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kmwhitt
Inspiring
May 28, 2023
Answered

Unable to Edit Form

  • May 28, 2023
  • 2 replies
  • 15092 views

I spent an entire afternoon creating a form.  This was my first time doing so.  Foolishly, I saved as Reader Extended PDF and overwrote the original file (Save As Other > Reader Extended PDF > Enable More Tools).  Now when I open the file, I am unable to edit the form even though I am the original creator.  I choose “Prepare Form” with the file open and then hit “Start”.  I get a message that states:

 

“This document restricts some Adobe Acrobat features to allow for extended features in Adobe Acrobat Reader.  To create a copy of the document that is not restricted (and has no extended features in Adobe Acrobat Reader), click Save a Copy…”

 

When I “Save a Copy” as instructed, I get an error message that reads, “You cannot edit this file as a form due to its security settings.”

 

I am now clearly stuck, and the entire day was a waste of time.  Does anyone have any suggestions for recovering my ability to edit this form?

 

Much thanks, Kevin.

    Correct answer kmwhitt

    Thanks for the reply.  I found a workaround by extracting the page into another PDF (it was a one page form).  Not sure why it worked this way, but I was then able to edit the form.  This may well be a security flaw within Acrobat but it worked beautifully and I'm glad it did.

    2 replies

    K
    kmwhittAuthorCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    May 29, 2023

    Thanks for the reply.  I found a workaround by extracting the page into another PDF (it was a one page form).  Not sure why it worked this way, but I was then able to edit the form.  This may well be a security flaw within Acrobat but it worked beautifully and I'm glad it did.

      C
      chantalg79746184
      Participant
      January 29, 2025

      Thanks for posting this, it worked for me as well!

        ls_rbls
        Community Expert
        ls_rblsCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        May 29, 2023

        @kmwhitt ,

         

        If Save As Copy is not working, you may need to Print the form selecting Adobe PDF as the virtual printer ( provided that you didn't disable the ability to print the form to PDF).

         

        In which case (considering the fact that somehow you don't have a copy of the original editable PDF form), this may be the easiest way to recreate the form without doing it all over again from scratch, I'm afraid.

         

        For future reference, always save a copy of the original file with a different file name, leaving the original intact.

         

        Then, you may use that copy to test with Reader-enabled rights.

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