Create Expandable Text Field Forms
Adobe Acrobat Pro needs to have the ability to create expandable text field forms that allow the text box to expand when the user types similar to what you can do with Livecycle.
This is a feature that has been requested a lot online. Currently Acrobat Pro only allows multi-line text field forms with a scroll bar, but you cannot create an expanding text field form that increases in the height of the text field to accomodate more text.
The functionality to create this even in Livecycle is too clunky and complicated to use.
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Mark commented
Without a doubt this is a problem. We create work orders in Acrobat. When we print them in Production, the text cuts off!
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Anonymous commented
Don't understand why Adobe Reader doesn't allow printing of all the overflow text in a text box. Printer only allows for what can be seen, not the overflow. Crazy!
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Anonymous commented
Yes this is a much needed feature in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC.
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Ashley Pritchard commented
it's 2020....come on Adobe...
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Anonymous commented
This is a very important function that is necessary in any legal environment. If you are typing something into a form, of course you would need the ability to print out EVERY WORD that was typed in. I don't see why it would be any other way.
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Jessica Johnson commented
Text boxes need the option to wrap text instead of text overflow - when I print I can't see any of the typed fields if they are filled beyond the text box. I don't know why multi-lined text isn't an option ... my current work-around this is I manually put in multiple text boxes on top of each other and then I have to select auto-size for the text but then every line of text is a different size.
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Bea commented
It took me a while to create the text boxes for my form. It was very frustrating to see the text not visible because it was longer than the box could hold. Also, when I printed the document, the print showed only partial text. I couldn’t use a smaller font size because it would not be easy to read and did not look good. For a fillable pdf form, the text box should be expandable.
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Anonymous commented
Agreed on expandable fields. It's impossible to know how large to make the boxes. Additionally, it's fairly useless to have a fillable PDF with scrollable fields, and then be unable to print out the entirety of those fields. Merely reducing the font size isn't helpful, I have my eyes to consider. I'm not going to ask my clients to use Google Forms!
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Anonymous commented
With all of the feature set that is available in Adobe Acrobat DC.. I am very surprised that this functionality is not included. A basic for any form generator is the ability for a field to expand based on it's content.
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Jeff Fielder commented
Sorry to jump on this moving train, but I absolutely agree. I have to create expandable forms in Word like some sort of troglodyte because Adobe PDF doesn't allow for expandable form fields. It's such a simple thing to flow a document and expand fields. Why isn't this already a thing?
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Adam L. commented
Agreed.
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Lillian commented
Is there an add-on feature or additional program that would allow for this feature (as was available in Live Cycle)? Or is there another form creation program that would serve as an alternative option?
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Vickie Miller commented
I agree that Adobe needs to add "expandable" tool for formatting in the fillable forms. The multi-scroll option does not help when the viewer needs to see everything in the box. The multi-scroll function within the field is not an option when the all of the information needs to be seen.....not scrolled to see the rest of the information in the field. Has there been a response from Adobe in regards to adding an expandable function? Waiting.......
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Max Wyss commented
@The Dazzler: online forms are not suitable in so many cases, and are in certain aspects inferior to smart PDFs. Therefore, online forms are not really an option.
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The Dazzler commented
There are so many online form creation options which are better, maybe we should all just go and explore them instead.
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rebecca commented
This is SUCH an important feature to add to forms!! Currently, respondents can reply with multi line responses, but what is the point if their answer is cut off, or printed SO SMALL it is unreadable??? this is really frustrating when creating a form that needs exhaustive answers, and basic 1 line answers as well. we need to see the FULL & COMPLETE response (even if the answer box needs to expand several pages)...
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KS commented
@Max Wyss
I'm new to this forum and haven't yet been able to figure out how to PM you, so wanted to send a ntoe asap. I'm definitely interested in the learning the expanding text field options in acroforms if you could share. maybe you can send me a PM an I'll get a notification. Or perhaps you can share some more info? Thanks a ton!
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Shaun commented
I'm a Graphic Designer using Adobe InDesign to put together documents which will eventually have editable form fields within them once converted to a pdf. I've redesigned/rebranded loads of documents in this way, all of which require editable form fields that my colleagues need to use in other departments within the business.
So imagine their surprise when the type they are keying into the form fields I have created starts to disappear when it overflows and is replaced with a scroll bar. This simply cannot happen in our organisation as the end users need to print out these documents with the content in view at all times.
So now you can imagine my disgust at having to use Microsoft Word to recreate the documents again so they can take advantage of the expanding table/forms that it has always had.
@Gaurav Sharma the work around you mention simply isn't good enough. Set your A4 document's font size to say, 9pt for all the fields for layout consistency. But then pre-empt that another form field's text might overflow and set it to 'Auto'. If the user doesn't need all the space the font looks massive, if they use more space then the font starts to decrease. if they use even more space, then the font reduces further to an almost unreadable 5/6pt.
There is no real work around that can effectively solve this problem... apart from Word! (Yuk).
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BIll commented
Shoot, I can't even get a scrollbar to show up. Everything is checked that should be checked, but text just disappears into oblivion if its more than the box can fit.
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George Ferris commented
@Max Wyss is absolutely correct. There is no reason Adobe should not have implemented an expandable form field years ago. Text needs to stay at a readable size (as opposed to shrinking to microscopic when you type more than what fits in the static field) and needs to print in its entirety (not disappear with a scroll bar on the side). Seriously, how difficult could this be to program into Acrobat? Get on with it!