Preview - Cannot edit fields in PDF documents.

Question

Preview - Cannot edit fields in PDF documents.

After installing High Sierra I cannot edit fields in PDF documents.

I have some forms that need to have fields manually changed on monthly and yearly basis. These forms were originally scanned from paper. I used to open these forms in Preview and insert and edit the form fields without problem. After updating to High Sierra, attempting to edit any form fields changes the text into solid black - no use at all. Inserting new fields does the same thing. This happens on my iMac and MacBook Pro, and also happens in Adobe Acrobat DC. So I think Apple changed something in PDF editing, but I don't know what or why.

Any known fixes for this?

iMac 2013, MacBook Pro 2011, High Sierra 10.13.3.

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2013), macOS High Sierra (10.13.3)

Posted on Feb 3, 2018 7:04 PM

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Answer 1

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,962 points

Feb 3, 2018 7:50 PM in response to Stephenscribe

Preview is not a PDF editor.

You need Adobe Acrobat Pro, or one of the PDF Editor products in the Mac App Store. I believe, if the forms are using Adobe Acrobat JavaScript (AcroJS) for calculations, then the Mac App Store PDF Editors cannot work with that specialty JavaScript.

If the PDFs were generated by Adobe LiveCycle, then you will need that Windows product to modify those specialty PDF form fields as they are incompatible with normal Adobe Acrobat forms solutions.

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Answer 2

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,962 points

Feb 4, 2018 1:06 AM in response to VikingOSX

What I actually meant to post.

Preview is not a PDF editor. Never designed for that purpose. You cannot change the underlying PDF document content with Preview beyond adding an annotation layer.

If you are using the single-purchase, Acrobat Pro DC (2015), then Adobe isn't updating it, and anything is possible with new releases of macOS. If you are on a subscription plan, ensure that you have the latest Acrobat Pro DC update, and see if that improves compatibility with 10.13.3.

Paragraph two may contain a fix, or it may not. No one here knows what is causing the problem, or has an Apple or Adobe badge for more product insight.

You could boot into Safe Boot mode and try the PDF form work again in Acrobat Pro DC to see if there is any change. Reboot normally, and try again. If no change, you may be up the creek…

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Answer 3

Feb 3, 2018 8:03 PM in response to Stephenscribe

I suggest you install adobe acrobat reader dc, here is the official download link: https://get.adobe.com/reader/

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Preview - Cannot edit fields in PDF documents.

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