I can't copy and paste a field label text from a fillable PDF form in acrobat dc

Question

I have a fillable PDF form that I created from a scan of a paper form. It all seems copacetic except I have a field label from the original scan I'd like to copy and paste to a second location on the form. Can't seem to do it. If I SELECT it so the box and handle shows around the text and Right Click on it, the only options shown are Paste and Select All; no Copy. The form is NOT Protected in any way. This shouldn't be this hard, but it seemsto be. No manner of Ctrl-C or selecting Copy from the Edit menu seems to do it. I am in the Edit PDF mode.

If someone can help, I would appreciate it.

gary_sc · Answer

Hi Dale,

Let me see if I've got this straight: you have a form that you scanned. Did you OCR the form?

Are you assuming that if you scan, and even if you then OCR the form, it will automatically become a form again? Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.

When you stated that you have a "box and handle around the text...," that indicated to me that you are not trying to select text but an image of text. There's no actual text in that box to copy — just an image. To make matters even more annoying, it's only a section of the whole image (the entire page is the image if it has not been OCRed).

What I suggest you do is to take your scan, go into Edit mode, and manually enter text at that point.

Good luck!

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