Underlining within a highlighted area?

[james_i._porter@adobeforums.com]

I've done it before, but cannot repeat this with regularity: is it (im)possible to underline text that is highlighted (or vice versa) in Acrobat Pro (one that is OCRed)? Tips appreciated. tx. (Using v. 8 at the moment. OS X 10.4) Jim P.

[Leonard_Rosenthol@adobeforums.com]

Sure - works fine.

Use the TextEdit comment tool to select the text. Control/Right click to bring up the context menu. Choose Underline. Select the text again. Bring up the menu again. This time choose Hilite.

Leonard

[james_i._porter@adobeforums.com]

In a Mac the instructions would be slightly different, but the results are the same (and the same as before): the selected text, once underscored or highlighted, becomes surrounded by a moving blue "fence", which is impenetrable to the cursor: I cannot enter it and perform another function on top of it, hence cannot add another layer of highlighting. The only way I can do this is to begin the highlighting (or underscoring) from outside the already marked area and then 'penetrate' it; but I cannot do this from within it.

[Leonard_Rosenthol@adobeforums.com]

I used Acrobat 8 Professional on a Mac Mini 10.4.x to verify this - and it worked just fine USING the instructions that gave.

HOWEVER, now I see the issue - clicking into the annotation will indeed select it (aka the "blue fence") _IF_ you have the annotation tools chosen. However, you can either switch tools or click outside the area and then use the cursor keys to move into the area, if need be.

Leonard

[james_i._porter@adobeforums.com]

There seems to be a way to do this, though it is hardly easy. Take a piece of annotated text (say, highlighted); select the underscore tool; bring the cursor into the annotated area which will reject further annotation (the cursor becomes a mini-cross); let the cursor hover over a space between two letters where you want the underscoring to begin; you will find that somewhere there, there is a 'gap' of sorts; the cross will turn into an open square; click the mouse and glide in the direction you want to underscore; voila.

The problem is locating this 'gap', which is a bit unpredictable. Is this a flaw??

Jim

(Actually, this is not fool proof, I'm seeing; not sure why) (What a PITR)

[james_i._porter@adobeforums.com]

do you mean SWITCH from one annotation tool to another? anyway, anytime I return to an annotation to mark over it again, the problem persists; and no other second annotation tool can invade the first annotated area it seems.

when I push the cursor back into the annotation area with the arrow keys and then click on the underscore tool if the annotation was highlighted, the fence returns; I don't see any other way of activating the 2nd annotation device.

The only solution I've found is to mark a smaller area with underscore first, then to highlight around it and beyond it on both sides. But that is not how I want to use the double annotation tools. I want to be able to go back at will and mark up wherever I find it useful to mark up.

The same issues occur in a Test user account on the same machine.

Jim

[james_i._porter@adobeforums.com]

Back to this problem, which continues to plague me. I am unable to underscore highlighted text or vice versa.

Is anyone else managing to get this to work? Using Acrobat Pro v. 8 with OS X 10.4.8 and a Titanium PB.

Thanks very much. Jim P.

[Steve_Werner@adobeforums.com]

OK, it's not easy but I found a way to do it consistently.

First, there are two ways you can make an underline: You can choose the Underline Text tool which normally isn't in Acrobat 8's Commenting tool, but can be turned on in View > Toolbars > More Tools. However, that can't consistently select text when there is already an annotation like the highlighing already there.

Instead, use the TextEdit tools (the button on the left side of the Comment & Markup toolbar).

The key is that when you select this tool and first move over the highlighting, it expects you to select the highlighting and you see a black arrow (triangular) cursor. But if you stop for about a second, it changes to an insertion point cursor. Click where you want your underline to begin to place an insertion point. Then drag through the word or words to select. Then click on the little menu beside the word "TextEdits" and choose Underline Selected Text. That works for me every time.

It also helps to zoom quite a bit.

[james_i._porter@adobeforums.com]

Well, that does the trick. Nicely done. It is cumbersome, but it works. I think this warrants sending as a wished-for item for the next revision of Acrobat Professional, since it is so clearly possible to accommodate and so useful a feature.

By the way, are you also seeing the blue moving 'fenced in' area around the highlighted text which prevents the cursor from landing there to select text and underscore it? I wonder what that is all about. (Just want to make sure I am not hallucinating things with my installation.)

Thanks.

[james_i._porter@adobeforums.com]

Steve,

I'm actually finding that I can get the same results as you were recommending by just switching tools, eg from highlighting (once a text is highlighted) to underscoring, bypassing the text edits tool, but without immediately clicking down on the text I want to underscore. Click and you create the fence which prevents anything from happening. The key is to let the cursor turn into a box again from a cursor arrow (when you begin marking text it is in this box shape). Once it does, you are ready to proceed with the alternative marking. THEN you click and highlight or underscore, and you can get two markings superimposed. It takes a second or two for the cursor to convert to a box again (as on your method). But there is no need to use a third tool.

So the feature is already available. It just is not explicit in the commands/instructions. And this is how to access it. Problem solved. Thanks for sparking this solution! Jim P.

[james_i._porter@adobeforums.com]

Here is a summary of how to underscore highlighted text:

1. Select the underscoring tool.

2. Place cursor over (beginning of) highlighted text.

3. Wait for cursor arrow to turn into a box shape.

4. Once it turns into a box, begin moving the cursor over the highlighted text while clicking down on the mouse. Text will become underscored until you release the mouse.

The same method works in reverse for underscoring + highlighting.

[Leonard_Rosenthol@adobeforums.com]

Just to follow up, the situation will be improved on in future releases.

Leonard

[james_i._porter@adobeforums.com]

Good news. One possibility would be a tool that combines both underscoring and highlighting.