How do I clear a radio button?

[Guest]

Is it possible to deselect a choice in a radio button group on a fillable PDF? There are times a radio button choice may be selected accidentally. When this happens, the only choice one may have is to abandon the form they have been completing, and start from scratch in hopes the mistake is not made again. Our forms are very detailed and with multiple pages and combinations of drop downs, check boxes, radio buttons, text boxes, etc... with questions totaling well over 100.  You can imagine someone's frustration if they've completed over 100 questions and near the end of the form there's a radio button question they did not mean to answer... The radio buttons are used exclusively for one choice selections only, otherwise check boxes are used. I'm interested in any simple solutions. Maybe Adobe can come up with a solution. I don't understand why radio buttons don't function the same way as check boxes. If you click once, it's marked; if you click again, it clear. Any help is greatly appreciated. Detailed steps for the fix are also appreciated. Thanks!

[try67]

Use check-boxes instead of radio-buttons.

[Kattoinette]

This worked beautifully for one set of buttons, but when I tried to modify it for multiple sets, it no longer deselects. What happened?

[Jessame31712352om9h]

All the answers here are frustrating. If you are on the user end and accidentally selected a "yes" or "no" where you want to leave the question unanswered there is absolutely nothing you can do. Clearing the form is fine if that's the ONLY change you made since opening it, but generally one does not want to have to go back and re-key the entire form just to fix one response. Even if you can crack open the form, editing those radio buttons isn't as straight forward as one might like. Massive time suck created by something that is supposed to make filling out a form easier than printing, completing by hand, and scanning. 

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

You can create a clear button that resets ONLY the radio buttons OR you can use check boxes but set them up like a radio button. The latter option lets the user select only one choice but can deselect if desired.

Typical Radio buttons: Same Field Name; Different Option Export Values.

Typical Check boxes: Different Field Name; Same Option Export Value (e.g. Yes).

"Pseudo" Radio Buttons: Use Check boxes with Same Field Name; Different Option Export Values.

[EcksGonGiveItToYa]

I realize this is an older issue, but there didn't seem to be a clear answer anywhere else. So instead of having to clear the entire form, you can go to Tools>Prepare Form (open the tool). Then select the button that is checked and delete it. Then copy/paste another identical radio button from the form into the right position and then rename. 

There should be a way to change the field value of the button to change it back to being unchecked, but I was unable to make it work in the 15 min it took me to figure out I could just copy/paste an identical empty radio button into it's place after deleting it. 

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Editing the form to clear a radio button group is very inefficient--also, not everyone has the ability to edit the form. 

You can easily make a button to clear JUST the radio group OR you can use pseudo radio buttons. See my post from Sep. 05, 2023.

[Donna34126501flci]

+100 on the fact that this it's ridiculous to not have this ability. (And it would help if Adobe realized not all of us are InDesigners or coders.)

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Using pseudo radio buttons is super easy and solves the problem of deselecting all choices. 

[Chelsea354390214s7r]

I think the simplest way to correct this and reset all radio buttons back to empty is to prepare form -> click one of the radio buttons that already exists in the group, copy it, paste it, and then exit prepare form. Check that radio button and it will be selected. Then prepare form-> delete that one radio button. All are now empty!

[try67]

That's probably the most difficult way of doing it...

[try67]

I think you understand now what I meant... If not, see bebarth's code below.

[Canaryinthecoalmine]

Ctr+z works.

[try67]

Only if used immediately. If you save the file, close it, and then re-open it, for example, it doesn't work.

[Fernando38967123eazq]

Form is on the screen

Click on the menu, choose All tools - prepare form

On the form select (click and drag) the radio buttons you want to clear

Click on the 3 dots in the field pane (top right hand side)

Choose clear form

[Ramses M.]

This needs more upvotes, this worked perfectly. THANK YOU!

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

To all the Prepare Form>Clear Form suggestions...

This is NOT something the end user is going to do as it requires Acrobat Pro or Standard. 

Also, the OP stated they DON'T want to clear the form and start over again. 

The easist way, without code, is to use check boxes but name them like you would a radio button. 

Attached is a sample of radio and checkbox options--look at the last one on the page. That sample operates just like a radio button but allows the end user to deselect. 

(As a side note, when I use radio buttons, I include a 'No Answer' option. That way, you know the end user is purposely not answering the question and did not accidently skip over it.)

[rockinrob]

hello,

I was following the advice to switch from radio buttons to check boxes which worked well for most of my form... but some of my (now) check box export values are the same $$$ so if I check one, the check appears in 4 of them. is there a way to use check boxes with the same export value so acrobat will treats them all as individual?

[try67]

No. You must give each one a unique value. It can even by "1" and "1.0", "1.00", etc., though.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

The NAMES of the fields should be the same; the VALUES should be different. 

[PABBARA]

Yess I found a quick solution to this radio button problem using Chrome.
If you can't deselect it a radio button, go to Google Chrome > File > Open File and then open your PDF in Chrome, the radio buttons will be instantly changed to squre select checks, and you can unselect them. Make your changes and then save the PDF with your changes in it. Solved!