How do I move or delete text boxes in Acrobat DC?

[EdTCS]

I'm trying to edit the layout of a PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC on Windows 11 and have spent DAYS trying to figure out how to move or delete text boxes. No matter what I do, the only thing Acrobat seems to allow is editing the text within a text box. 

Let me be crystal clear: I am not asking how to edit text within a text box; every tutorial I could find on the subject seems only to talk about editing the actual text.  What I'm asking is how to select a text box and either move it to a different position or delete it altogether.  Photoshop, for example, has the text edit tool and the object selection tool; if Acrobat has a similar object selection tool, I'll be damned if I can find it.

Thanks in advance.

[Bernd Alheit]

Does you mean form text fields or comment text fields?

[Amal.]

Hi @EdTCS 

++ Adding to the discussion

If its a PDF form and you have editing rights, open the PDF file > go to Tools > Prepare form and then you would be able to move or delete the text box.

Hope it will help

Regards

Amal

[Daniel McIntosh]

its 2023 and I have the same question. acrobat has turned into the worst unusable bit of software. shocking

[alexander_duerregger · Accepted solution]

Hi! You can do that with the edit PDF Tool. You need to grad the box at the border to move it. I attached a Screen Recording where you can see what i am doing. (The software is in german but you should be able to find it)

[davidgolber]

Your video shows moving text boxes around.   How does one DELETE a text box?

[jane-e]

@davidgolber 

When the text frame is selected (as in the video), press the Delete key on your keyboard or use Ctrl+X (Cmd+X) to Cut it.

Jane

[Susan30773696l1bz]

There may be an additional step that may not be showing in the video.  When the cursor changes to the plus sign with arrowheads, you have to click the mouse button, then hit delete. Otherwise it just grabs and drags the box around.

[johng86417134]

Well spotted - its quite easy to miss, but that worked for me. 

Select the box, then hover over the border until the cross cursor appear - then delete

Thank you

[J_lovestolearn]

Gosh, Alexander, THANK YOU, though thats not working for me.
While Ive used Adobe things since 1985ish, this vers of Acrobat is driving me bonkers.

- I opened a PDF, used the edit function to create a text box with one character.
Then Im ABLE to get/see the move cursor, yet EVERY time I touch the text box I created, the cursor changes to the text cursor.
- I can EDIT the darned text, but cannot find a way to KEEP the cursor in its MOVE function with the dots on its corners, to MOVE the text box. 
*Theres got to be a way. Any help, Very Appreciated --tyia!!!
Cant post a pic due to confidentiality, 😞

[alexander_duerregger]

Hi! In my Version it works as intended. Can you post a picture with some non confidential document?

[reidmoto]

INSANE, huh? 

[reidmoto]

I can't comprehend why it's so difficult to reposition a text box. Apparently, the "secret" is to put the cursor inside the text box and it changes into a pointer but avoid the handles. I still can't move text boxes easily and am starting to agree with you Daniel. 

[kirk16B8]

Hey Reidmoto. This was driving me insane as well. Actually, just position your cursor on the (thin) border of the text box, not inside the box. The cursor will then change into a positioning tool. It's silly.

[dawn_219361]

For the ignorant, like me, it may be necessary to point out one more step. When you are trying to delete a text box after you have been doing some other things with the text, you may be clicked into another tool, like "pan", for instance. You need to click on the text box tool again. Then the border of the text box will be visible and you will be able to follow kirk16B8's advice above. 

 

[zechariah_5201]

Hello, I googled this topic and it seems you guys are talking about my situation but with a little twist. When I set a text box and type in it, all is good. But when I need to MOVE the text box or extend the corners, Adobe simply will not let me. The cursor to move the box appears but it won't click on the box and let me drag it. The same goes for extending a line. I can click the line button, draw the line but when I need to extend the line it refuses to grab onto it. I'm stuck and have no idea why Adobe is doing this. I've never had this issue. I even checked under properties to see if the box was locked in place but it's not checked. I don't know what to do.

[Jason29193372ye4e]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Bizarre, obtuse command sequences. Reduced functionality. Acrobat used to be the go to program for manipulating final files prior to printing. (I am a retired prepress professional- 38 years in the industry). Now, sitting at home trying to do the simplest things I can not imagine having to work with this program in a professional setting. A couple years ago? it was impossible to print a document! It took months (years?) to fix the issue. Adobe seems committed to constant shuffling of tools and functions so that you never get comfortable with their software. I still carry a subscription for Acrobat so that I can hammer out an edit when truely necesssary, but UGG, I lose clumps of hair and need an aspirin every time I hit "edit a PDF". Every version seems dumber than the last.

[jane-e]

Acrobat used to be the go to program for manipulating final files prior to printing. (I am a retired prepress professional- 38 years in the industry).

By @Jason29193372ye4e

What version of Acrobat was ever the "go to program for manipulating final files prior to printing"? When I started using Acrobat, edits of any kind were not possible.

Jane

[Jason29193372ye4e]

Acrobat Pro back in the oughts and teens. Since the final file that went to press was a PDF, you wanted to send that PDF to the client for final approval before going to a physical color proof. Occassionally, due to designer's twisted files, certain edits would only work in Acrobat (which could really bite you in the butt if they made an unrelated change in another program and sent it back to you; best check those p's and q's, make another PDF, send it out again for  approval). In the final save, you'd convert to the appropriate color profile, set rules, etc. It was an integral part of the process. If the "home version" is any indication, I would dread every day in an industrial setting.

[dawn_219361]

Thank you for sharing this confirmation that we're not all just losing our
minds, so that we can just move on to finding a better tool elsewhere.