PDF Fillable Form Not Displaying Field Data? Here Are The Fixes

You run a survey with the PDF Fillable form made by Adobe Acrobat on your website or social media, and you're supposed to receive the form field with the user's data. But guess what, when you receive the forms, they’re blank, and the data that the user might have filled in is completely missing. Wouldn’t that be too annoying?

That’s actually an issue that many Adobe Acrobat users are facing these days. But there’s no need to fret, as in this article, we’ll be teaching you how to fix PDF fillable forms not displaying field data with the best 100% working methods. Stay with us.

Part 1. Why is Acrobat PDF Fillable Form Not Displaying Field Data?

The Acrobat PDF fillable form not displaying field data issues can be caused by the following reasons.

1. Software Issues:

• Outdated Version: If you’ve been using an outdated version of Adobe Acrobat, it may cause fillable forms to malfunction.
• Rendering Problems: When there are any internal bugs in the tool, then that could also keep Adobe Acrobat from rendering the fillable forms properly.

2. Compatibility Issues: Readers use a PDF filler to fill the PDF forms. However this PDF filler is not compatible with Adobe Acrobat.

3. Corrupt PDF Files: Sometimes, a corrupted PDF file prevents data from appearing in fillable forms.

Because of these reasons, your PDF fillable form does not display the field data. Let’s fix it.

Part 2. How to Fix PDF Fillable Form Not Displaying Field Data Issue? 6 Ways

Fixing the PDF fillable form not displaying the data in Adobe Acrobat is indeed possible with the following 6 best methods.

1.    Use Another Tool to Open the PDF Fillable Form

Adobe Acrobat often has many issues like this with the Fillable forms, and hence, it’s the best way to switch to a better tool, which is UPDF. It’s an AI-powered PDF manager that is free to use if you use it to read and check the fillable forms. It can help you read the forms with data without having any sort of issues absolutely for free. Just download UPDF via the button below and give it a test.

Not only that, UPDF has all the features that Adobe Acrobat has, including the ability to view PDFs, edit them, take summaries out of them using AI, and convert other formats of the files to PDFs.

It even has extra features like the PDF to Mind Map, chat with images, and sticker features. If you need to enjoy all the features mentioned above without limitation, you can upgrade to  UPDF pro at a very low price. It is only 1/6 of Adobe Acrobat's cost.  

Let’s see how to open a PDF Fillable Adobe Acrobat Form with data using UPDF.

• Download UPDF first and then click on “Open File.” Then, select your PDF Fillable form with the data you want to open.

• The form is working perfectly in UPDF with its data. Everything is visible on it.

Easy right? As mentioned before, UPDF has many other features, you can read this review blog or watch the following video to learn more about it.

2.    Print Fillable PDF Forms

If your Adobe Acrobat PDF fillable form has issues to display the field data,  you can try to print the fillable PDF and make sure it can display correctly. Here, you can also use UPDF to do this task. The tool is free to print fillable PDF forms and it also offers you a batch printing feature with which you can print multiple PDF forms at once if you have many PDF forms with field date missing issues.  Just download UPDF here and follow the guides below to print and fix the PDF fillable forms not displaying field data.

Let's print one PDF fillable form with it now.

• Open your PDF fillable form in PDF by following the same steps as above, and then, on your left at the top, click on "File"> "Print."

• A pop-up will show up in front of you where you can select the page size, orientation, and other page settings. Make sure you select “Microsoft Print to PDF” is selected as the printer. So choose them and then click on “Print.”

• Then, you’ll see“Adding to the print queue” until your printer is connected. After that, "Printing" will be the new status.
• To batch print PDF, you need to go to the UPDF home interface, choose "Batch PDF" > "Print" > “Add files” to upload all the fillable PDF forms with field data missing, then, select "Microsoft print to PDF" as printer and click on the "Print" to print all fillable PDF forms.

Now, open the fillable PDF with Adobe Acrobat or UPDF to check if the problem is fixed.

Also Read: How to Create a Fillable PDF? (Step by Step)

3.    Update Acrobat

If you're using an outdated version of Acrobat, then that can create compatibility issues with the PDF fillable form. So, update the software by following this step-by-step guide.

• Open Adobe Acrobat Reader on your system, and then at the top  left side, click on “Menu” > “Help”>” Check for Updates.”

• If any updates are available, you will be given the option ”Download and install.” Click on that to let the system install the latest available updates.

• Let the downloading process complete, open the app again, and then try to open the PDF form once again and see if the field data is displaying or not.

4.    Reinstall Acrobat

If you updated the app but the forms still aren’t showing data, the installation may be corrupt. To install the app properly with all updated files, we first need to uninstall the current version and then install a new, updated one. This guide will show you how.

• In the Windows search bar, type "Settings" > "Open," and then "Apps&Features"

• All the installed apps will come in front of you. Locate and select "Adobe Acrobat Reader." Then, click the “Uninstall” option twice whenever it comes up.

• Lastly, hit “Yes” in the pop-up, and the app will be uninstalled.  Now, to install the app again, go to Acrobat website and then click on ”Download Acrobat Reader.”

• The app will be downloaded to your computer. Click on it and then click on “Install.”

Now try opening the Fillable Form again in the app; hopefully, it will work.

5.    Restart Computer

Restarting your computer is crucial to save all the changes you’ve made to it and remove the temporary memories. You can do that by following these steps.

• Click on the “Start” button> “Power”>” Restart”

• After that, launch Adobe Acrobat and open the fillable PDF forms to see if it works now.

6.    Use Another Tool to Fill the PDF Form

If you tried all the methods above, but still cannot get the fillable PDF form displaying field data, what you can do is to ask the person who filled the PDF form to use another PDF filler like Adobe Acrobat or UPDF to fill the PDF form and send it to you again.

Part 3. Bonus Tip: How to Fix Adobe Acrobat Form Fields not Showing​?

Except PDF fillable form not displaying field data, you may have another common issue, the Adobe Fillable Form fields aren't showing up at all. Here, we will also show you how to fix it. There are two methods.

1.    Use Acrobat Alternative to Open or Make PDF Fillable

The first method is also to use UPDF as the form fields may not be visible in Acrobat but in UPDF. It can recognize all the fillable PDF form fields and highlight them.  Moreover, it offers a “Form Field Recognition” feature that automatically detects the fields and highlights them for you, making them visible.  Just follow these steps:

• Open up your Fillable PDF Form, which isn't showing up in the UPDF fields. If it is the software problem that causes Adobe Acrobat form fields not to show, the PDF form fields will show normally after you open the fillable PDF form with UPDF.
• If you find the fillable PDF form fields are still not showing, you can click the “Prepare Form” icon, click on the Settings like icon in the middle toolbar at the very right, and then select the “Form Field Recognition” option.  Lastly, hit “Yes.”. Then, you can find the fields are visible now.

• Look at this: the UPDF tool recognized all the fields on the form and mentioned them.

2.    Enable “Show border hover color for fields”

If you find the Adobe Acrobat form fields are not showing, it may be because of the wrong settings. You can easily fix it by enlarging the” Show border hover color for fields.” This will then show the hover color of the fields, making them visible. Let’s see it in action.

• Open your fillable form in Acrobat Reader, then click on "Edit" > "Preferences" > "Forms." Now, you’ll see "Show border hover color for fields." Check it if it’s unchecked, and then, from "Required fields highlight color," choose any color you want, like we picked red.

Now, hover over the form, and the fields will be highlighted with your chosen color.

Final Words

PDF Fillable Forms not displaying field data is an annoying issue that could happen due to outdated software, platform restrictions, third-party PDF viewers, and corrupted PDF files. The fastest way to solve this problem is to use UPDF, the best alternative to Adobe Acrobat, which lets you freely read the PDF fillable form with data without any issues.

It also has many other features such as Form field recognition, translation, OCR if your form is an image, and annotation features to put any notes on it. So, download it today.

Furthermore, you can also Update Adobe Acrobat, Reinstall Adobe Acrobat, Restart your computer, and Enable "Show border hover color for fields" in Acrobat.  These methods effectively solve the PDF fillable form, which does not display data issues in Adobe Acrobat.

In case you also have the Adobe Acrobat Form fields not showing issues, we introduce 2 methods to you to fix it.