Tabing through Forms

[Kizashi72]

My Acrobat Pro just update this morning to Continuous Release Version 2024.002.20759.

When filling out a PDF form, I can no longer navigate by using the Tab key.  Every time I press Tab, it opens a comment box for me to make a comment, rather than moving to the next field as intended.  I looked all thru the settings and cannot figure out how to disable this.  This has never happened until now and is incredibly frustrating!

[TomSavant]

I am having the same issue; pressing the 'Tab' button opens a comment box rather than advancing to the next field. Inconvenient is an understatement.

[Cari37595067qi51]

Glad it's not just me. Thought I did something stupid to disable the tabing feature. I too fill out forms regularly for work and they are saved on my computer. The difference I'm seeing is I DID disable the new acrobat and for a minute tabing worked again. But yesterday the freaking comment box popped up on the OLD acrobat. They really need to fix this quickly. I'm losing it having to use my touch pad to navigate every from. Beyond frustrating, Adobe. Do better.

[Tykog37599176m8uv]

i'm having the same issue.

[Heather37619744acxg]

I have the identical issue and work with multiple forms on a daily basis.  Not to mention we are currently revamping all of our forms to meet Accessibility policies by June 30.  We need a resolution ASAP.   

[Kizashi72 · Accepted solution]

Hey everyone, I just found the solution posted by @Riya Saxena in the following thread, and it worked for me.  (see steps below)

https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/when-i-tab-adobe-tried-to-add-a-comment/td-p/1462...

Steps

1. Close Acrobat if its already open
2. Open registry editor
3. Traverse to the path : Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\DC
4. Create new key with name FeatureLockDown
5. Inside this key create a new DWORD(32 bit) with name bReplaceOnKeyDown and set its Value to 0
6. Close Registry editor and relaunch Acrobat

[James37743399lg1c]

I can not thank you enough for this information! My available office time has been very limited lately and I've spent most of it closing this comment box. THANK YOU!

[Lucy37760969dsfw]

Thank you so much! This work perfectly! 

[karin.carlson]

Thanks for that. Many companies don't allow (or discourage) editing the registry. I teach accessibility in Acrobat and this is a HUGE accessibility issue. Acrobat -- are you listening? You need to fix this or provide a preference to turn it off NOW, please and thanks.

[Gidget28538936yzo2]

I should not have to change the registry. If I am the "normal user" of Acrobat, I should not have to be a coding or expert user. I do not want to mess with all of that and this is a HUGE accessibilty issue. I'm surprised that someone hasn't brought this to the attention of ADA. Adobe needs to step up and fix this issue. I will continue to use the "OLD" version until this is fixed because I cannot do my job without being able to Tab through the thousands of fields in my forms.

Do Better Adobe! Fix this known issue ASAP!

[Stephan37687677dn11]

Good day, I just did a Repair Installation from the Adobe software itself. Tkx

[Lucy37760969dsfw]

Thank you so much! 
The correct answer through the registry editor worked for me! 

[defaultf2pja4ac8oaz]

For me, neither the registry edit nor the repair installation worked. Luckily, I stumbled across a thread from 2020 with the same symptoms (seriously Adobe? 4 years later this zombie bug returns?) and this alternate solution worked for me:

1. In Acrobat, click Menu > Disable New Acrobat

That's it. Tabbing immediately worked normally again.

[Joseph38032715qcir]

This is why Adobe Stock plummeting, that and you can't simply click the save icon to save to a new location, you have to open to windows and manually drag it. All this AI crap is making technology way too finicky and not user friendly in the least.

[ThatsShively]

I'm having the same issue. This is the second issue in two months that prohibits my users from using forms as they should. I absolutely can not tell all my users to "downgrade their Acrobat experience" or "edit their registries" to use the form. Why are there continued issues with forms?

Perhaps we hit the brakes with the AI for a bit and work on the basic functionality of the software. 

[Capet38109236ojq4]

Hello,

I faced the same issue earlier this morning. I changed the "drag to pan document" from "select" to "pan" and it worked.

[marina_7525]

📌 Step-by-Step Recommendation

1. First, revert to the classic UI:
   View → Disable New Acrobat.
   Restart Acrobat and test Tab.
   If fixed, use classic mode until Adobe addresses it.

2. If that doesn’t help, restart Acrobat and your system just in case of a transient glitch.

3. If still unresolved, go to Preferences → Commenting, disable "Show comments pane…", then restart.

4. After trying each step, test again with your PDF form.

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📞 What to Do If It Still Doesn’t Work

• Report it: Contact Adobe support and refer to update 2024.002.20759. Tell them Tab opens comments instead of tabbing fields—it could be a new bug.

• Monitor updates: Keep an eye on Adobe's patch notes and check if newer versions fix this issue.

• Workarounds: If sticking with classic UI works, that’s a solid temporary fix. If not, consider reverting to version 2024.002.20758 or earlier until a patch drops.