Text in a text box disappears upon clicking outside the text box

[robearbeach]

I am working on a Macbook Pro in Lion 10.7.  I am using Adobe Acrobat X Pro. 

I create a text box and type words in the text box.  As soon as I click outside the text box, the text in the textbox disappears.  The text box is still there.  As soon as I click back inside the text box the text reappears.  I've confirmed that the text is black.

I've seen multiple posts on the same problem but none of the solutions I've seen work.

This is so frustrating that I'm giving up on Adobe Acrobat X Pro and using a free PDF editing program in using Windows 7 in Parallels on my Macbook.  Given how much Acrobat X Pro cost, I'm pretty fed up with Adobe generally.

I followed a link to a solution to modify the register in Windows but I don't know how to do that on a Mac.  Morever, it's simply absurd that Acrobat Pro X is utterly useless for editing a simple PDF document.  This isn't a form.  It's a PDF document with no other fields.  I just want to add text.

Any help would be appreciated.

[MichaelKazlow]

Can you post an pdf file that has this issue? If you have no where else to post it you can create an account at acrobat.com. These forums to do not support posting pdf files.

[robearbeach]

I posted it.  Here is the link:   https://acrobat.com/#d=GFZNMdVxb-CH0sOtC9dHlg

There is a text box just under the handwritten material under "Other"  If you click on it, then in it, you will see some text in the text box.  Once you click outside the text box the text will disappear again.

Bob

[pranavj]

Hi Robearbeach,

It seems that you are using MAC Preview to fill up the forms. I would rather ask you to use Adobe Reader for Mac instead of Mac Previewer.

You can download reader for mac from the below mentoned link

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?platform=Macintosh&product=10

Hope this help.

~Pranav

[robearbeach]

One of the problems I've had is that I have found this problem listed over and over and 90% of the responses blame Mac Preview.

I am not using Mac Preview.  I am opening Adobe Acrobat X Pro version 10.1.3, then selecting file, open, then the document.  I don't know where the idea that this problem is related to Mac Preview comes from but that is not the problem.

The problem appears in Adobe Acrobat X Pro version 110.1.3.

Any other ideas?

[adaptable_Eclipse15A8]

For those who haven't looked at the posted document, it is not a form and there's no indication that Preview was used.

The problem seems to be the the opacity of the text (typewriter) annotation is set to a very low value, so it cannot be seen normally. I do know that there have been various bugs reported relating to this problem, but I don't know how to fix it on the Mac. It is possible on Windows to edit a registry setting, so it may be possible to edit the corresponding plist entry. The other approach is to simply reinstall Acrobat, although I would try a repair first.

[robearbeach]

I have adjusted the opacity using Adobe Acrobat X Pro's options for text boxes.  Is there another place where I can adjust opacity.  I've highlighted all the text and selected black, red, green and blue.  The text appears fine and very dark while I'm in the text box.  The text disappears when I click outside the text box.

[gkaiseril]

If the user used MacIntosh Preview to process the form, then there is a minor corruption of the form that can be fixed. Script to Fix Mac OSX Preview.app Form Fill and Save

[robearbeach]

Oh, and it's not a form.  It's a simple adobe PDF document on which I am trying to insert a simple text box.

It is very frustrating and if I were running windows there is much simpler and easier to use program called PDF-Exchange Viewer that works infinitely better than Adobe Acrobat.  Unfortunately, running Windows in a virtual machine is a giant pain also. So I'd love to figure out how to fix Acrobat X Pro for this simple task.

I guess I'm venting a little out of frustration and I really would apprecate any help.

[rayhogge]

I'm having exactly the same problem in both text boxes and typewriter tool.  Anyone found a solution?

[robearbeach]

I have not seen any solution.  Everyone who makes a suggestion immediately responds that you are using preview.   Once you explain that you are opening Adobe Acrobat X Pro, then clicking open from the file menu in that program, they go silent.

[rayhogge]

I have seen several threads indication the problem can be fixed by changing the value "dopacity" from the original value (a decimal number close to zero) to 1 in the following registry item:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Adobe\Adobe Acrobat\{Acrobat Version #}\Annots\cAnnots\cFreeText_003aFreeTextTypewriter

I tried it and it worked ... once.  When you close the text box created by the typewriter tool the text remains visible, but as soon as you create a second text box with the typewriter tool and close it the text again disappears.  I immediately looked back at the registry, and somehow the registry value of "dopacity" is immediately being changed from 1 back to the original value.

I don't know what Adobe did to the typewriter tool, but whatever it was made it uttery useless.  I would switch back to Acrobat 8, in which the typewriter tool worked fine, except my new computer is 64 bit and Acrobat 8 (according to Adobe) does not work properly with 64 bit systems.  I used the typewriter tool extensively at work (until now), so I am looking for pdf software from a different vendor that has a typewriter function that works properly.  If anyone knows of any, a recommendation will be appreciated   I have given up on Acrobat X.

[robearbeach]

I'm glad that worked.  Are you on a MAC or Windows?  I don't know how to do that change on a MAC (which is what I am using).

[rayhogge]

It did NOT work.  The problem remains.  But in any event, I am on Windows 7 Pro 64 bit.

[robearbeach]

That's too bad.  This whole thing is so irritating that I've abandoned Adobe Acrobat X Pro which is very unintuitive and hard to use.  I run a $40 program called PDF-Tools from Tracker Software.  It only runs on Windows based PCs so I have to run it in Parallels but It's like a Mac: it just works, it's intuitive and my dyastolic blood pressure has gone down  20 points.

[Allta Media]

Do you experience this issue in all your PDFs or just those scanned using OmniPage? The reason I ask is because the file you posted has a General File Format Issue when running a low-level syntax checker on the file. Have you tried doing a Save As on the file prior to adding text using the typewriter tool. I've seen a few of these issues before on PDFs created using non-Adobe tools such as OmniPage.

[robearbeach]

I've never used OmniPage.  This occurs in any document opened in Adobe Acrobat X Pro whether it is created from a Word or Pages Doc. scanned in from an extern scanner or emailed from another computer and opended in Adobe Acrobat X Pro.  Once you add a text box USING ADOBE ACROBAT X PRO in a document OPENED IN ADOBE ACROBAT PRO X not in Mac Preview or any other application, once you click outside the text box, the text in the text box disappears.  Clicking back inside the text box reveals the text, then it disappears after clicking outside the text box again.

[gkaiseril]

A link to a sample PDF would help us see exactly what is happening and what the properties of the problem item are.

[Allta Media]

Hi George - he did post us a link earlier in the thread. Here is the URL:

https://acrobat.com/#d=GFZNMdVxb-CH0sOtC9dHlg

This particular example lists the creation tool as OmniPage CSDK 15.0.

[robearbeach]

I do not know how the link could have been created in Omnipage because I don't own it and haven't the slightest idea what it is. 

[robearbeach]

I have another Macbook Pro on which Adobe Acrobat X Pro works perfectly and this problem does not exist.  I wish I knew where these preferences existed and I'd just copy the file from the working one to the non-working one.  Pathetic that there is no easy solution to these for a product at this price though.

[gkaiseril]

There are many programs that do not follow the Adobe "Stanadard" or there are differences caused by different OS or programing implementations on different OS.

[robearbeach]

I don't use Apple Preview.  I just want to get Adobe Acrobat X Pro to work.

[The Un-dr.]

I am having the same problem on my iMac (Lion). Very frustrating. Anyone?!

EDIT: I just discovered what may be a workaround:

Go to TOOLS on the far right hand side (upper corner next to COMMENT and SHARE).

Click the FORMS section.

Then MORE FORM OPTIONS.

Next click MANAGE FORM DATA and then EXPORT DATA.

You then save the file to a folder etc. and you get a "fdf" file. ("fdf" file?! Go figure.)

I opened that .fdf file  and this basically opens the .pdf file (as far as I can tell).

Then I I saved that file--nothing special, just went to the FILE menu and clicked SAVE.

This apparenty saved the original .pdf file with the text intact!

See if that works for you.

[robearbeach]

Nothing happened when I did export. 

I cannot fathom that Adobe cannot fix this simple glitch which makes the product not just useless but frustrating beyond belief.

The idea of paying this kind of money for a program in which you cannot edit a simple text box is incomprehensible.