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Participant
Jan 23, 2025 9:12 PM UTC
Question

Fillable form radio buttons that should be checkboxes

Hi, 

 

I work on many forms for a large client (of which I can't share files or work from, so please don't ask). Every time I run their new forms through Make Accessible (where it auto populates the fillable fields) its creating fillable radio buttons for all my many yes/no question checkboxes. I'm hoping there's a setting I can change?? If not, there should be. Not sure why you couldn't tell acrobat your preference or have a way of changing it later. I'm also not asking how to make them "look like a check" when you select it or how to code the name of the field between both fillable fields so it "functions" like a yes/no checkbox. I want the properties, when I select it, at the top of the properties window to say Checkbox Properties.. not Radio Button Properties. Because radio buttons you can't unselect, and checkboxes you can. I had a colleague tell me I would have to hand create the checkboxes, and even if I copy and paste at best that still means I'm renaming tons of copied and pasted fields and wasting time. 

3 replies

JR Boulay
Community Expert
Community Expert
Jan 24, 2025 9:27 AM UTC

The principle of automatic recognition is simple:
circle = radio button
square = checkbox.
You should talk to your large client about it.

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Acrobate du PDF, InDesigner et Photoshopographe
Participant
Jan 24, 2025 3:17 PM UTC

The forms are designed with square checkboxes in InDesign. Not circles. So, I fail to see how Acrobat is recongizing them as radio buttons when I run it to create fillable fields before making it accessible. 

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try67
Community Expert
Community Expert
Jan 23, 2025 10:58 PM UTC

There isn't such a setting, and changing form fields type is not simple. You basically have to delete them, then create new ones with the new type.

You can do that automatically using this (paid-for) tool I've developed:

https://www.try67.com/tool/acrobat-convert-form-fields-type

 

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