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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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  • Max Wyss commented  ·   ·  Report

    @Gaurav Sharma: With all due respect, but I have a bit of a problem with this answer.

    1. XFA is pretty much dead, and should really no longer be promoted.

    2. The request for automatically growing fields in Acroforms is about 20 years old!

    3. Setting the font size to autoscale is indeed an option, but this really can not be honestly suggested for serious forms use, especially when paper is involved.

    4. Fields with automatic font size is not what the OP requests; the OP most likely is aware of this.

    5. It IS possible to make self-growing fields in Acroforms; I have implemented such things a good decade ago. However, there is a small missing link, which Adobe simply chose to not provide.

    6. When filling a field without autoscroll/autosize, a marker appears when the content is bigger than can be displayed.

    7. We do have the fieldFull Field Object property. The problem is that for reasons unknown and unexplicable to me, it is only available in the Keystroke event.

    8. The marker mentioned in point 6 has no interface to JavaScript.

    9. Which gets us to the missing link: The marker mentioned in point 6 and the fieldFull JavaScript property should be coupled. In addition to that, the fieldFull property should be available to all field events.

    10. A little bit of coding on the form side, and we would have fields which can grow and shrink.

    So, why has Adobe been refusing to implement this so far?? I understand, back in the XFA über Alles era, it was not suitable to do it, but but that era is long gone.

    So, @Gaurav Sharma… why??

  • AdminGaurav Sharma (Software Engineer, Adobe) commented  ·   ·  Report

    Hello,

    Currently Expandable form fields can't be created using Acroforms. This is already supported in XFA forms, where there is a concept of dynamicity. In case of Acroforms, field layout/positioning/size is static.

    But still you can try below workaround :
    Create a text field with a multi-line property and a font size set to “auto”. This will allow the size of the font to be automatically resized to a smaller size so the text fits into the field bound.
    Steps :
    1.In PrepareFormApp, Right click on a text field and select Properties

    2. Under Appearance tab, click on font size and select “Auto”

    3. Go to Options tab and check “Multiline” checkbox.

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    I agree the create a forms function is worthless if you have a form that has comment fields. Why is this still an issue? And please make it available as part of the forms function.

  • Arman commented  ·   ·  Report

    👌👌👌👌👌👌👌
    I agree with you

  • Megan commented  ·   ·  Report

    Admin, sounds like Adobe Acrobat Pro. Can you answer for that program?

  • Max Wyss commented  ·   ·  Report

    @Anonymous: It is possible in Acroforms, a bit messy, and with some restrictions. Feel free to get in touch with me in private.

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    Hi,
    I am working as fleet manager in a shipping company. I tried making pdf form with expandable text field. unfortunately it does not happen as there are no options available. the only option that i see is multi line and scroll bar. But no option for expandable text field.

  • Max Wyss commented  ·   ·  Report

    It is possible to build growing (unfortunately not shrinking) text fields in PDF forms. It is, however, quite clunky, and (in the opinion of the one who has developed this feature) a bit experimental.

    The main reason for this is that the trigger for the overflow indicator in the text field is not accessible using Acrobat JavaScript. I have requested this several times in the past, but it has been refused with more or less weak arguments…

  • Max Wyss commented  ·   ·  Report

    It is very late that I get to this thread, agreed.

    But resizable "text boxes inside Comment App" ARE NOT WHAT THE OP REQUESTS!!

    The OP (and many others, over all the years) request TEXT FIELDS to grow and shrink depending on their contents.

  • Lori commented  ·   ·  Report

    I see the reply that expandable text field is supported ...can you provide a tutorial?? We use Acrobat to create many forms for the public, but find this option is now necessary and are researching other programs

  • Anonymous commented  ·   ·  Report

    I only bought adobe DC to build form for my clients ... now I learn it is actually a crippled version of a form builder for Mac ... time for a refund and an new tool ... so disappointed

    back to MS Word for now.

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