InDesign / Acrobat Mystery - interactive buttons misinterpreted as form fields by Acrobat

[Rosta...@adobeforums.com]

hi everybody

I am quickly approaching a deadline and have only few hair left... i stumbled upon a bug or whatever in InDesign... After countless hours of pinpointing the root of the error i am able to reconstruct the error scenerio in few steps that go like this:

1 - create a blank ID document with 37 pages
2 - go to Master Page A in that document
3 - create 3 interactive buttons with the button tool anywhere on the Master Page A, leave the buttons blank
4 - export all pages to PDF with all interactive options ON

NOW !

what i get when i open this PDF in Acrobat is an annoying pink bar across the width of the page saying this:

Please fill out the following form. If you are a form author, choose Distribute Form in the Forms menu to send it to your recipients.

NOW WHERE THE HACK IS THAT COMING FROM AND HOW TO TURN IT OFF !!!

TO MAKE YOUR HEAD TWIST !

try exporting the same ID document but only pages 1-20 and the annoying pink stripe does not appear in this case... crazy - no changes to the document...

please help ASAP i wasted two days figuring this out...

since this is a king of ID/ACRO combined problem appearing on PC or MAC i post it on all related forums... sorry i see no other options...

[Jon Bessant]

I'm NOT getting this with InDesign 5.03 and BOTH Acrobat 8.12 and 9.0

Update your InDesign and try again - hopefully you'll be happy ;-)

JOn

[Rosta...@adobeforums.com]

Jon are you sure you didnt differ in the setup of the document? Did you export all 37 pages?... I ALSO HAVE INDESIGN 5.0.3 and i am pretty much sure this behavior doesnt have to do anything with program versions or platforms...

I exported PDF from INDESIGN 5.0.3 and opened the same PDF in these:

ACROBAT PROFFESIONAL 8.0.0 MAC
- bar appears !

ACROBAT READER 9.0 PC
- bar appears !

ACROBAT PROFFESIONAL 6.0 PC
- bar DOESNT appear (the form function wasnt probably implemented yet when 6.0 was released) !

ACROBAT PROFFESIONAL 8.1.2 MAC
- only a pink icon appears instead of a bar, THATS NOT GOOD ENOUGH i cannot tell everybody that he must update to Acrobat 8.1.2 (or downgrade in case of 9.0) prior to opening my PDF !

Iam sorry maybe i wasnt exactlly replicating your setup but I need a better way around so that its 100% safe to open the PDF in ANY VERSION of Acrobat without worring that clients get perplexed with some inapropriate prompts to fill a form.

[Rosta...@adobeforums.com]

Jon i tested on 2 different PCs with different OS installation using Acrobat Reader 9.0 and the pink bar appears on both...

I also tested on 2 different MACs with pretty same OS config but one has Acrobat 8.0 and one has Acrobat 8.1.2 and 8.0 shows the bar, 8.1.2 show the icon...

I did my best to crosscheck 4 different computers and i can only submit the PDF to the client only when ALL ACROBAT VERSIONS will be safe without the pink bar appearing...

[Jon Bessant]

Do you want to put this ID and PDF document somewhere so we can take a look?

Jon

[Rosta...@adobeforums.com]

-------------------- PROBLEM SOLVED -------------------------

ok so to make it quick the whole ill behaviour seems to be a bug appearing only in combination of InDesign 5.0.x and Acrobat 8.0.0 for Macintosh, the problem could be solved using Acrobat 8.1.2

since most of the bug fixes in Acrobat 8.1 and 8.1.2 updates are according to Adobe "bug fixes of Form-Related Issues" this makes total sense...

-------------------- QUICKEST SOLUTION ------------------------

1 - upgraded to Acrobat 8.1.2 for Macintosh
2 - exported the PDF -WITHOUT- any buttons
3 - opened the PDF in Acrobat 8.1.2 and created the buttons manually inside Acrobat 8.1.2

---------------------------------------------------------------

ANYBODY WITH ACROBAT 8.0.0 FOR MACINTOSH WILL STILL SEE THE PINK BAR !!!

EVERYBODY ELSE (READER 9.0, ACROBAT 8.1.2) WONT SEE THE PINK BAR OR ICON ANYMORE!!!

GOOD BYE EVRYBODY AND THANKS TO ALL WHO HELPED ME SOLVE THE PROBLEM...

[Sandee...@adobeforums.com]

Hey, Guess What???

I'm working with InDesign CS4 and Acrobat 9 and I've got the exact same problem as the original post.

What can I do???

I am distributing this as an electronic document and don't want to confuse people.

[Leonard_...@adobeforums.com]

The problem has to do with the number of buttons on the document...

Acrobat/Reader consider that a small number of buttons (< 5, IIRC) is probably not a form but are navigation aids. However, if you have a large number then it thinks that it is an interactive form and displays the message bar.

one thing of note, it's about VISIBLE buttons (and fields) not just that they are present. So you may want to try having only a few show up by default and then showing more after the fact.

Leonard

[Sandee...@adobeforums.com]

Leonard,

Thanks for the explanation but if that is how Reader/Acrobat thinks then it is seriously delusional.

I am trying to show the possibilities of working with InDesign and Acrobat to create interactive documents with navigation buttons on evey page (previous and next page) as well as many other fields set to show/hide larger fields.

I wanted to use this chapter as the demonstration to several publishers of what Acrobat could do.

Since this situation as existed for both Acrobat 8 and Acrobat 9 it sounds like Adobe can't fix it. It conflicts with Acrobat's ability to read a file for form entries.

CRAP!!!

Unless there is some way to turn off this unhelpful feature, I will have to give up on everything that I had wanted from interactive documents.

If you (or anyone else on the Acrobat team) is interested in seeing the kind of work I am doing, please let me know. However, it sounds like this is a dead-end for me.

[Leonard_...@adobeforums.com]

You can turn it off the Acrobat/Reader preferences - but not at the document level...

And yes, we are VERY interested in seeing what you are doing and how our (potentally silly) decisions are impacting you.

You know where to find me (<grin>) - send stuff along!

[Bruce...@adobeforums.com]

I also am having the same trouble with the Pink bar showing up when using buttons in my interactive pdf. I am creating a rather large training module that uses many buttons to make elements appear and disappear throughout the module.

I get the "please fill out this form" at the top of the pdf when the document is opened. My client gets confused with these erroneous pop-up messages.

Is there a java script that can eliminate this from showing?

I am using a java script to remove the full screen page advance which is very helpful. I wish there was a list of these control options. I also wish there was a way to embed these java scripts in my InDesign file so I don't have to re-do the controls every time I export the PDF. (If it were not for Google and users like Sandee posting their issues, I would never have found out how to do this and I too would have given up!)

Sandee, it sounds like you are using interactive pdfs in a creative way. I have not found too many people doing this yet. Don't give up!

[David_P...@adobeforums.com]

Leonard said:
You can turn it off the Acrobat/Reader preferences - but not at the document level...

Can anybody point me at the specific Reader Prefs item that lets users turn off the purple forms bar?

Thanks,
dc

[David_P...@adobeforums.com]

Found it; fourth item down on the Forms page; thanks!

[Nina_...@adobeforums.com]

<Bruce...@adobeforums.com> wrote:

> I am using a java script to remove the full screen page advance which is
> very helpful. I wish there was a list of these control options. I also
> wish there was a way to embed these java scripts in my InDesign file so I
> don't have to re-do the controls every time I export the PDF. (If it were

> not for Google and users like Rosta posting their issues, I would never

> have found out how to do this and I too would have given up!)

Bruce - du you have a link til the java script which removes the full
screen page advance, or is it possible to bring the script?

--
Regards Nina Storm

[Nina_...@adobeforums.com]

I found it here:

<http://www.acrobatusers.com/forums/aucbb/viewtopic.php?id=2802>

____

Select Advanced > Document Processing > Document JavaScripts.

Add a name in the JavaScript Functions dialog and click Add.

Delete the default text and enter the following code:

app.fs.clickAdvances = false;

____

--
Regards Nina Storm

[Vicki_...@adobeforums.com]

Hi All,

I'm having the same problem. I'm using Indesign CS3 with Acrobat Pro 9. From the previous suggestions in this forum I've disabled the pink bar...but when my user opens their pdf for the first time they receive a message that they need to fill out the form. The reader has the option to disable the message from showing again and then they can navigate the pdf.

This makes it seem to my client like I don't know what I'm doing. Hi Client here's your final product...all you have to do is check this box and it should work just fine.

Any ideas on if you can completely disable the forms option?

Thanks in advance for any help. Vic

[Jonas_Ha...@adobeforums.com]

Ive got the same problem, out interactive catalogue, the very last 2 pages are the index, on top of which we have two buttons, one back button and one button to link to the contents.

on SOME not ALL of our office machines we get the form bar in reader and just those two buttons dissapear! but in the previous 300 pages both buttons are fine!

we cant figure it out :(

[Jessica...@adobeforums.com]

It is very annoying that Adobe Acrobat Pro cannot permanently hide the form message toolbar. You pay so much money for the product and it can't do this one thing? Has ruined more than one interactive campaign and I have to find another more time consuming method of achieving it such as Flash. I am very unhappy!

[Robin_L...@adobeforums.com]

I am also part of this club ... InDesign CS4 to Acrobat Pro 9. Pink form bar displays in Reader. I have had quite enough of this retarded software! I too am very unhappy. I will start another thread re page zoom display errors if that has not already been highlighted ... this whole bundle is becoming a thing of horror ... work-flow? what is that?

[John_Le...@adobeforums.com]

Wow read the OP's post twice still didn't get the problem lol. mabye its an overkill for me. good luck guys!
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[Rob_C...@adobeforums.com]

I too have the same issue with ID3 and Acrobat Pro 7.

I have seen PDFs with loads of navigation and other buttons that don't have this issue: <http://www.pdfpictures.com/pdf/Exotique-India.pdf>

Also my clients are complaining of a dialog box titled ‘Cannot Save Form Information’ and an image in the box of a floppy disk with a red line through it and the text ‘Please Note: You cannot save data typed into this form. Please print out a copy of your completed form if you would like a copy for your records.’

Is it possible to at least get rid of this box if not the purple bar.

[Daniell...@adobeforums.com]

I was taught to use Fireworks for an Interactive PDF and now am learning that InDesign is more of what I will need. I am creating (attempting to create) an interactive PDF for students my students. I want so desperately to make this an interactive experience so they don't die of boredom. I love InDesign but as I was reading over the issues above I am not sure what to do at this point. I did however see that Sandee Cohen said she was demonstrating interactive PDF's through InDesign. I am not sure how or if I even can read her final demonstration but if that is possible I would be forever grateful. I have 2 weeks to finish a class and am desperate to do it correctly in InDesign. I would like it to flow like the digital magazines that are becoming extremely popular. I want my students to have the option to view this interactive PDF online and offer a printable PDF. I may be way off base here. I sure hope that is not the case. Please will someone point me in the right direction? Thank you.

Danielle Kaiser
dgr...@biopsycheducation.com

[David_P...@adobeforums.com]

In addition to Sandee's work, there's a LOT of info online about creating interactivity in ID. In particular, check out
<http://tv.adobe.com/#pg+1518>
…episode 4, and
<http://tv.adobe.com/#vi+f1503v1110>

If you google "interactive pdf indesign adobe video" and "make interactive pdf indesign," you'll find plenty of other tutorials.

Interactive pdfs can be printed, and you can specify whether any interactive elements, like buttons, will print or not.

I find it most efficient to create interactivity using a combination of ID and Acrobat Pro. Acrobat is generally easier for embedding multimedia and creating simple navigation commands that will be duplicated on multiple pages. Indesign is better for creating fields, and of course for creating all the visual elements, whether you add the interactivity there, too, or do that in Acrobat after exporting the pdf.

At issue in this thread is an unwanted, potentially confusing and unprofessional-appearing message about "using this form" that appears by default in pdfs with many buttons, even if they are not "forms;" it's not (at least in my experience) about the interactivity not working as a result.

Hopefully, Sandee will reply, but in the meantime, if you'd like to see an example pdf made both in ID and AcrobatPro 9 with lots of interactivity, Flash, buttons that reveal hidden fields, etc. you're welcome to download this one:
<http://homepage.mac.com/davidpagecoffin/filechute/Chanel%201test4.pdf>

There's a link to email me directly in that file (last page), if you have any questions.

Good luck!
dpc

[ch...@ghm.co.nz]

Hi there

I'm getting very frustrated, I have multiple buttons over several
pages, each with a url. What I can't understand is why some of the
links work and others don't.
If I place the button from a page that does work on to a page where
the buttons don't work I get nothing. All these buttons are invisible
placed over pdfs and some of them work, but when made visible they all
work.

What is going on?

[m.czar...@gmail.com]

It's 2011 and i've got the same problem :/

[danie...@gmail.com]

You can get around this by turning on Security and not allowing Forms to be filled (you can do this either at the time of exporting the PDF or in Acrobat itself).