PDF text blocks are overlaid with a blue box so I cannot see the text unless I click on it. Why?

Report · Oct 22, 2016

I have opened a PDF form and although I have filled it in, the text boxes are now blocked out with a blue block. Only when I click on each block can I see the text below, but the others are still blocked out.

I also cannot open Mac Preview created PDF's.

My view of Adobe has plummeted...the website help is useless.

Report · Oct 22, 2016

Can you post a screen shot that demonstrates this blue block?

Regarding the Preview created PDFs, exactly what happens when you try? Can you open them in Preview?

Report · Oct 22, 2016

Hi George

Screenshot attached. The blue blocks are the highlighted text recognition but I can’t see the text that is in them…only when I click on them as in the ‘Works” text block as shown.

Report · Oct 22, 2016

Hi George. Screenshot attached. The blue blocks are the highlighted text recognition but I can’t see the text that is in them…only when I click on them as in the ‘Works” text block as shown. The form is completely filled in and I was trying to get the signature added when it all went wrong. Preview will now open it but you can't add signatures with it and the only way to get a new text box was to use Wondershare PDF Editor pro but that doesn't allow for signatures either.

Report · Oct 22, 2016

If the text show up when one of the fields receives the focus, I have to think that the form was filled-in and saved using Preview, since that it by far the most common cause of this problem. Preview has lousy support for PDF forms and it should never be used to work with them since it corrupts them in a number of ways when it saves.

You can check this by selecting: File > Properties > Description > PDF Producer

If that's not it, I'd have to look at the form to say what's wrong. My advice is not to use anything but Acrobat when creating a form and tell all of your users not to use Preview to work with a PDF form.

Report · Oct 23, 2016

The producer was Adobe InDesign. I will try to get a 'clean' version of the form and just use Acrobat and see if the issue reoccurs.

The other issue I have with Acrobat is that when it opens PDF's from VectorWorks (3D CAD package) to print it sometimes corrupts the text completely, whereas Preview always opens and prints them perfectly.

Acrobat also opens each file in a separate window so when I need to print say 20 drawings, I have to set the print settings for each drawing...is there a way around this so they open in the same file (as with Preview)?

Report · Oct 23, 2016

Did you create the form fields in InDesign?

It is better to create the form fields in Acrobat.

Instead of using the Acrobat printer, have you tried the PDF export? Custom fonts used in other programs can cause a number of problems.

Unless you merge the PDFs into one file it will print each open PDF individually.

https://acrobatusers.com/assets/uploads/public_downloads/2217/adobe-acrobat-xi-merge-pdf-files-tutor...

Merge multiple files into one PDF file with Adobe® Acrobat® XI

Report · Oct 24, 2016

Your version of Acrobat is old (11 or 10) 11 is still supported for a short while, but is behind on features. 10 is out of support. The current version, Acrobat DC, includes a TAB feature, so you can open many files in the same window. IMPORTANT: this is not in the permanent license version, but it is in the subscription version. Assuming you are using Creative Cloud, you can install the subscription version of Acrobat Pro DC.