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Cee Bee Dee
Participating Frequently
January 23, 2024
Answered

How to save & share fillable forms without fillable fields vanishing

  • January 23, 2024
  • 3 replies
  • 14401 views

I've been trying for several days to save a PDF form that I've created in acrobat with fillable fields.  No matter what I do or how I save as the fillable fields vanish when I reopen the file.  I just need to be able to email the form to people for them to fill in the fields.  Please help.  I read all this similar posts and there were no helpful suggestions.  I'm working with the latest version of Adobe Acrobat from the Creative Cloud suite.

    Correct answer skilled_Wave6029

    I was able to figure this out and I don't see a true solution in your  When you're in "Prepare a Form" and you can see all of your work, where you've entered all of your text fields and checkboxes, etc.

    1. Right click on your first field and select all.  You'll see that the fields all highlight.

    2. Right click again and select Properties.

    3. In the General tab of Properties, you'll need to make sure the "Locked" and "Read Only" checkboxes are NOT checked.

    4. Save the form, or Save As if you don't want to disturb your master form.

    This fixed the problem for me.

    3 replies

    S
    skilled_Wave6029Correct answer
    New Participant
    June 27, 2025

    I was able to figure this out and I don't see a true solution in your  When you're in "Prepare a Form" and you can see all of your work, where you've entered all of your text fields and checkboxes, etc.

    1. Right click on your first field and select all.  You'll see that the fields all highlight.

    2. Right click again and select Properties.

    3. In the General tab of Properties, you'll need to make sure the "Locked" and "Read Only" checkboxes are NOT checked.

    4. Save the form, or Save As if you don't want to disturb your master form.

    This fixed the problem for me.

      A
      Ayla_6644
      New Participant
      April 12, 2025

      1. Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat Pro (not Reader).

      2. Go to:

        css
        Tools → Prepare Form

        • This activates form editing mode.

        • Add or edit your fillable fields (text boxes, checkboxes, etc.).

      3. Once done, click:
        Close on the toolbar to exit form editing mode.

      4. Now Save the PDF properly:

        • Go to:
          File → Save As → Choose your location

        • Save it as a regular PDF (not "optimized", "flattened", or "reduced size").

        ✅ Make sure you're not printing to PDF — this flattens the form and removes fillable fields!

      🔄 Common Mistakes That Make Fields Disappear:

      ❌ Mistake 💥 Effect
      Saving via “Print to PDF”Converts to a static PDF, removes fields
      Exporting to another format (e.g., Word)Breaks interactivity
      Using "Flatten PDF" optionMakes fields uneditable
      Using Preview app (on Mac) to saveOften corrupts or removes form field data
      try67
      try67
      Community Expert
      January 23, 2024

      - How are you saving the file when you're done with it?

      - Where are you (re-)opening it after closing it? In what application?

      - Do the form fields disappear entirely (not visible even in Prepare Form mode), or do you just not see them when opening the file again?

      - Can you share a sample file with us?

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      Cee Bee DeeAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      January 23, 2024

      I have tried saving it with the original file name simply as a .PDF, and have tried saving the file using "save as other>reader extended PDF>enable more tools.  The form has fields for a signature, printed name, and address at the bottom.  I created it by saving an original Word file as a .PDF, then opening it in Acrobat, and then click Tools>Prepare Form.  The fields become fillable, then I save the file - either just by clicking save, or by clicking "save as other">reader extended PDF>enable more tools.  Then if I open it from where it has been saved, or if I send it to or share it with someone else, there are no fillable fields.  Attached is a screenshot of what the fillable fields look like before I save.  It would be helpful to have step by step instructions which don't omit any steps for this process.

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      Cee Bee DeeAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      January 23, 2024

      My goal is to be able to make fields fillable on PDFs, to save the PDF so the fillable fields are saved, so that however or whoever opens the document after it has been saved, opens a file which has fillable fields which anyone opening the file can fill in.  Thanks in advance.

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