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Accessibility issues re: fillable PDF

New Here ,
Apr 23, 2021 Apr 23, 2021

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Hello!  I have used Adobe Pro 2021.001.20145 to make a survey document in fillable PDF format.  I then sent this survey to participants around the world.

 

For a substantial minority of participants, the text fields are inoperable.  I haven't found a common link among the people who are experiencing issues.  I tested the fillable PDF using the free Acrobat Reader app on different computers, but some participants are unable to click and fill in the text fields on their computers.

I need to troubleshoot the cause of this problem.  Once this is identified, it will be clearer whether I should circulate a different PDF document to participants, or provide them with instructions to adjust settings.  If you recognize the problem I've described, I'd be grateful for any help.

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Community Expert ,
Apr 23, 2021 Apr 23, 2021

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What program are they using to open the PDF and fill in the form?

  • If they open the PDF in a browser, most likely they will not be able to fill in the form fields.
  • If they open it in Apple's Preview program, it won't work, either.

Have them open it in Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat for the best results. Many other brands of PDF viewers can't read form fields.

 

 

|    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer & Technologist for Accessible Documents
|    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |

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New Here ,
Apr 23, 2021 Apr 23, 2021

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Many thanks for your reply.

 

The problem has arisen for participants who open the document in Adobe Reader (DC).  Some of these participants cannot see or use the text entry fields.  My colleague has experienced this problem when viewing the document in Reader on three different computers.  She did not have such problems when viewing a draft version of the document that I had circulated earlier.   I do not think I did anything differently when creating the draft and final versions.

 

Thanks for any further troubleshooting!

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New Here ,
Nov 15, 2022 Nov 15, 2022

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I have been having this same issue for the last 2 years now and it's completely random - some people experience, others don't. Same software version as me, same adobe acrobat software - it doesn't matter! and the issue is random for others, even though i test everything multiple times.

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