I have a 100 page PDF workbook, and would like to make it into a fillable PDF. The pages have a question, followed by a pretty large blank space, and so on.
I followed the instructions "How to create a fillable PDF" here (which says, "Acrobat will automatically analyze your document and add form fields"), but when I follow the directions, I get the message "No new form field annotations were detected."
Although I can create a text field manually underneath each question, that will be tedious work given the length of the document.
Will Acrobat only automatically add form fields when you convert a text document to a PDF? Is there any way to automatically add them when you start with a PDF?
Yes, Acrobat uses ques such as lines next to and boxes around text to determine where a form field is needed. Add these to your document to make it look like a form.
Thom Parker - Software Developer at PDFScripting Use the Acrobat JavaScript Reference early and often
As mentioned, the fields detection wizard is far from perfect. I don't think it will work at all on a file created from a text file, to be honest. However, if the length of your questions (and the empty space after them) are the same, or at least consistent, it might be possible to do it using a custom-made script. I've developed similar (paid-for) scripts in the past, for example to convert a line of underscores to a text field (https://www.try67.com/tool/acrobat-reader-convert-underscores-to-text-fields), so if you're interested in something like this, feel free to contact me privately to discuss it further.
Basically, it's not psychic. How can it know, given a large blank space, that you want it filled? And it's not even that smart when there are boxes. Form design generally starts with detecting fields, but almost everyone then having to add more, and change the ones that are there. Don't forget to make sure each field is defined as multi-line, and don't forget to give each field a different name (otherwise the content is the same for each one).
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