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SamMills890
Participant
August 23, 2020
Answered

Indesign misidentifying fonts in files created by other people

  • August 23, 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 3596 views

Hi!

 

Fairly new to Indesign so apologies if this is a basic question.  My colleagues and I have been working on a set of files jointly which have been sent backwards and forwards between us. The main font we have all been using is Roboto. Each time I open a file someone else has been working on I get thousands of font errors as Adobe recognises the main font as either 'Roboto OTF' or Roboto TT' rather than standard Roboto. So far I have just been finding and replacing the fonts with the correct Roboto equivalents each time I recieve a file but I have noticed this makes tiny differences to the size of the font.  Then when I send it back my colleagues have the same problem. Is there an easy solution to this problem??

 

Thanks so much for your help!

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Randy Hagan

There is only one: you all need to be using the same font. Right now, InDesign isn't lying to you: you are not using the same font.

 

The group of you are all using the same named font, but that necessarily mean you are using the exact same font. It's not unusual for a font provider to update/modify an issued font over time for any number of reasons — refining "flawed" renderings of a character or two in the previous generation, cleaning up the underlying code to preclude issues using that font with specific programs, etc. It's named the same, but as far as your production setup clearly notes, it's a different font. You see that yourself when you notice differences in character sizing when you "update" the file with your version of the font.

 

I've also had the case with Postscript Type 1 and TrueType fonts, where someone in the chain has the same font on another platform, like one freelancer is secretly working on a Windows system in an all-Mac production chain or vice-versa. Not as often, thanks to OpenType fonts which transfer cleanly across platforms, but it happens. A new monkey wrench is being thrown in the works now with multi-master fonts which let you juggle character weights and widths within the font itself to create custom characters and create confounding complications.

 

In short, you all need to be working with the same font. Not just one with the same name. Since it seems you're the odd one out, have one of your colleagues with the OpenType cut of Roboto supply the font to everybody in the chain. Have that version of the font distributed to everyone. And then have everyone who received the new, standardized version uninstall their copy of Roboto, then install the new, standard OpenType version of Roboto so everyone is using the same font.

 

No exceptions. It's the only way to be sure.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Randy

3 replies

Dov Isaacs
Dov Isaacs
Legend
August 23, 2020

Just to add one note other than that Font is a four letter word beginning with an F …

 

One of the best arguments for using the Package function of InDesign is to assure that those who receive your InDesign document to edit on another system and/or platform are using the exact same assets in terms of fonts and placed content as you are using. When opening an InDesign document that is in a package, it searches for fonts in the package first, before trying to use whatever font might be installed on the system.

 

In terms of fonts, there are just too many versions of fonts with same exact name, the same format (such as Type 1, TrueType, OpenType CFF, and OpenType TTF), and the same internal version number floating around out there. Regrettably, it is not uncommon for someone to take a font, made edits to same (including changing glyph designs, glyph metrics, kerning tables, and even adding or removing glyphs) using any number of available font editors available, and resave with the same font name and internal version number.

 

That is why, although perhaps inconvenient, packaging the InDesign document along with its assets is so useful in avoiding the problems described here.

 

By the way, a mention was made in this thread about “multiple master” fonts. The original Type 1 Multiple Master technology has not been supported for years. There is a new form of OpenType font known as an OpenType Variable font (in both CFF2 and TTF formats) that supports any number of different design axises based on the font design (widths, thicknesses, optical size, style, etc.). Although InDesign has started to support such fonts and supplied a few “test” OpenType Variable CFF2 fonts in the most recent releases, personally I would hold off using them until at least the next full InDesign version comes out. There are also some interesting workflow ramifications for those fonts since they are not natively supported in PDF (“single style instances” get created for PDF).

 

- Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
    V
    Vegan Fanatic
    Known Participant
    August 24, 2020

    I installed the entire font folio from a CD I had from long ago so that any document I recieve on my PC or my MacBook will render properly.

     

    Right now Windows 10 shows 847 fonts

     

    Dov Isaacs
    Dov Isaacs
    Legend
    August 24, 2020

    And what's that got to do with the original question?

     

    It has been many years since the most recent version (11.1) of the Adobe Font Folio was released. Many fonts currently in the Adobe library have been updated and many new fonts from Adobe aren't on the Adobe Font Folio.

     

    Plus, the fact is that despite the high quality of the fonts on the Adobe Font Folio, the vast majority of fonts in use commercially (and I not talking about the tons of junk fonts that are available for free on the internet) are not fonts on the Adobe Font Folio, Adobe fonts, or even fonts available on the Adobe Fonts service (part of the Creative Cloud subscription).

     

    Thus, if you really think that installing all those fonts is going to save you from font incompatibilities (due to version, format, or name variations) or missing fonts, expect to be highly disappointed.

     

    Furthermore, what Windows 10 shows in terms of “font count” is absolutely not the total number of fonts, but rather, font families. Between what you installed from the Adobe Font Folio and fonts that are Windows system fonts (plus fonts installed by Office and other applications), you could easily have over 4000 to 5000 fonts actually installed. System and application startup must really be painful and the fonts are enumerated each time. 

     

    - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
    Steve Werner
    Community Expert
    Steve WernerCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 23, 2020

    InDesign would use the version of Roboto each of you have installed on your computer to determine what to display. It's pretty likely that each of you has a slightly different version of Roboto installed, hence the different messages. Here's how to tell. Choose Type > Find/Replace Font. Select the Roboto font you're having issue with in the font menu. If you see a button that says "More Info" at the bottom right, click it to show more information about that font. It will display the exact version of Roboto installed on your computer.

     

    Randy Hagan
    Community Expert
    Randy HaganCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
    Community Expert
    August 23, 2020

    There is only one: you all need to be using the same font. Right now, InDesign isn't lying to you: you are not using the same font.

     

    The group of you are all using the same named font, but that necessarily mean you are using the exact same font. It's not unusual for a font provider to update/modify an issued font over time for any number of reasons — refining "flawed" renderings of a character or two in the previous generation, cleaning up the underlying code to preclude issues using that font with specific programs, etc. It's named the same, but as far as your production setup clearly notes, it's a different font. You see that yourself when you notice differences in character sizing when you "update" the file with your version of the font.

     

    I've also had the case with Postscript Type 1 and TrueType fonts, where someone in the chain has the same font on another platform, like one freelancer is secretly working on a Windows system in an all-Mac production chain or vice-versa. Not as often, thanks to OpenType fonts which transfer cleanly across platforms, but it happens. A new monkey wrench is being thrown in the works now with multi-master fonts which let you juggle character weights and widths within the font itself to create custom characters and create confounding complications.

     

    In short, you all need to be working with the same font. Not just one with the same name. Since it seems you're the odd one out, have one of your colleagues with the OpenType cut of Roboto supply the font to everybody in the chain. Have that version of the font distributed to everyone. And then have everyone who received the new, standardized version uninstall their copy of Roboto, then install the new, standard OpenType version of Roboto so everyone is using the same font.

     

    No exceptions. It's the only way to be sure.

     

    Hope this helps,

     

    Randy

    S
    SamMills890Author
    Participant
    August 23, 2020

    Thanks so much for the advice!

    The strange thing is that as far as I’m aware we all installed the fonts we’re using from the same original Indesign package and it’s the Roboto.ttf one. Is it likely then that a crossover between PC and Mac is what’s caused the issue?  

    My other question is that, now we’re finished, if my colleague sends me a document and I want to read it, make small amends and then send it on to the printers, should I go through and replace all missing fonts with my version of Roboto or am I ok to leave the errors? 

    Thanks again for your help and patience!

     

    Randy Hagan
    Community Expert
    Randy HaganCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    August 23, 2020

    Well, if there is a crossover between Mac and PC, I can assure you that there absolutely is a difference between Roboto fonts floating around your production process. The name might be the same, but the digital files for TrueType fonts between Macs and PCs are different, which would absolutely cause the problems you're seeing. If you're moving InDesign documents between Macs and PCs, you really need to use OpenType fonts to maintain consistency across the platforms. That's where your "Roboto OTF" and "Roboto TT" labels are clearly identifying the differences, and your resulting problems.

     

    As for making corrections to the files, no, you should not ignore the alerts. Your colleagues fonts are different than yours. And their fonts aren't embedded in an InDesign file. You're on the verge of a World of Hurt if you poke into those files, because your font is different from your colleague(s) fonts. The only way you can fix the files is if you include both sets of fonts, and you've already identified that you can see differences between the fonts you're using and the ones from your crew. So that's not a good fix at all.

     

    I wish I had better news for you, but unfortunately I don't. Unless you all use the same OpenType fonts, you will continue to have real problems.

     

    It may be cold comfort, but you're not the first — and likely not the last — to have these problems. Could you please mark the correct answer to your question to alert the moderators to archive this thread and help others who may find themselves having similar issues? And if you have any problems working with InDesign in the future, don't hesitate to come back here and ask for help. There are lots of sharp folks around here who can lend a hand.

     

    Good Luck,

     

    Randy

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