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Feature request / Bug report

Acrobat for Windows and Mac: PDF Forms

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Combine fillable forms with identical field names in one pdf

When merging two/more fillable forms that contain identical field names (e.g., 'Name' in two distinct form sections) into one document, the information from the first form automatically populates the corresponding fields across all forms. There should be an opt-out from this feature to prevent data duplication when the forms represent different information and still need to be combined in one document.

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  • NInGa Asashmandovke commented  ·   ·  Report

    This is actually a really common pain point and I am surprised it has not been addressed more seriously yet. When you merge forms with identical field names the auto-population behavior makes total sense in theory but falls apart completely the moment your forms represent different people or different data sets. An opt-out toggle per field or per form section would solve this without breaking existing functionality for people who actually want the syncing behavior.

    I ran into something similar while putting together documents for a client and ended up having to manually rename every single field just to avoid the duplication. Not a huge deal for a small form but when you are working with something longer it gets tedious fast. I actually took a break midway through and ended up browsing around on Tropical Casino https://tropical-casino.com/ for a bit before coming back to finish it, which honestly helped more than it should have.

    Hopefully whoever manages the roadmap for this tool picks this up. It is a small change that would make a real difference for anyone working with multi-section documents.

  • LRS commented  ·   ·  Report

    Agreed. Why doesn't Adobe (Illustrator, InDesign, or Acrobat) have an alternate option, "Do Not Merge Data" action/script to assign alternate labels by simply adding a number after the existing field name?

    I've made a daily tracker form document and wish to insert multiple duplicate pages in one information pamphlet/workbook.

    In searching how to do this, I've been told to produce an Acrobat "Portfolio" which would be clunky and wouldn't look like a brochure.

    Another mentioned to make an "Acrobat Template" though that option does not exactly exist. Directions for a template have me create a signature??? I don't want to produced a signed document. AND I don't want it to exist online.

    I want to produce it using a desktop app and distribute it without it being apart of Adobe Cloud.

    Thirdly, a programmer suggested I purchase his plugin for $50. I already pay Adobe a monthly fee plus credits if I go over them.

    Please advise