Print form field

Report · May 12, 2016

First of all, let me say how much I do NOT like the new Acrobat. I've been using it since v1. Thought I had a good handle on it, but that is not the case with the new Acrobat DC. Case in point. I have a extremely simple form; just text fields. I used an existing PDF provided by someone, completed it and tried to print it. Everything is fine on screen. Nothing is set to be visible but not print. It should be a simple matter of printing the form.

No.

Half the instructional text doesn't print at all. None of the form fields print.

Placed the file in InDesign, loaded some fonts it thought it needed and tried again. Now I get the form fields, but very faint and the font int outlined.

So I recreated the form in InDesign, exported to a PDF, created and form and completed it once again. All the instructional text printed as expected, but the form fields won't print in Acrobat. Brought in into IInDesign once again and the form field fonts are once again outlined and very faint.

What at I doing wrong? Seems insane that I can't print the form. This is an agency that will not accept an electronic version and I have trouble completing forms by hand. This used to be the solution. It isn't any more.

Why?

Report · May 12, 2016

You might have to provide a bit more information, particularly about the concerned form, but also about versions of your operating system and platform.

(and don't be offended…) does the printer have full ink tanks?

Report · May 13, 2016

Sorry. Not offended at all. I was extremely frustrated that I spent nearly 4 hours on a job that should have taken 10 minutes at the most.

Yep, full ink cartridges in my Epson WF-3520. Test prints in full color are fine. I have a year old 27" iMac running El Capitan 10.11.4 (current), running current versions of all Adobe CC. Mac has 32GB memory and a 3T fusion drive.

As I mentioned before, I've used Acrobat from day one and loved Acrobat Pro. Not so happy with DC. Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Thanks for the quick response.

Report · May 13, 2016

Just as a test to see whether there may be an issue with the form itself… how does it print from Preview.app?

Otherwise, it would be helpful to know about the form itself (if you can disclose it).

Report · May 13, 2016

Preview produced the same results, which led me to believe the issue is with the form. And remember, I said I recreated the entire form myself in InDesign, then rand it through the form maker in Acrobat, and finally completed it in Acrobat. While the form itself printed, the form fields did not. When I placed the completed PDF form in InDesign, the fonts were outlined and very faint. Let me know if you need me to photograph and upload an example.

Report · May 13, 2016

It would be very helpful to be able to see the original form. If you can post it, or even just a sample that behave the same way, we can take a look.

Editing a placed PDF form in InDesign is doomed to failure.

Report · May 13, 2016

Thank you for the response, but I don't think you read my post very well. I did not attempt to edit the form in InDesign. I placed it and printed it with the results described. When that didn't work, I RECREATED the form from scratch using InDesign, then made it into a form in Acrobat.

Not sure how to attach the form. Happy to do so if you can point me in the right direction.

Report · May 13, 2016

I read it, I just didn't understand what you meant by: "Placed the file in InDesign, loaded some fonts it thought it needed and tried again. Now I get the form fields, but very faint and the font int outlined."

You cannot post a file to these forums, but you can use a file sharing site and post a link here. For example, you can share a file on cloud.acrobat.com and post the link here. If you can't share a file, I'd be happy to take a look if you want to email me at: acroscript at gmail dot com

Report · May 13, 2016

There are times I place a PDF in InDesign for one reason or another. If the font is missing, InDesign notifies me so I can load it. ArialMT was missing, so I loaded it before i tried to print.

Here's the link to their original form.

http://adobe.ly/1TckYVl

Report · May 13, 2016

Since that PDF doesn't contain any interactive form fields, can you clarify exactly how you filled in the form before you attempted to print it?

Report · May 15, 2016

Again, referring you back to my original post where I said I converted the PDF into a form with Acrobat. I appreciate that you're trying to help, but no one has discussed the original problem which is why the form fields won't print. I used Acrobat to create the simplest of forms; no even a signature block, then typed my responses in the newly created form fields and attempted to print directly from Acrobat. This is something I've done numerous times without problems. I'm baffled why it's happening now. I went to great lengths trying various workarounds (dropping said completed form into InDesign and printing; opening and printing from Preview, etc.), all with no success. I even created their form, using InDesign, back to Acrobat to create and complete the form and attempt printing once again. NOTHING works.

My final workaround was to print the blank form (the one I made) and complete it by hand. There's nothing else I can tell you and I'm not the only one who has this problem. I've seen it many times on this forum and others.

Please understand I'm a veteran user of Adobe products and the Mac OS. I offer support to my clients and feel like I can do most troubleshooting effectively.

Report · May 15, 2016

When I requested that you post the form, I expected you would post the one that you had a problem with. If you post one that has form fields, we might be able to tell you why they don't print.