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S
sostyping
Known Participant
June 16, 2026
Answered

Form fillable and double texts

  • June 16, 2026
  • 3 replies
  • 69 views

I have Adobe Acrobat Pro 2017.  I used word to create a document then made it into a PDF.  Then made it fillable form with no problem.  I filled out some information for a client, emailed it to her and she dated the document.  Once it was returned to me everything I typed and the date the client entered appears doubled. Can you help

Correct answer Randy Hagan

I can see your issue. I would never deny you’re having one if that’s what you’re getting back from your client. But it didn’t show up in the first PDF you shared with us.

I’m using the latest update of Acrobat Pro DC (2026.001.21662) on a Mac tonight to view your PDF files. I’ve attached  the screen capture I made after opening your finished PDF form file. No duplicate entries. 

I tried to open your original pre-filled PDF form, but over the years they’ve limited the ability to work on form fields in PDFs to steer users toward their Adobe Sign online service. It allows me to automatically create a new form, which would guarantee I would have double entries for your text fields. I don’t have the granular control to edit existing fields like found in older versions of the software. That’s one reason why you may want to keep your older version of Acrobat Pro handy as well as maybe upgrading to a new version too.

Hopefully someone else here can chime in with particulars of working with Acrobat Pro 2017. But in the interim, please help us help you by sharing some more information with us:

  • Did your client use Adobe Acrobat to open the file? If so, which version and which type (e.g. Acrobat Pro? Standard? Reader? Studio? A third-party PDF reader?)
  • If you open the file and fill it out yourself, do you get the double-entries onscreen too? Or does the PDF work fine on your end?

You may have to work things out between what you’re using and what your client is. If you can fill out the forms fine, and it appears I can as well, the problem may rest with your client’s setup and not your own. Jus’ sayin’ …

 

Randy

3 replies

S
sostypingAuthor
Known Participant
June 18, 2026

Thank you Randy.  My client said she has a IPhone and it allowed her to highlight the areas and sign the form.  Not a true signature just type her name.  I do not use an IPhone so I am not familiar with this.  When I open the form and fill it out it is fine, no double-entries.  I actually did fill out some areas before sending to client, then sent to her but when I got it back everything was double-entries, the stuff I filled out and the stuff she filled out.   What I have been doing as a workaround is once I get the document back I open with Google Chrome and it looks fine, I print and save as a PDF.  I would not like to do this extra step if at all possible.

Randy Hagan
Community Expert
Randy HaganCommunity Expert
Community Expert
June 18, 2026

When she put in her data, she is creating new text fields. 
 

Try sending her a PDF form with no text fields. I expect you will get single text entries and that should be the end of your issue. And save you effort when you create future forms. 
 

Hope this helps,

 

Randy

Bernd Alheit
Community Expert
Bernd AlheitCommunity Expert
Community Expert
June 17, 2026

When I mouse click in the first field I get this:

 

After deleting the text in the field I see this:

 

May be that the form was not filled with Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat.

S
sostypingAuthor
Known Participant
June 18, 2026

All those areas are areas I fill out before sending to click.  I find it strange that the first field is doubled.

Bernd Alheit
Community Expert
Bernd AlheitCommunity Expert
Community Expert
June 18, 2026

The fields are not doubled.

Randy Hagan
Community Expert
Randy HaganCommunity Expert
Community Expert
June 16, 2026

When I opened the document, I didn’t see what you were describing. Each field had one entry, and each entry seemed relevant to the space allotted for it. 

 

The PDF sample you provided appears to be a filled form. How does the original, not filled out PDF form you sent out look? You may have duplication of some form fields, but I can’t see that from the finished PDF form you supplied us. You may want to open the original, pre-filled PDF form, get your PDF editing toolset and see if you’ve got more form fields in the original than you think.

 

Once you click on the PDF editing toolset, you should be able to see every field form, as well as every other type and graphic element, highlighted on the original PDF document. It’s not unusual, if you used Acrobat’s automatic form creation function, to see such anomalies crop up in the original PDF form you’ve created. These two help file links are a good place to start with troubleshooting PDF file creation issues.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Randy

S
sostypingAuthor
Known Participant
June 16, 2026

I find that very strange that you were seeing something different than I.  I created a jpg so you could see it.

You are correct the PDF that I attached was form filed.  I did look at the original, and I also attached it.  There are no duplication of field that I can see.  I will check out the two links you sent.  It is so strange because I have been doing it the same way for years and not sure what changed.  Thank you

Randy Hagan
Community Expert
Randy HaganCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
June 17, 2026

I can see your issue. I would never deny you’re having one if that’s what you’re getting back from your client. But it didn’t show up in the first PDF you shared with us.

I’m using the latest update of Acrobat Pro DC (2026.001.21662) on a Mac tonight to view your PDF files. I’ve attached  the screen capture I made after opening your finished PDF form file. No duplicate entries. 

I tried to open your original pre-filled PDF form, but over the years they’ve limited the ability to work on form fields in PDFs to steer users toward their Adobe Sign online service. It allows me to automatically create a new form, which would guarantee I would have double entries for your text fields. I don’t have the granular control to edit existing fields like found in older versions of the software. That’s one reason why you may want to keep your older version of Acrobat Pro handy as well as maybe upgrading to a new version too.

Hopefully someone else here can chime in with particulars of working with Acrobat Pro 2017. But in the interim, please help us help you by sharing some more information with us:

  • Did your client use Adobe Acrobat to open the file? If so, which version and which type (e.g. Acrobat Pro? Standard? Reader? Studio? A third-party PDF reader?)
  • If you open the file and fill it out yourself, do you get the double-entries onscreen too? Or does the PDF work fine on your end?

You may have to work things out between what you’re using and what your client is. If you can fill out the forms fine, and it appears I can as well, the problem may rest with your client’s setup and not your own. Jus’ sayin’ …

 

Randy

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