how to set global default font for user text in form; Acrobat DC

[michellem38434587]

Acrobat DC. 

Create a document in Word;  Convert to PDF.

In Forms, default for user text is:  Size=Auto, Font-Helvetica, Color-Black.

I want all new forms fields in my newly designed form,which user completes, to have default of: Size=10, Font - Calibri, Color - dark blue.

This helps user input stand out from static document text, without being too different; looks almost the same if completed form is printed in B/W.

If possible, I'd like this to be the default standard and not something I have to run a script on each form I create.  But beggars can't be choosy, so I'll take what ever will work.

Thank you.

[try67]

How are you adding the fields to the file?

[michellem38434587]

I create the document in Word.  Then open Acrobat Pro 2017 and pull in file for Prepare Form.  The "Form field auto detection" is "ON".

I would like those auto detected fields to default to my choice, but also any other field added after the fact to also default.

As a bonus, I would like any text field I create (if I'm starting a document from scratch) to default my way.  Bottom line, I want it to work like the defaults in Word, even though Acrobat is NOT Word.     Note: I said in my original post that I was using Acrobat DC, but I misspoke - I recently upgraded to Pro 17.

[try67 · Accepted solution]

Sorry, not possible. But it is possible to change all of those fields to your desired properties with a single click after they are created, using a custom-made script.

[michellem38434587]

Thank you...…….but thumbs down to Adobe.  Such a basic thing, and the developers didn't give us the option.

[try67]

Agreed. They should have at least make is so that it uses the default properties used when creating the fields manually.

[DBF68]

Yeah, for all of Adobe Acrobat DC's niceties, it's still very primitive in areas that are no-brainer important.  Obviously, this isn't Adobe's "bread and butter" software.  Giving users greater choice, better "play nice" document conversion, and doing away with an inflexible static panel UI you can't re-size would be an improvement.

[Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com]

In Advertising parlance, Acrobat is a "mature" product. That is, growth of that product has slowed and there are now other competitors nipping at Adobe's heals.

One way to understand a company's focus is to look at its public SEC reports. Any publicly-traded US company with stock listed on an exchange must submit quarterly reports to the SEC and make them public. They are usually listed on the website under "investor relations." https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/acom/en/investor-relations/pdfs/ADBE-10Q-Q2Y19-FINAL-CERTIFIED.pdf

You'll find these financial facts about Adobe's business:

• Page 17, Creative Cloud contributes 5 times the revenue that Document Cloud does. (Acrobat is part of document cloud, aka DC.)
• Also on page 17, subscriptions are broken down into Digital Media (Premiere, etc.), Digital Experience (includes Adobe Experience Manager, their online services), and Publishing (InDesign, Illustrator, and probably Photoshop). I'm not sure where Acrobat falls in those 3 categories, but I'd suspect it's in publishing. But Adobe's online PDF forms "service" is in Digital Experience.

Until 10-15 years ago I would have called Acrobat a "bread and butter" income stream for Adobe, but from the numbers above that is no longer true, not by a long shot. All corporations go where the money is and Adobe is no different than any other in that respect.

But that doesn't mean we customers should give up.

There are many reasons why the Acrobat product line is superior to the competitors' PDF products or other technologies. Accessibility and professional publishing requirements are 2 that come to mind.

But this isn't the place to ask Adobe for features or to note bugs and shortcomings.

This is a public tech support forum where MVP and ACP volunteers, as well as users, help each other out.

Unfortunately, those at Adobe who determine what will be built into the programs never visit these tech support forums (and other companies are the same, not just Adobe).

Your ideas are valid and I'd like to see them built into a future release. The "fonts in form fields" question comes across my desk at least a couple of times a week...it's very popular!

I encourage to you submit the request on Adobe's feature request (and bug notice) User Voice website, https://www.acrobat.uservoice.com  UserVoice is monitored by the marketing department and others at Adobe specifically to hear what users want. It's where they listen to us customers.

When you do, come back to this forum post and let us know the link to your request. I'm sure many of us will go and vote for your UserVoice request.

The more votes an idea has, the more likely it will be taken care of.

[DBF68]

Five years later, thanks for the information.  I was probaby too glib with my "bread and butter" remark due to the frustration of not having what I think should be a standard feature function for anyone of any skill level.  All these years later, I'm still a novice, but that's because I had limited need for AA at the time for a singular "for fun" project.   

The project was heavily overhauling a state attorney general advance directive fill-in-the-blanks document packet to a more professional level.  The original irksome document packet looked like it was done by someone with severe minimalistic skills.   Although, having multiple people work on the document over the past two decades with a similar limited skillset probably didn't help either.  The phrase, "Good enough for government work.", is apt. 

Also, I don't work for that attorney general office.  I'm just a caregiver that hates shoddy documentation, and I wanted something better to use for my parents' advance directive needs.  After trying to use the existing packet in its current state, I got the creative urge to make it immensely better via a combination of MS Word and AA's document conversion abilities.  Maybe someday I'll submit it to my state AG for consideration vs the current CliffNotes revised version being offered now that's still info lacking and unprofessionally poor.

Since that was my singular AA need, I never submitted a feature request for this function to UserVoice.  Because you are the more experienced long term AA user, feel free to submit this feature request to UV in my place as an highly infrequent dabbler.  Hopefully the Adobe Acrobat teams feels it's a worthwhile feature to implement.

[DBF68]

Actually, you can do what you want by creating a New Action in Action Wizard and using the following Adobe JavaScript.   Go to Tools > Action Wizard > New Action > More Tools > Execute JavaScript > click on the circle with a plus sign and an arrow beneath it > click on Specify Settings > paste the provided Adobe JavaScript in the Click and Edit JavaScripts box > click OK > click on Save > give the action a name like Auto Detect Font Changer > click on Save.

for (var i = 0; i < numFields; i++) {

    var fName = getNthFieldName(i);

    var f = getField(fName);

    if (f.type === "text") {

f.alignment ="left";

f.textFont = "Calibri";

f.textSize = 10;

f.textColor = ["RGB",0,0,0.545];

        // Other properties go here

    }

}

Open the document you want to perform font type, size, and color change per user typed field, under the Action List click on Auto Detect Font Changer > click Start > and your user typed fields should now be Calibri, font size 10, font color dark blue.  To confirm that the user typed fields are Calibri, font size 10, font color dark blue, close the Action List, choose Prepare Form, right click on a user typed field, choose Properties from the pop-up menu, and under the Appearance tab you should see Text with a Font Size 10, Color Dark Blue, and Font Type Calibri.  I've tested this Auto Detect Font Changer action on a Word 2007 docx to PDF doc I'm working on and I successfully get the results you want.

Based on my newbie research, which you may know already, I learned there's JavaScript and there's Adobe JavaScript, which I gather have similarities and differences.  When it comes to color changes, you can use HTML red,green,blue values as a reference, but you have to divide the rgb value by 255 to get the Adobe Javascript value you need to get the color you want.  So, HTML Dark Blue is rgb (0,0,139), but Adobe JavaScript Dark Blue is rgb (0,0,0.545).

Also, the // in the Adobe JavaScript code are ignored when it comes to executing the code.  Although, they can prevent code from being executed if placed in front of it.  The // kind of act as the old DOS REM statement code where you can state the purpose of certain commands and code strings.

Hopefully that script and info help.

[Patricia311909601ps5]

GENIUS!!! This will save countless hours of fillable docs.  Thank you!!! It works; and very simple to change the font/font size/colors.  

[DBF68]

Glad it worked for you.

[RyunoOhi]

Is the Action Wizard a separate thing?  If so, is it free & where do I get it? 

I'm having the same frustrating problem with default fonts when creating forms & I just want a quick fix.

[DBF68]

The Action Wizard (AW) is part of Adobe Acrobat.  So you don't have to download and install anything else.  To learn more about AW, use the Adobe Acrobat Help function or check the online manual, which might be one in the same.  I don't know if Adobe has gone completely online only with help manuals, but if not, there might be a PDF user manual for your version of AA you can download and consult after a search engine search for it.  

I know what you mean about the frustration of wanting to do something simple and not having a seemingly easy fix.  I'm very much a novice and not terribly helpful beyond the solution I provided.  Even so,  some research and determination may lead you to the answers you want and need as to whether or not what you want to do is possible, let alone efficient or cumbersome.  I've always thought if you can think of something it probably already exists or you can create it.

[Ella23734146xazh]

Thank youuuuuu

Brilliant!

[DBF68]

You're welcome.

[LLathrop-SC]

Thank you, @DBF68 ! I had the script years ago and couldn't remember it. 

[JR Boulay]

"but you have to divide the rgb value by 255 to get the Adobe Javascript value you need to get the color you want. "

No, JavaScript is able to divide RGB values, so you don't have to:

f.textColor = ["RGB", 5/255, 18/255, 191/255];

[DBF68]

Very cool.  Thank you.  Anything that makes it easier is worth doing.