Fillable PDF document from Word file using Prepare Form not working

[Robert36603697xtam]

Hello. What I am trying to do seems so simple I am not sure why it is not working or what I am doing wrong. I am working with a professor to create a Fill-in-the-blank document. It is my understanding that once the Word document is converted to a PDF, the Prepare Form tool should easily identify the blank underline sections and blank table cells and add text fields; however, the automatic feature basically does nothing. Occasionaly it will find one or two blanks and/or empty cells in a table.

Is this not what this feature is for? Is there another way?
I'm using Adobe Acrobat Pro (Adobe for Enterprise)

[try67]

> the Prepare Form tool should easily identify the blank underline sections and blank table cells and add text fields

That's the best case scenario. Often it doesn't pick up the fields correctly at all, or creates only some fields, or with the incorrect field type (text field where a check-box should be, for example). You will probably have to fix it manually, which can be a lot of work.

The only way to add fields consistently is to use a script, such as these two (paid-for) tools I've developed that will create text fields from underscores and check-boxes/radio-button fields from specific Wingdings characters with 100% accuracy:

https://www.try67.com/tool/acrobat-reader-convert-underscores-to-text-fields

https://www.try67.com/tool/acrobat-reader-convert-wingdings-characters-to-check-boxes-or-radio-butto...

[Robert36603697xtam]

Hello Adobe? ...any attempt at an answer or solution? My college pays over $200 a year for each Enterprise user. I would appreaciate a reply other than I need to spend more money trying to get this working.

[Bernd Alheit]

At Prepare Form you can add form fields.

[Robert36603697xtam]

Yes, I realize I can add them manually. However, the "Prepare Form" tool is not finding the blank lines and adding the text boxes automatically. Older versions of Acrobat could easily do this...what happened?

[Amal.]

Hi there, 

Hope you are doing well.

What is the version of the OS and the Acrobat DC you are using? To check the version go to Help > About Acrobat and make sure you have the recent version 24.02.20857 installed. Go to Help > Check for updates and reboot the computer once.
 
Also try to repair the installation from the help menu (Win Only) and see if that works.
 
Please try to reset the Acrobat preferences as described here https://adobe.ly/3xI42XG
 
You may also try to create a new test user profile with full admin rights in Win or enable the root account in MAC and try using the application there and check.

~Amal

[Tariq Ahmad Dar]

Hi @Robert36603697xtam 

Sorry for the delayed response. I hope you have already found a convenient solution. If you are still trying to make this work, I tested a file at my, and it worked as expected. 
Could you share the Word file you used in your situation or a sample file that exhibits the same behavior? We will try it, and if need be, we may file a bug if the issue is reproducible. 

Thanks for reaching out. 

~Tariq

[Robert36603697xtam]

I cannot share a file, sorry. I was using the Mac version. Luckily for me, I was able to hand off this project to another department. I believe they used different software for a more productive result. 

[Tariq Ahmad Dar]

I understand and feel the frustration. Sorry!

Thank you for the update. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions. 

~Tariq