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1

Cannot add text anymore

Community Beginner ,
Jul 15, 2024 Jul 15, 2024

When I select "Edit PDF" and then select "Add Text" and then try to click in a blank space on the page, the entire page or an editable section is selected instead.  It's like the "Edit" is turned on instead of the "Add Text" button.  I used to be able to click anywhere on the page and add my text.  I make notes on all my PDF files that I save (like date and phone call made, date and email text, if a medical claim, how much I paid along with date and how I paid the bill).

I've found the only way to add new text is to try to find a blank area, type new next and then drag and drop that text box to the location I want it.  Or if I had previously added text, I can copy and past that text box and move it to where I need a new text box and overwrite the text.

Why is the sytem thinking I still want to Edit and not just add new text?

I added a screenshot where you can see that "Add Text is highlighted.  I wanted to add a new text below my note of how I paid on 10.17.23, but when I went to click the blank section of the page, Adobe thinks I'm in Edit mode and selected that whole box instead. In the past, when I clicked Add Text and clicked anywhere on the page, a cursor would appear and I could start typing.  I can't do that any longer.

TOPICS
Edit and convert PDFs
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New Here ,
Jul 27, 2024 Jul 27, 2024

I'm having the exact same issue.  I edit pdf forms all day long.  Before I could select "edit pdf" then "add text" and I could drop text anywhere on the document like an overlay.  Then, like you said, I have to find a blank space and put the text and then drag and drop it into the place I wanted it.  Now, that doesn't work because when I select add text Acrobat selects the whole document.  

I called into tech support and they helped me fix it by going back to the old version.  Now I guess they downloaded an update and now even the old version is not working as it did in the past.  Adobe needs to fix this or I need to find a new pdf editing tool.  More over Adobe should have seen this issue coming. 

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Community Expert ,
Jul 28, 2024 Jul 28, 2024

@Robyn38617072apnk @dweisen I am teaching Acrobat next week, and I want to prepare myself with any issues, so am going through the forum for the 'what ifs'...and the version I have is allowing me exactly what you want to do with no issues. I wonder if it's Acrobat Preferences that is giving you these issues on hand?

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Community Beginner ,
Jan 13, 2025 Jan 13, 2025

I'm having the exact same issue. It's maddening and so time consuming to add text to a random location on the document away from all text and then drag every single line. ugh. 

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Adobe Employee ,
Aug 13, 2024 Aug 13, 2024

Hi @Robyn38617072apnk @dweisen 

This issue usually appears if the files have scanned documents or an image. Can you share a file so I can take a look and share my findings? Alternatively, you can try running OCR on the file, choose "Save As" to save the copy of the original document, and try adding text again. 


~Tariq

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New Here ,
Jan 03, 2025 Jan 03, 2025

Has this been fixed? I am suddenly unable to add text also. Same issue - except I can't get it to work at all. If it does let me type it's only one letter? Very strange.

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Adobe Employee ,
Jan 24, 2025 Jan 24, 2025

Hi @Kendra310127895n9m,

 

Sorry for the troubled experience. Could you share a video of what is happening at your end? It will help us understand your workflow and exact problem, and we will be better prepared to either provide a solution or discuss this with the product team.

 

Thank you for your feedback, questions, and continued patience.  

~Tariq

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New Here ,
Jan 29, 2025 Jan 29, 2025

I also cannot add a text box or add text to specific places I need it to go in a document.  Very frustrating.

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Adobe Employee ,
Feb 03, 2025 Feb 03, 2025

Hi @katie_6298 

 

Sorry for the troubled experience. Could you share a video of what is happening at your end? It will help us understand your workflow and exact problem, and we will be better prepared to either provide a solution or discuss this with the product team.

Also, if possible share a PDF file with us. 

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New Here ,
Feb 03, 2025 Feb 03, 2025

Is there a solution to this yet? I'm having the same issue. I can't share the PDF I'm working on since it contains confidential information.

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Adobe Employee ,
Feb 03, 2025 Feb 03, 2025

@Angelic_mentor3930 Thanks for reaching out.
Ideally, adding text to a file shouldn't be a problem. However, I am not aware of exactly what is happening, the nature of the file, how it was created, or whether it is a scanned document. 
It is almost impossible to suggest in this situation. If you are experiencing the issue, help me with the files, the exact steps you are taking to add text to the file, and the version of Acrobat installed on your machine.

 

If possible a screen recording when you are trying to add the text. If you get a video, upload to a cloud drive and share the link in your response.

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 03, 2025 Feb 03, 2025

Here is a link the loom video I created showing how I had to type my name
outside the bounding box, what happened if I tried to type my name on the
line (just inserts name between underlines. Have to type my name outside
the bounding box and then drag & drop where I want.

https://www.loom.com/share/a4b693c117eb4ca9a3e149453e55715f?sid=25edd913-56bb-4795-a16f-71c19d6eba70

Robyn Drucker
[Moderator: Removed Personal information]

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Adobe Employee ,
Feb 04, 2025 Feb 04, 2025

Hi @Robyn38617072apnk

Thanks for sharing the video. It appears you are trying to enter details on the Form fields. If your goal is to enter form field details, I suggest trying using the Fill and Sign feature instead: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/fill-and-sign.html

Let me know if that eases your workflow. In the meantime, I will forward this video to our product engineering team. 

 

~Tariq

 

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 04, 2025 Feb 04, 2025

Here is another video where I speak to describe what is wrong.

https://www.loom.com/share/cc30f78b4cf74f83a69d70f0af440c34?sid=8b8cd80b-5749-42e2-8db7-8b4a8c2d6b25

Robyn Drucker

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Adobe Employee ,
Feb 28, 2025 Feb 28, 2025

Hi @Robyn38617072apnk  -

Thank you for sharing the video recording with us—we truly appreciate it. Seeing the issue firsthand really helps us understand your experience.

I’ve escalated this to our product team, as we recognize that this change in the new experience (Modern Acrobat) is affecting your workflow. As you mentioned, the ‘Add Text’ feature was much more accessible in the previous version, and we understand how frustrating it can be when a familiar tool no longer works the way you expect.

Your feedback is incredibly valuable, and we appreciate your patience as we look into this. Please let us know if there’s anything else we can do to support you in the meantime.

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 03, 2025 Apr 03, 2025

Is there a solution yet? it has now been 5 weeks and still experiencing this issue. 

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New Here ,
Feb 26, 2025 Feb 26, 2025

I have been using adobe for many years and I am disapointed with the changes. It is now time consuming. I am trying to add a simple text box and theres no text box available. 

Please make all the old tools available as before.

Is this a way to make us pay for something that was free.?

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 03, 2025 Apr 03, 2025

it is an issue in paid adobe as well! So frustrating!!

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New Here ,
Mar 28, 2025 Mar 28, 2025

Has this been fixed? I had to get a new company laptop and quit using my own and am now payiing $19.99 a month out of my own pocket to be able to edit PDF's and the feature I used constantly is no longer available. What??????  This is almost useless to me now. 

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Explorer ,
Apr 11, 2025 Apr 11, 2025

Exactly. I was able to insert text into my .pdft forms with the version of Acrobat Reader I had on my Windows 10 computer but in the version of Acrobat Reader I downloaded for my brand-new Windows 11 computer it doesn't work!!!  And naturally Adobe doesn't have the nerve to come in here to give us the official answer.

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Community Beginner ,
Apr 15, 2025 Apr 15, 2025

Same!! Forced to get rid of windows 10, which works great, for Windows 11 that is slower and every application seems to operate differently for no apparent reason!

This adobe issue is so frustrating. I ended up selecting the "Disable New Adobe" in the menu and went back to classic view. Now back to Windows 10 operating, in adobe anyway!

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New Here ,
Apr 24, 2025 Apr 24, 2025

This issue is still not fixed!! I cannot add text. What is going on?

 

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Adobe Employee ,
Apr 25, 2025 Apr 25, 2025

Hi @ronica_5413

 

Sorry for the troubled experience, and thank you for reaching out.
If your question is exactly the same as described above, then it is a known limitation in the Modern Acrobat experience. 

What you may try is disabling Modern Acrobat and checking the behavior: https://adobe.ly/4jrWX0d;

And let us know if that helps.

 


~Tariq

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Explorer ,
Apr 25, 2025 Apr 25, 2025

Thank you @Tariq Ahmad Dar   but your link only produced "404 Page not found.
Page not found. For help, visit Adobe Support."

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Adobe Employee ,
Apr 25, 2025 Apr 25, 2025

Thanks for highlighting it. Here is the URL of the page: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/learn-new-acrobat.html

 

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