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Bobh123us
Participating Frequently
April 24, 2015
Answered

How to change height of highlight

  • April 24, 2015
  • 6 replies
  • 84914 views

I am highlighting some text in a document that I converted from a web page using the converter in Acrobat. The highlighting height is about 2 lines of text high, so as I highlight one line it also highlights half of the line above and half of the line below the line I am highlighting. This makes the highlighting very imprecise. It's like highlighting with a very wide, dull highlighter. This doesn't usually happen when I highlight documents, but is happening on this particular document. I can't find any means to modify the height of the highlighter. I am using Acrobat Professional X version 10.1.13.

Here's an example:

Thanks for a fix.

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer try67

    The highlighter uses the underlying "box" that defines each word. You'll see it acts the same when you select it with the mouse.

    This could be the result of an imperfect OCR process, or a bad PDF engine used to create the file. Basically there's not much you can do about it.

    6 replies

    S
    Sandra27597258efkf
    Participant
    December 16, 2022

    After I read the comments below about Chrome messing up the document, I decided to try opening it in Microsoft Bing. I printed the document, saved it as a PDF, and wallah... It worked!  

     

    S
    Sara22253259a91v
    Participant
    December 14, 2021

    My redacting looked like a block, rather than redacting by line.  The highlighting was too large.

     

    I resaved the pdf document from Word.   File -> Export -> Create PDF/XPS Document 

     

    and it seems to work now.

    R
    rspor
    Participating Frequently
    December 19, 2021

    This is a bug in Adobe.  The highlighting was never an issue before.  It doesn't matter how the file is created -- printed, downloaded, etc. Adobe needs to fix this. 

      J
      jaimeesv
      Participant
      January 16, 2018

      I'm having the same issue - after a reinstall - of the highlighter (and selection) being a HUGE area - highlighter oval...

        williamjacobs
        williamjacobs
        Participant
        February 22, 2018

        The original poster was working with a PDF that was generated from a web page (Save As PDF, Print as PDF, etc.)

        A user I support found she'd get this problem when saving web pages as PDFs while using Google Chrome, but NOT when using Microsoft Edge (Windows 10 version of Internet Explorer.)

        If your PDF showing this behavior was generated from a web page, a different web browser may produce a PDF without this wretched behavior.

        If it wasn't made from a web page, perhaps you'll get a good answer if you mention HOW you created the PDF that's misbehaving.

        Version: Adobe Acrobat DC . up to date as of 2/22/18

        META: cursor large point font large huge cursor area multiple lines text

          A
          aprayzr
          Participant
          December 26, 2017

          Started having the same problem after the last update.  Happens with all pdf files, created with adobe on my computer, or one from another source.  It is as if it is selecting with a font that is 130 points.

            clalisan
            clalisan
            Participant
            December 28, 2017

            I tried uninstalling both Adobe Acrobat Pro and Reader and reinstalled it again but it's still the same issue for me. I found out it's actually the document/file since my other PDF documents does not have the same issue.

            What I did was printed the PDF with Adobe Printer again and that seems to have overwritten whatever settings it had that made that highlight toolbar that big in the first place.

            So far it's been working for me.

              P
              PopV
              Known Participant
              March 28, 2018

              @clalisan had the correct answer.

              When using Chrome browser if you choose to print a page to 'Adobe PDF', something borks and you end up with a huge cursor when trying to comment the file.

              All you need do is reprint to Adobe PDF.

              1. Open the PDF document you originally created in Chrome.

              2. Ctrl P (file>Print) and choose Adobe PDF as your printer.

              3. Rename the file to something slightly different (or whatever).

              4. Once the file has been 'printed' (regenerated), the cursor problem will be fixed.

              5. Delete the old file if you wish.

              6. Profit.

                defrep
                defrep
                Participant
                June 21, 2016

                I had the same issue on my system, with Acrobat DC; The issue was having Microsoft convert to PDF; as they have a glitched issue. Don't know why, try using Foxit reader to convert and you can do your original highlights through acrobat as it should auto-open afterwords.

                Hope this helps.

                  R
                  rupertd5765355
                  Participant
                  October 15, 2017

                  I have the same problem. When I create a PDF using Acrobat PDF printer, the document is screwed up. When I try and highlight, it highlights a huge section instead of a word or a line I want to highlight. This same behavior exists when I try and select a single word.

                  This obviously involves Adobe somehow and saying "there is nothing you can do about it" is NOT a good answer.

                    try67
                    Community Expert
                    try67Community ExpertCorrect answer
                    Community Expert
                    April 24, 2015

                    The highlighter uses the underlying "box" that defines each word. You'll see it acts the same when you select it with the mouse.

                    This could be the result of an imperfect OCR process, or a bad PDF engine used to create the file. Basically there's not much you can do about it.

                    msturner
                    msturner
                    Participating Frequently
                    July 27, 2021

                    Sorry, this should not be marked as the "Correct Answer".  Please see the response from clalisan below, with the great follow-up instructions from others.  While it is tedious, reprinting the PDF generated from a website using the Adobe PDF in your printer options absolutely solves the problem.  Cheers!

                      Z
                      zdvdla
                      Participating Frequently
                      June 18, 2022

                      this is really rediculous. Adobe is the King of graphics applications, and they cannot work this out!? 
                      Lord knows they charge an arm and a leg to "rent" their software, they sure should be able to figure out how to change the size of a simple, everyday. highlighter...

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