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Duplicate text boxes on different pages

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
December 14, 2021
4 replies
7452 views

On pages 30, 31 of this pdf, any text box i add is showing up on the other page and vice versa, what is the fix?

Correct answer AnandSri

I hope you are doing well, and we apologize for the delayed response and the trouble.

Please ensure you have the latest version of Acrobat installed on the machine: 25.001.20531 (Win) | 25.001.20529 (Mac), planned update June 10, 2025. Check for any pending updates from the Menu > help > check for updates, install the updates, restart the app and the machine, and try again.

Are you on a Mac or a Windows machine, and what is the version?

This issue is often caused by:

Linked or duplicated text fields that share the same internal name or object ID.
Acrobat mistakenly treats static text boxes as form fields, especially when the file was created or edited using tools like InDesign, Word, or browser-based PDF editors.
Corrupted structure or metadata in the PDF that causes edits to propagate unintentionally.

Check for Shared Field Names.
Even if it’s not a form, Acrobat may treat text boxes as fields if they share the same name:

Go to All Tools > Prepare Form
Double-click the text box
Check the field name; if it’s the same across pages, change it to something unique.

Flatten the PDF.
Flattening removes interactive elements and makes the text static:

Open the PDF
Go to Menu > Print > Save as PDF (this flattens the file)
Reopen and try editing again.

Use “Edit PDF” Instead of “Prepare Form.”
If you’re not working with forms, avoid using the “Prepare Form” tool. Instead:

Use All Tools > Edit PDF
This ensures Acrobat treats the content as static text, not interactive fields.

If the issue continues, please provide the following information: the current version of the operating system on your device, a sample PDF file, a screen recording with the steps/workflow of the issue, and the logs from the affected machine. To collect the logs, download and run the Log Collector tool. Make sure to select all log options and attempt to reproduce the issue. After that, close the Log Collector tool; it will generate the logs along with a log ID. Please share this log ID with us for further investigation.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

T

tenebrism

New Participant

I'm having the same exact issue. I simply edit text in one box on one page, like changing a hyphen to an en dash, then it replicates the whole block of text onto the following 10 pages. I'll close the PDF without saving it, and my change (hyphen to en dash) is not saved, but all of the duplicate text is. I'm running 2025.001.20476 on a Mac. It's not a form, either.

M

Maritza31844488migi

New Participant

I'm having the same issue. It doesn't happen all the time though. Don't have a fix for that, unfortunately.

AnandSri

Correct answer

Community Manager

Hello @Maritza31844488migi

I hope you are doing well, and we apologize for the delayed response and the trouble.

Please ensure you have the latest version of Acrobat installed on the machine: 25.001.20531 (Win) | 25.001.20529 (Mac), planned update June 10, 2025. Check for any pending updates from the Menu > help > check for updates, install the updates, restart the app and the machine, and try again.

Are you on a Mac or a Windows machine, and what is the version?

This issue is often caused by:

Linked or duplicated text fields that share the same internal name or object ID.
Acrobat mistakenly treats static text boxes as form fields, especially when the file was created or edited using tools like InDesign, Word, or browser-based PDF editors.
Corrupted structure or metadata in the PDF that causes edits to propagate unintentionally.

Check for Shared Field Names.
Even if it’s not a form, Acrobat may treat text boxes as fields if they share the same name:

Go to All Tools > Prepare Form
Double-click the text box
Check the field name; if it’s the same across pages, change it to something unique.

Flatten the PDF.
Flattening removes interactive elements and makes the text static:

Open the PDF
Go to Menu > Print > Save as PDF (this flattens the file)
Reopen and try editing again.

Use “Edit PDF” Instead of “Prepare Form.”
If you’re not working with forms, avoid using the “Prepare Form” tool. Instead:

Use All Tools > Edit PDF
This ensures Acrobat treats the content as static text, not interactive fields.

If the issue continues, please provide the following information: the current version of the operating system on your device, a sample PDF file, a screen recording with the steps/workflow of the issue, and the logs from the affected machine. To collect the logs, download and run the Log Collector tool. Make sure to select all log options and attempt to reproduce the issue. After that, close the Log Collector tool; it will generate the logs along with a log ID. Please share this log ID with us for further investigation.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

M

Maritza31844488migi

New Participant

I am facing this same issue. Have uodate software, repaired and restated. Norhing seems to work!

Amal.

Community Manager

Hi there

Hope you are doing well and thanks for reaching out.

As you have updated the application, make sure it is updated to the latest version 25.01.20458 go to help > Check for updates and reboot the device.

Also share the sample PDF file and a small video recording of the steps you are taking and the issue as it occurs so we can get this checked at our end.

S

Sunny_Forest98A5

New Participant

I AM HAVING THE SAME ISSUE, AND YES I HAVE REBOOTED AND REINSTALLED. NO UPDATES USING LATEST PRO VERSION AND IT MAKES MY WORK VERY TACKY AND UNPROFESSIONAL, LIKE I AM SOME LOONY WHO CAN'T USE A PC.

J

Jeffrey231058389a4v

Participating Frequently

This happens to me a lot. I add some text to one page, while in Edit mode, and it places a duplicate text box on some other page, so, every time I add in some text, I have to go through the whole document to ensure that it has not repliacted elsewhere...very time consuming and annoying.

Here's an example of an original text that I wrote where it's supposed to be:

And, here, Adobe Acrobat Pro just decided to stick it into someone's Taxpayer Identification Number box on another page (I've cropped out PII to protect the form-owner).

Sometimes, if I haven't done any further editing or saving, I can click on the text box and delete it. Other times, like in this particular case I'm unable to delete the duplicate. So, I am going to have to recreate the original document.

This is a frequent problem and I'd really like a solution to keep it from happening.

Amal.

Community Manager

Hi there

Is this an issue with a particular PDF file or with all the PDFs? Please try with a different PDF file and check. If the file is stored on a shared network/drive please download it to your computer locally and then try again.

What is the version of the Acrobat DC you are using? To check the version go to Help > About Acrobat and make sure you have the recent version 23.06.20380 installed. Go to Help > Check for updates and reboot the computer once.

Also, make sure that the name of the text boxes on the pages are different (Not same). Open the PDF form > go to Tool > prepare form > Double click on the text box to open the text box properties and change the name of the text box/s.

~Amal

J

Jeffrey231058389a4v

Participating Frequently

I work with 100s of pdfs each month, and it happens to half a dozen on good months and several dozen on bad months.

I do reboot when it occurs, but, some days, it happens on every document I work in. That would be a lot of reboots. Also, Our IT folks have reinstalled the software at least four times this year, and I even moved it to a new laptop, and it's still creating this error.

Isn't there a way that I can prevent it from creating these duplicate boxes in the first place? I shouldn't have to search through a document renaming text boxes that weren't supposed to be there. Renaming boxes that I don't create isn't really an acceptable solution.

Amal.

Community Manager

Hi there

Hope you are doing well and sorry to hear that. As described the text box gets dupliacted .

Please make sure that the name of the text boxes on the pages are different (Not same). Open the PDF form > go to Tool > prepare form > Double click on the text box to open the text box properties and change the name of the text box/s.

Regards

Amal

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