Acrobat -- Set Fields or Comments As Transparent (FREE)

FREE DOWNLOAD

Update (02/04/2018): The script can now be used to process comments (annotations) as well as form fields. You can select specific comments and set their fill color as transparent all at once, or do all of the comments in the file with a single click!

Since the release of the latest version of Mac OS, High Sierra (and possibly some earlier versions as well), many people have reported problems setting the fill or border colors of the fields in their PDF forms as Transparent using Acrobat DC.
It seems that a bug in the application (and/or the operating system) has caused the "Transparent" check-box to disappear from the color selection dialog.

What is should look like...

However, it can still be done using a script, which is why I've developed this simple utility that allows you to select a field and set its Fill Color and/or Border Color as Transparent, with just a few clicks.


When you run it you get this window:

The script is FREE to download and use.

However, this script will only allow you to edit one field at a time, but I have available a separate tool that allows you to do this property (and many others) for multiple fields at once.
See: Acrobat -- Mass Edit Fields Properties

As always, if you have any questions regarding this tool, contact me directly.

Acrobat -- Print Multiple Pages Per Sheet

Direct purchase using PayPal ($40 only per license)!

Update (16/02/2021): Now available, a free DEMO version of this tool, that will print up to 3 pages.

Update (12/09/2016): It's now possible to specify any custom page size you wish!

The new script dialog, with the custom page size option

One of the biggest differences between using Adobe Acrobat on a Windows computer and on a Mac is that the virtual Adobe PDF printer is not available on the latter. This means that the option to print a multiple pages from a PDF file to a single sheet is not available to Mac users, which is a shame as it is very handy when you want to create a summary or a hand-out.

This problem is now easily solved using my latest tool, which allows anyone to print as many pages as they want to a single page. And after printing you can save the generated file as a new PDF, so you don't have just a physical copy of it, but a digital one as well!

Here's how it works. After purchasing and installing the script a new option is added to the File menu, just under the Print command (the screenshots below are from a Windows machine, but it will be the same on a Mac, of course):

The new menu item under File (click to enlarge)

You're then prompted to select which pages to print, as well as the layout of the generated pages, their paper size, whether to include the page borders on the print-out and whether to close the new file after it's printed:

The settings dialog of the script

When you press OK in the dialog above, the new file is created and the Print dialog is automatically opened, ready to print the newly created file (notice that there are 4 original pages on the first page in the preview):

The Print dialog with multiple pages per sheet

After you printed the file, if you didn't select to close it automatically, you will be able to save it, edit it, sent it to others, etc., just like any other PDF.

The resulting file

For more information about this tool, you can contact me directly.

Acrobat/Reader - Disable Sign Pane and Signature Bar

Yet Another Update: Adobe just published its own instructions on how to disable the Signature Bar, both for Windows and Mac computers. See: http://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/kb/disable-echosign-detection.html

Hopefully this is a sign that they'll remove (or at least disable) this feature in future releases... We'll wait and see!

Another Update: For any Mac users willing to disable this feature, check out the discussion between myself and a Mac user in this thread (2nd reply and the comments under it). As stated there, the solution I suggested is not tested by me so I take absolutely no responsibility for trying to implement it.

Update: Adobe revealed that there's a specific registry setting to disable just the Signature bar.
See: http://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/ReleaseNotes/11/11.0.03.html#echosign-integration

Many people dislike the newly added "feature" in the latest versions of Acrobat and Reader that shows a green bar at the top of the document when the application thinks that is requires a signature (this seems to be based solely on the content of the document, when it contains the words "sign" or "signature").

Acrobat doing a not-very-good job of detecting when a signature is needed...
(click to enlarge)

Unfortunately, there is no option to disable this feature, which is why I delved into the registry reference and found a workaround. By downloading and executing these FREE .reg files you can completely remove the Sign pane from Acrobat or Reader, taking along with it this new signature detection feature.

The same file after running the .reg fix for Acrobat XI. Notice the Sign button is gone, as well as the green bar at the top.
(click to enlarge)

IMPORTANT: Running these files will change your registry and you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Also, this workaround works only for Windows installation of Acrobat and Reader XI.

The download links are:

Disable Sign Pane (Acrobat XI)

Disable Sign Pane (Reader XI)

Enable Sign Pane (Acrobat XI)

Enable Sign Pane (Reader XI)

As always, I can be contacted directly at try6767@gmail.com, and if you find this tool useful and would like to donate, it's always appreciated!