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Question

Editing in Acrobat moves or deletes text - functionality problems

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
March 11, 2024
2 replies
5772 views

I have to edit a pdf sent to me. When I click on the Edit pdf button in Adobe Acrobat Pro (64-bit) Version 2023.008.20533 and go to the text field and try to decrease the text or move the field, it will either drop down to the bottom of the page or disappear all together. The font is some bizarre Z@R2AE4.tmp. If I change the font of the field the entry will also disappear. Further, there is no way to change the entire document font or align the columns at once. I would have the tedious job of selecting each entry to change the font and align it properly. I must export it to Word and edit it there. I would think there should be some way of making edits in Acrobat simiarly to Word as CTRL + A, but it doesn't appear to be the case.

I also find that Adobe will freeze, and not allow me to highlight, move pages or use in the page view the black square that magnifies a portion of the current view. I must exit out of all Adobe pages and once I reopen Adobe all functionality is restored. I had this problem in my old computer and the same problems exist in my new computer.

[moderator deleted fake e-mail link created due to the font's name structure.]

P

PMitsos

Participant

I find the whole tool to be TOOOOOO SLOW!!!! It's taking me 3 hours to edit 2 pages!!!, and I am nowhere near "done". I type a few sentences of text, and thecdamn computer.....a brand new one....takes forever to actually show what I typed.

I try to move some text boxes to realign them, and it takes forever to get the "+" sign that is needed when grabbing the box to move it. Even when I do get that sign, the dan text box doesn't move.

This software SUCKS!

AND, all versions of PDFs suck on my mobile. Every dmmn one of those apps has a million ads. AWFUL COMPANY!

AnandSri

Community Manager

Hello @PMitsos!

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: 25.001.20474 (Win) | 25.001.20476 (Mac), Apr 28, 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.

Depending on your graphics driver, Acrobat’s hardware acceleration can be a help or a hindrance. Go to Menu → Preferences → Page Display. Toggle “Use 2.0 PDF rendering” (or if that’s not available, toggle “Use hardware acceleration”). Restart Acrobat and test performance.

Disable Enhanced Security & Protected View for testing purposes, only. Turn on these settings later. Security sandboxing can add delays when you type or move objects.

Menu→ Preferences → Security (Enhanced). Deselect “Enable Enhanced Security” (or add your working folders to Trusted Locations). Preferences → Security (Enhanced) → Protected View. Change from “All files” to “Files from potentially unsafe locations” (or turn it off). Restart and see if cursor response and box-dragging improve.

Optimize or Flatten Your PDF. Huge images, transparency, or layers can slow the editor down. File → Save As Other → Optimized PDF. In the optimizer dialog: Downsample large images (e.g. to 150 dpi). Flatten form fields or Transparency. Save and open the optimized file for editing.

Let us know how it goes.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

try67

Community Expert

It's important to understand that (despite what Adobe's marketing will have you believe) Acrobat is NOT an editor in the same way that Word or InDesign are, and that PDF files were never meant to be edited in such a way. Doing so will always be tricky, difficult and often very frustrating or just not possible. If the author of the file did not embed the fonts in it fully, then you'll have a very hard time editing the text in it, for example. And when you edit one "paragraph" the rest of the page (not to mention the other pages) will not re-flow automatically to accommodate the empty space, and so on and so on.

If at all possible, all changes must be made to the original file, and then a new PDF needs to be created for it.

If that's not possible, try exporting the PDF to an editable format and then work on it there.

Acrobat should only be used as a last-resort for editing purposes.

S

Sarah5782Author

Participating Frequently

I do understand that Acrobat is not an editor but since they do have the option to Edit PDF they should have that option in a workable manner so that trying to decrease the size of the font in one text box does not make the text therein disappear or move. I do need to make some adjustments to the pdf so that when I convert it to Word for further alterations that the text aligns properly.

Abambo

Community Expert

I do understand that Acrobat is not an editor but since they do have the option to Edit PDF they should have that option in a workable manner so that trying to decrease the size of the font in one text box does not make the text therein disappear or move. I do need to make some adjustments to the pdf so that when I convert it to Word for further alterations that the text aligns properly.

By @Sarah5782

They can do that, but not on the precise document that you have there. Not all PDF files are created equally, and even that we can do now many things and those things work nicely, contrary to how they worked out 10 years ago. The easiest way to modify a PDF file is still to do so by going to the source, changing what needs to be changed, and recreate the PDF document. You need to export to Word (again, a little wonder that this works so good) and change what you have to change in Word. Word is a word processor, Acrobat isn't.

The font name indicates that some strange things happened to this file during the creation process.

ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer

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