How to add Text Field to document, WITHOUT creating form?

It sounds like you are trying to find something that Adobe took away, as I am. Yesterday I posted a similar plea regarding forms and how they used to be flexible and easy to send out for anyone to fill in. And the information they entered would be RETAINED within the Reader doc. they used to filled it in with. Sadly, I have a feeling that part of Acrobat is gone.

We users need to start a new thread (or even this one) to see how many people want that function back, and send the thread link to Adobe to see if it that kind of support could bring it back. I'm a graphic designer, and this new online-fill-in-and-send-back is something I'll never make use of personally, BECAUSE I DON'T DO FORMS FOR MY USE!! In past versions I used Acrobat to set-up price lists for my customers and they could fill in the data on the blank fields. That's how version 9 forms should work, instead my customer now sees a purple message bar saying your data won't be saved. I thought the purpose of Acrobat was to create documents others could share and use.

Adobe is a smart company, but should have kept the original flexibility in Acrobat forms. Adobe should also realize that forms aren't only for questionnaires, but have many many other uses. They are forcing graphic designer users like me to find other ways, or some enterprising start-up to write a better forms management scenario for us.

--Rob

Look under the "Forms => Show Forms Toolbar". Adobe is pushing the LiveCycle Designer form model, but the AcroForms option is still available and is the only form option in Acrobat 9 Standard. [url=http://www.acrobatusers.com/articles/2006/09/nuts_bolts_forms]Nuts and bolts of PDF forms[/url] by Carl Young.

Are you certain that you are referring to version 9? I looked under the only two "Forms" menu/toolbar areas (in the topmost drop down menu; and the horizontal tool bar just under that) I couldn't find anything in either location regarding "Show Forms Toolbar", if fact they both had pretty much the same links (start form wizard; Add or edit fields; Distribute forms; Track forms) . I then followed the link you posted, and that Carl Young tutorial is dated 1996. I know how good using Acrobat forms was in 1996 ...I need Acrobat 2009 to work that good instead of the "distribute" and "track" crap they're forcing us to use now!

I think I know why Adobe has gone this route... The only way to distribute forms with a save and reuse functionality is for everyone to own a full blown copy of the program (money in the bank for Adobe), which totally makes Reader and it's free distribution a real useless laugh! However, the people I design(ed) Acrobat forms for previously haven't got a clue how to use it that way nor would they ever want to try.

I'm using Acrobat Pro version 9.

--Rob

Hi robmack,

You may not like this suggestion, but it is a way to get around the automated scanning for form fields and/or saving you must do when you choose the Add or Edit Fields menu tiem. What I do is add a button to my PDF using the Button tool on the Advanced Editing toolbar, then Right Click on the button and select "Add Another Field" and choose a Text Field. Then you can delete the button field. Kludgy I know, but it is a workaround I use.

I forgot to mention that this does not however, remove the infamous purple message bar- there is no way I know of to get rid of that if you have any fields at all on your PDF, regardless of the situation. There have been many heated discussions about the need for the 'purple bar" but it's fallen on deaf ears thus far.

Hope this helps,

Dimitri
WindJack Solutions
www.windjack.com
www.pdfscripting.com

Rob,

You can speculate all you want, but history and current capabilities may prove your assumptions wrong.

Currently Acrobat 9 Standard can produce forms using Acrobat and that version can also apply Extended Form Rights for distribution of a form to up to 500 users.

Currently version 9 Standard or above can apply Extended Form Rights to forms created with Acrobat's Form Tool. This desktop feature was first provided in Acrobat with version 8 Professional for distribution of a form to up to 500 users. Prior to that one needed an Adobe server product to apply Extended Form Rights.

So I will stand by my original suggestion.

I don't understand your reply ... I never mentioned anything about auto scanning??...perhaps you miss read my comment or you replied to a wrong thread???

It's not auto scanning or any part of setting up any type of form that I'm having a problem with. In fact, I happen to like the auto scanning function.

I have been setting up forms for years in Acrobat... What I hate about Acrobat version 9 is the fact that what ever form I make, the people I make it for can't save the data they enter in their pdf unless they own the full version of Acrobat OR choose to send it back to me to do whatever with. I'm the graphic (form) designer...it's not even my information, which is really stupid --what do I do with my customer's information from their form?. Only a couple of version ago my customers could save the data in forms I developed (actually it just stayed in the form in Reader, no save necessary). Why would Adobe take that function away? With this new manner of form input & fixed focus retrieval, it cuts form designers who design pdf forms for businesses for a living right out of the picture.--Rob

Hi robmack,

I was replying to the first message in the thread and didn't see it was not you, but WRonX. Sorry. His questions was different from yours. He asked "Is there any chance to make Text Field without making form?" So I guess I'm in WronnX's thread and you hijacked it....

Anyway, I've been using Acrobat since version 5, and until Adobe introduced Extended Forms Rights in Acrobat 8 Professional it was not possible to fill AND save data in a PDF using only the free Acrobat Reader. You could fill and print but not save. In fact, I was present at conferences where there were heated debates about not offering the ability to save data in fillable forms using only the free Reader. SO ounless you have Acrobat pre version 5 (and the ability to add fields were only added in version 3) I'm not sure how you were using a non-exisent feature.


As gkaiseril stated, in Acrobat 9 Pro you can add add fill and save rights to a PDF form so your clients with only the free Adboe Reader can fill and save the PDF with the data- no distribution involved. There are limits explained in the EULA, and the steps for adding Reader Rights can be easily found in Acrobat's Help file or in several tutorials and videos here at AUC. A simple search should turn up enough to get you going.

Hope this helps,

Dimitri
WindJack Solutions
www.windjack.com
www.pdfscripting.com

I was doing it in version 5 & 6... supplying forms to my customers who could fill them out in Reader, and the data stayed, and I was doing it until a Reader update about 6 months ago... that's when I got complaints from my customers about the purple/pink message bar. So you can see why I'm confused. Adobe told me that I could continue doing it if I upgraded to version 9, where I'm at now, and can't find the info I need to have that feature back. (I upgraded about 3 weeks ago from V6 to V9)Thanks for you input however, and I'll follow it to see if I can find & employ the 500 user feature.PS. I didn't set out to "highjack" this thread... my initial reply wasn't a question--more of a rant. My intention was to answer the thread starters query with what I knew because his problem was similar to mine... it is just evolving to this level.

(As to how I was doing forms that way in v5 & 6 before it was released in v8 is a mystery because even Adobe has recently told me I couldn't have been doing that. However, I have a bunch of customers that were using it so I know it was working... and they only had Reader. In version 5 I even had a large multi-national company send me a form to fill out, which I did and they never got back to me to say print and scan & e-mail it... so it worked fine as well. There must have been some beta version mixed in to their sales units at that time.)Best regards,

--Rob