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New Participant
October 1, 2016
Answered

How do you uncheck a check box?

  • October 1, 2016
  • 4 replies
  • 219822 views

I have an interactive form downloaded from a bank -- and the form has a lot of Yes & No check-boxes.

I don't know if this is typical, but whenever I click on a box to get it filled in, I cannot figure out how to clear that box.  I can check another box and that works fine, but just can't clear (uncheck) a box I have already checked (other than an undo).

But undo's are not good if you decide later on, while filling out the form, that you want/need to in-check the box.

ron in round rock

Correct answer George_Johnson

It sounds like they are radio buttons, not check boxes. Radio buttons cannot normally be deselected so that none in the group is selected, and they can be set up to look like a typical check box (square) instead of a typical radio button (circular).

4 replies

New Participant
June 18, 2021

Ctrl+Z will uncheck the box or radio button and then, you can go on your way.

New Participant
September 28, 2021

You rock!!! Finally a person that has the answer that I was looking for. THANK YOU!!

New Participant
April 20, 2021

The easiest way for the user to deal with this problem is to delete the problem page and insert a clean version of it.  This can be accomplished by either extracting the unchecked page from the original version of the document, saving it as a separate file, and then inserting it, OR extracting the checked version of the page and saving it as a separate file where you can clear all the fields, then inserting it back into the document that was in process.  This way you don't clear all the fields in the whole document.

New Participant
October 5, 2020

These are not Radio Buttons if they can be left blank, which is the case. You can complete the form without checking either of the boxes, but once you check one you can only change to check another, not uncheck the one. This is clearly a defect and should be addressed.

New Participant
November 17, 2020

You can add a "Clear Form" button to restore the radio buttons and other fields to an original state as desired. It is an option under the button item. After the button has been added to the page, select the action on the Actions tab of the Button Properties. To customize, select Add... after selecting the Reset a Form action and select/unselect the fields to reset. Don't forget to add a label on the Options tab or your button will be blank.

George_JohnsonCorrect answer
Inspiring
October 1, 2016

It sounds like they are radio buttons, not check boxes. Radio buttons cannot normally be deselected so that none in the group is selected, and they can be set up to look like a typical check box (square) instead of a typical radio button (circular).

roninrr1Author
New Participant
October 2, 2016

George- Thanks for the help.  Yes, they may very well be Radio buttons, since that is the way they seem to operate.  Some places in the form have several choices, but they just want you to select one -- but most of the check boxes are just Yes / No answers.

But the form is complicated (already kicked back once) -- and my problem is, what if I mistakenly click on the wrong check box and I want to take it back (like answer a question on the form, someplace on the form that does not apply - like mistakenly answering a question in the citizenship and Resident Alien section) -- I think you can understand the situation.

Anyway, are you saying there is no way to clear the check box, once it has been checked?

ron in round rock

Inspiring
October 2, 2016

Yes, it sounds like it wasn't designed well, so you're stuck with what you have. You'll just have to be careful.