Disabling Fill & Sign from automatically opening

[chayes10]

According to the 11.0.09 updates, Reader will automatically open the Fill & Sign pane when fields are present. I do not like this new default feature and have not found an easy option for disabling.

From the update page, it looks like I should be able to edit my registry to completely disable that pane from the user interface. While completely disabling is not ideal, I find it better to the alternative of always having it pop up.

However, when navigating to the following registry path:

• HKLM’s cServices\bEnableSignPane set to 0 removes the Fill & Sign Pane from the user interface. (full path being HKLM\Software\Policies\Adobe\Acrobat Reader\11.0\FeatureLockDown\)

I do not see a cServices folder. I've run a search on my entire registry and cannot find where this folder nor its key is held. The only subfolders all begin with cDefault...

How can I disable this setting? And is there a plan to give the end user the option to disable this pane from automatically popping up in the future?

Thanks for any help.

[Josh_Corey · Accepted solution]

Hi;

Tuning Acrobat/Reader is really designed for an IT department and not manually by an end user.  The key needs to be created and then the machine restarted to take effect.  Here is an article on preferences for IT departments which gives more information on complete registry/plist paths: 5   Preference Basics — Enterprise Administration Guide

I tried it out and it worked fine, on my machine however the FeatureLockDown was in the 32bit location even though it is a 64bit machine...

Just a note, the "Fill & Sign" panel in Adobe Reader XI is not the same as the online service "Adobe Fill & Sign", it is the name of the Tools panel in Adobe Reader for filling and signing forms.

Thanks,

Josh

[Joe_Masinter]

The major problem with the 11.0.09 release is that embedding the PDF using the "&toolbar=0" parameter does not seem to work anymore.  It's critical for users of our web application that embedded PDF forms open without any distracting toolbars, because the toolbar functions are not part of the workflow.  Editing the registry isn't an option unfortunately.  I would imagine that "&toolbar=0" should continue to hide the toolbar regardless if the PDF is a fillable form.

[Josh_Corey]

Hi;

This forum is for an Adobe website/service called "Adobe Fill & Sign": https://cloud.acrobat.com/fillsign

For questions related to Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat XI please use the Acrobat or Reader forums:

Acrobat

PDF Forms

Adobe Reader

Thanks,

Josh

[Joe_Masinter]

It's specifically the new release of the Fill & Sign feature that is responsible for the problem I'm describing which is exactly what the OP is talking about.  The Fill & Sign toolbar is made visible regardless if the PDF is opened with the parameter "toolbar=0"

[Josh_Corey]

I apologize that this is confusing but the "Fill & Sign" panel in Adobe Reader XI and Acrobat XI is not related to the online service, they are completely different.  I helped that user with the answer about the registry setting since I had some knowledge about it but am not the right person to troubleshoot any related problems and this is not the right forum.  This type of question belongs in the Acrobat or Reader forums...

Thanks,

Josh

[Joe_Masinter]

Understood, I posted in the Reader forum also.  Thanks for replying anyway

[fpa1144]

Is there anyway to remove this setting or turn it off without messing with your registry?  This setting is very annoying and I do not want to see this.

[Josh_Corey]

As far as I know just through the registry setting change.

Thanks,

Josh

[Andrew Porter]

I agree. I cannot seem to stop this fill & sign screen from popping up whenever I open a document, and it has become downright annoying. I can't seem to turn it off, and I wish there were a competing product I could subscribe to.