Many users, particularly those working with technical documents originating from AutoCAD, encounter a persistent issue in Adobe Acrobat DC where PDF files display AutoCAD text boxes, hindering smooth navigation. This often manifests as an inability to pan through documents without inadvertently selecting symbols, which then trigger an “AutoCAD SHX Text” box, disabling the pan function and transforming the symbol into a blue box. This problem is exacerbated when dealing with large drawings, such as 24″x36″ blueprints, which contain a significant amount of information and numerous comments.
The core of the problem lies in how Adobe Acrobat DC interprets comments and text within PDFs originally created with AutoCAD. While Acrobat’s comment features are generally useful, in this specific context, they interfere with basic document navigation. When a user attempts to pan through a document using the hand tool, the software can mistakenly identify symbols as AutoCAD text boxes. This triggers an unwanted functionality, disrupting the intended workflow and significantly reducing productivity, especially when a single page might contain thousands of comments.
A common workaround is to hide comments within the current document by opening the comment application. However, this setting is not persistent; upon opening a new document, the comments and their associated functionalities reappear. This necessitates repeating the process for each file, leading to a considerable loss of time and efficiency.
The user is seeking a global, “sticky” setting within Adobe Acrobat DC that would disable these AutoCAD-specific features across all opened documents. The ideal solution would be to revert the PDF to a “flat file” state, devoid of any AutoCAD functionality, similar to how older versions of Adobe Reader or Acrobat handled such files. This would allow for seamless panning and scrolling, restoring the simplicity and efficiency that many users associate with earlier versions of Adobe software.
The current workaround of hiding comments individually for each document is a temporary fix at best. The ideal solution would involve a system-wide setting that prevents Acrobat DC from interpreting these AutoCAD elements as interactive text boxes. Until such a global setting is identified or implemented by Adobe, users will continue to face productivity challenges when reviewing large-format technical drawings.