Change Tab order manually does not work

[Angelique28655872n8ko]

I have designed a 2 page form.

The tab order was not how it was supposed to be so I started changing it.

Page 1 is all fine and it went smooth.

When I got to page 2 however it stopped working.

No matter what I do, I cannot change the tab order for any of the fields on page 2.

I tried again on page 1 and that still works fine.

What is wrong with my 2nd page that is not allowing me to change the taborder?

[JR Boulay · Accepted solution]

Yes, it's a strange bug.

But you can use the automatic order:

[kglad]

in the future, to find the best place to post your message, use the list here, https://community.adobe.com/

p.s. i don't think the adobe website, and forums in particular, are easy to navigate, so don't spend a lot of time searching that forum list. do your best and we'll move the post if it helps you get responses.

<moved from using the community>

[try67]

Go to Edit - Preferences - Forms and make sure that "Automatically adjust tab order when modifying fields" is ticked off.

[Angelique28655872n8ko]

I turned it off, but it doesn't help 😞

Page 1 is adjustable, page 2 isn't.

[JR Boulay · Accepted solution]

Yes, it's a strange bug.

But you can use the automatic order:

[Angelique28655872n8ko]

thnks, that worked. and after using this option it also lets me do it manually

[JR Boulay]

"Go to Edit - Preferences - Forms and make sure that "Automatically adjust tab order when modifying fields" is ticked off."

This option is a nightmare!

[defaultfs9truzuagkv]

Exact same problem on a 2 page form. Based on the post of JR Boulay I went to "Organise pages", moved the troublesome page 2 to page 1, then went back to "Prepare a form" and it worked. 

I have now swapped the pages back to the correct original order and both seem to be working.

[Garbab]

I also did this as it was the easiest way to fix my issues. You would think that if it's a known bug they would have figured out a fix after almost two years since just this thread was posted.

[CRMortaraCSC]

I'm having the same issue in an Adobe Pro form. It is a 10 page document, and page four is not allowing me to reorder the fields. I have tried changing the preferences as referenced above (didn't help), closed the document and reopened in Organize pages and moved page 4 to page 6  then reopened in Prepare Form (didn't work). I don't have the option to organize tabs by row. Is that in a different app? Please help! This is making me nutty.

[LGN__]

Thanks for that.  That technique worked for me!

🙂

[AnandSri]

Hello!

I hope you are doing well, and glad to know that the issue got fixed. Feel free to reach out if you need any assistance.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

[brent_4590]

I am having the same issue, and this has not worked for me

[Amal.]

Hi there 

Hope you are doing well and we are sorry to hear that the issue still exists.

Is this an issue with a particular PDF file or with all the PDFs? Please try with a different file and check.

What happens when you try to use the Automatic Order as suggested in the correct answer, do you get any error message? If yes, please share the screesnhot of the same for more clarity. A small video recording of the steps you are taking and the issue as it occurs would be very helpful. 

Also make sure the Acrobat application is updated to the latest version 25.01.20623. Go to Help > Check for updates and reboot the computer once.

Let us know how it goes.

~Amal

[brent_5270]

I just checked for updates, my system is up to date, and based on the fact that everyone on here is complaining about the same thing, I would suggest it is likely an issue with most, if not all, PDF's that you try and send for signatures. 

I followed the work around to your issue in the above post, but it did not work for me. 

I dont really feel like creating a short video or investing mush more time in this. Why dont you try creating and sending one yourself and you will encounter the same problem as everyone else on here.

[Tariq Ahmad]

Thanks for reaching out, 

When you are creating a form or fields on a PDF file, please ensure "Prepare form for e-signing" is selected. 

The fields applied for the normal PDF form in Acrobat don't behave exactly as they do when using Acrobat Sign.

You can also learn more about Acrobat Sign Web form: https://adobe.ly/4oyvTPA

Let us know how it works.

Best regards,
Tariq | Adobe Community Team

[brent_5270]

I have tried this, it does not work still.  Have you guys tried any of these fixes yourself before posting them here?

[brent_4590]

I have tried "prepare form for e-signing" the tab order is still not
correct. I have tried "prepare form for e-signing" and then the fix that
was mentioned in the post... and it still doesnt work.

[Meenakshi Negi · Accepted solution]

Hi brent_4590,

Thank you for the information, and sorry about the trouble caused.

The issue posted in this thread seems different from what you are referring to. Others mentioned a problem with the workflow to change the tab order, which is not working for some pages in multipage PDFs in Acrobat.

If I understand correctly, you mention that the tab order does not work when you send the document for signature. Is that correct?

If yes, then that is a designed behavior in Acrobat Sign. The tab order works in a particular way in the Acrobat Sign form: it moves from left to right in a sequence.

Let us know if you are referring to something else. We will get it checked.

Thanks,

Meenakshi