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Wrigley_1060
Participating Frequently
December 15, 2023
Answered

Editing text in PDF - driving me crazy!

  • December 15, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 3675 views

Hi there,

I was "gifted" a few PDFs that are originally IRS forms that I have to make some changes on.  Originally, these forms were templates that someone could easily fill in the info.  But now, these PDFs that I am trying to modify the data, when I go to Edit (and I have tried this in 1,000 ways) it selects TOO much of the area (it becomes a blue box with the handle on top).  So when I try to type anything, even if I just select the word I want to change, everything inside the blue box disappears.  It's driving me nuts.  I know that it would be much better to start from the original template and re-create this, but I really really want to learn how to do this so that it will be easier to deal with next time.  Thank you please send help!!!  🙂

    Correct answer try67

    Hi there Try67,

    Thank you so much for your reply.  When you copy the box to another file, what kind of file do you mean? I just want to be clear what this other "file" looks like so I'm doing it right (or do as well as I can 🙂  - I appreciate your help!! 🙂

    Rachel 


    Just another, blank PDF file.

    2 replies

    Randy Hagan
    Community Expert
    Randy HaganCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    October 14, 2025

    Unless you need entered data from those IRS forms, I'd suggest that you just download them again from the irs.gov website.

     

    The federal government has put a lot of effort to design consistent fillable forms that you can download directly from them. Why mess with something that's designed to be easy to fill out, sign digitally and sent/distributed to IRS specification?

     

    Jus' sayin' ...

     

    Randy

    W
    Wrigley_1060Author
    Participating Frequently
    December 15, 2023

    By the way, I'd even settle for a quickie solution, like putting a text box or something OVER the words I want to replace.  I wish I could just delete the few letters I need to delete and just type over the thing that I want to type, but it's apparently in some mode that won't let me do this.  Ahhhh!! 🙂

    Thom Parker
    Community Expert
    Thom ParkerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    December 15, 2023

    If they were from the IRS, then it is possible they are static XFA forms.  In this case you'd need the AEM forms tool to edit them.  

    Can you post one of the forms?

     

    Thom Parker - Software Developer at PDFScriptingUse the Acrobat JavaScript Reference early and often
      W
      Wrigley_1060Author
      Participating Frequently
      December 15, 2023

      HI there Thom,

      Thanks for your reply!  Does the screenshot of the section I am having an issue with give any insight as to what else I need to do?   Thank you!

       

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