Fillable forms were working and now they are not.

[CherylAJames]

In my company, we have several fillable forms that have been working for a long time.  They have NOT been changed or updated.  All of the users, download the form and try to fill them out in Adobe Acrobat Reader.  NOT a browser. 

However, all of the fields that are supposed to be fillable are flat.  I have checked the version of Acrobat Reader and it is the current version on all of the computers.  Our IT departments answer is that the users will all need the Pro version of Acrobat.  We have over 250 users of these forms.  Our company can't afford Pro licenses for that many people.  

What is causing this?  

[Bernd Alheit]

What happens when you use Acrobat Pro?

[try67]

Your IT dept. is wrong. Forms should be fillable in Reader without issues, especially if it's the latest version. There's no need to get Acrobat just for that.

What exactly happens when you try to fill them in there? Is there an error message of some kind?

[Ninackiom]

I'm having a similar problem.  All my fillable fields are now trying to convert to e-sign, including my drop-down menus.  I have Acrobat Pro and I checked the properties of a few fields, and there isn't anything different.

[Kev3681558579b9]

Same issue with Ninackiom in Acrobat Pro.

It was working fine, and all of sudden the fields/dropdown are not fillable/selectable. (check box works)

But I found a way, you enter into E-Sign menu, then click the fillable fields and it will enter as before.

Not sure why they added extra step for normal fields and dropdowns too, but I suspect something to do with e-signatures.

[Ali2562537025zt]

I've had the exact same issue but this fix has been golden, thanks Kev.

Seems like a clunky way of doing things but works as before now

[marketingwellbeingpeople]

They has worked for me as well . Thank you 

[raydiiulio]

This is a perfect description of the problem and solution

Thanks Kev 👍🙏

[Nadinevdl]

Hi! So I've experienced exactly the same issue and was dumb-founded about it. Even if the fields worked perfectly before, I actually went and re-checked all my Javascript codes, just to make sure I didn't miss anything. Then I found your comment, and I tried the "E-Sign" tool as suggested and everything worked perfectly. Hope this extra step will fall away as it seems un-necessary just to fill in a form, especially with the convenience we had before to just start filling in once a form was opened. Took me almost 4 hours to sort this out (or am I just a bit slow on all the updates taking place🤣), thankful for these discussions!

[marc2454694705c3]

You are a lifesaver, thank you. This has been driving my staff nuts for weeks. We have been using a work around of loading into browsers just to fill out forms until we found a solution. 

This isnt much a solution, but it sure is better than what I could find from Adobe direct. Feels very much like an unintended implementation consequence of something else.

[Christina369423399dse]

Thank goodness! I thought I was all alone! I'm having this issue too. I have SEVERAL fillable forms I use on a daily basis and they are ALL doing this!

[Meenakshi Negi]

Hi CherylAJames, Ninackiom and Kev3681558579b9,

Thank you for reaching out and reporting this issue.

Please check and let us know if the issue occurs with all the PDFs. More information about the issue would be helpful in further investigation.

Did you start experiencing this behavior after the recent update? Have you ever experienced this behavior before?

It would be helpful if you could share the PDF form with the issue and the screen recording of the steps you take to fill out the form. Also, share the Acrobat and OS versions currently in use.

Thanks,

Meenakshi

[BartCoulter]

Same issue for me as well on all fillable form PDFs.  I have a coworker that did not upgrade & the form works correctly on the old version.  We both have have Adobe acrobat pro.  64 bit Windows 10.  Recording-20240418_114605

[Amal.]

Hi @BartCoulter 

Hope you are doing well and thanks for reaching out.

This issue has already been reported to our engineering team for review.

We will share the update as soon as we get any information.

Thanks for your understanding

~Amal

[Meenakshi Negi]

Hi BartCoulter,

Thank you for sharing the information. 

We have shared the details with the team, and they are investigating further. We will update you once we have more information.

We appreciate your patience.

Thanks,

Meenakshi

[cyoun001]

I am having the same issue, I have two coworks using the old version and they have no problem, I updated my Pro and now I can't fill forms unless I use the E-Sign work around.

[marc2454694705c3]

Please See Kev3681558579b9's post on Apr 17, 2024. I think they put their finger on the issue and I hope Adobe can use that to fix it. This type of error is prolific in a lot of users of Adobe right now. I have spoken outside of my company with other users having the same problems and not sure how to fix it. 

[AngelaGDuncan]

I use Pro version and have this same issue.  Check boxes work but the form fields have a box but you cannot enter characters. A fill in forms field box pops up but is greyed out and the request e-signature option comes up too.  This has happened in the last 60 days.  If I open on a web browser (not in Adobe) I can fill in the document and save "with my changes".  What has changed and how do we fix this?

[AMOW]

We are having the same issue at my office. We can no longer enter text in our often-used fillable pdf forms. 

I'll try the fix suggested below by Kev3681558579b9 (THANK YOU KEV!!), but hope that the process returns to its orginal efficiency. 

[topanga90290]

Same here...we have been creating and using forms for years. The feature is not working now. I just "prepared a form" and the fields are not editable. Previously created forms are not functioning correctly. As well, recently during the form creation process, the app will automatically convert all text into the editable text (changing the font type during the process) and render the entire document unusable.

[AMOW]

It's frustrating isn't it?! We have work to do! 🙂

[Meenakshi Negi]

Hi All,

Thank you for your patience so far.

The issue has been resolved. Please reboot the machine and then relaunch Acrobat.

Then, wait for some time and try to fill out the forms again. 

Let us know how it goes.

Thanks,

Meenakshi

Marking a reply or response “Correct” will help future users with the same issue quickly identify the correct answer.

[AMOW]

Yes...!!!! It works!!!! Thank you so much!!

[Meenakshi Negi]

Hi AMOW,

Thank you for the confirmation.

Glad to know it works now. 

Thanks,

Meenakshi

Got your issue resolved? Please label the response as 'Correct Answer' to help your fellow community members find a solution to similar problems.

[Morgan5DE6]

Hello, I am currently having the same problem in Acrobat Pro 32 bit where every single fillable form is no longer fillable.  This started only after an update on Sept. 16 - all the forms were fillable until then.  Coworkers in my office are still on their old 2016 Adobe licences and are able to use the forms as we always have, without any issue.  I tried using the workaround suggested in this thread, but I believe E-Sign has also been updated and no longers works in the way that helped this current issue.  I have built hundreds of forms for my company over the last 15 years - there is no way I will be able to recreate them all. 

Thank you,

Morgan