequently

Activate the TouchUp Text Tool

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