Form Field Recognition

Was the document properly taged in the authoring application before you converted it to PDF?
Tagging during conversion to PDF requires an authoring application that supports tagging in PDF. Tagging during conversion enables the authoring application to draw from the source document’s paragraph styles or other structural information to produce a logical structure tree that reflects an accurate reading order and appropriate levels of tags. This tagging can more readily interpret the structure of complex layouts, such as embedded sidebars, closely spaced columns, irregular text alignment, and tables. Tagging during conversion can also properly tag the links, cross-references, bookmarks, and alternate text (when available) that are in the file.

To tag a PDF in Acrobat, use the Add Tags To Document command. This command works on any untagged PDF, such as one created with Adobe PDF Printer. Acrobat analyzes the content of the PDF to interpret the individual page elements, their hierarchical structure, and the intended reading order of each page, and then builds a tag tree that reflects that information. It also creates tags for any links, cross-references, and bookmarks that you added to the document in Acrobat.

Though the Add Tags To Document command adequately tags most standard layouts, it cannot always correctly interpret the structure and reading order of complex page elements, such as closely spaced columns, irregular text alignment, nonfillable form fields, and tables that don’t have borders. Tagging these pages by using the Add Tags To Document command can result in improperly combined elements or out-of-sequence tags that cause reading order problems in the PDF.

If you tag a document from within Acrobat, the application generates an error report after it completes the tagging process. You can use this report to guide you as you repair tagging problems. You can identify other tagging, reading order, and accessibility problems for any PDF in Acrobat by using the Full Check tool or the TouchUp Reading Order tool.

pddesigner:
This is VERY helpful.
This worked great however I am wondering if there is a way to change the "default" for the font size. Right now when I do this it each field is "Auto". The reason I want to changes this is that I make pdfs from a template in InDesign on a regular basis (multiple pdfs a day). I don't want to have to go into each one and into each field in order to change the font size to be bigger. If you need more details I posted my issue a couple of days ago in the Forms forum. Your answer here makes it so I would only have 2 additional steps for what I do: RFFR and Enable Usage Rights and then save the pdf but the small font size may be a problem. Hope this make sense.

OK... I'm a novice in Acrobat, and given my frustration level, am probable destined to remain in that catagory.

How do I tag the boxes in Word?

I have a form with two parts... One part has a two colum table, similar to a multiple choice question. Checkbox is in the first column, and the option is in the second column. Those boxes are recognized.

The second part is a 4 column table... Yes, No, N/A, and the statement. NONE of these boxes were recognized, so the problem in conversion or field recognition with Adobe appears to be when multiple columns are added, and check boxes are close together.

In Access, one has commands to align, change sizes, etc., and one is designing in one layer. Using Word, and then adding check boxes is difficult because Adobe doesn't seem to recognize the lines deliniating the cells in boxes. Hence, manually adding two pages of check boxes, in 3 box lines (there are about 65 questions) is daunting.

I'd love to learn how to use the program, but am overwhelmed by poor documentation, lack of internet resources (all searches bring up more products to buy, not solutions), and books that really don't seem to address this problem, other than telling me to manually add boxes, but not how to arrange them nice and neatly.

If I used Access as the base, and converted from that program, would I have the same problem?

Help!!!!!