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Spenno
Spenno
Inspiring
January 29, 2020
Answered

Ligatures in PDF not pasting correctly

  • January 29, 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 1383 views

Hi there. I wonder if anyone can help with this issue. I design a magazine and at the very end of the process the editor uploads the content to the magazine's website. However as he will be editing the text in the InDesign file, that's the text he wants, rather than his original txt file which may vary depending on the edits. He doesn't have InDesign, so the solution seemed to be copying the text from the PDF. However upon inspection many characters including ligatures are replaced by a code. I tried saving a version without ligatures, but other characters are still affected.

Is there any way to paste the text from the PDF in such a way that it maintains everything as it appears in the PDF? Is this just a font problem - should I send him every font in use in the magazine? But then I assume it depends what fonts are available in the web uploader he is using?

Sorry for all the questions, I had a look but couldn't find anything that seemed the same.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer alexpselamat

I had the same issue: Ligatures copied from PDF do not show up correctly when pasted in InDesign. My workaround: Before copying the texts in PDF, change the font to a monospaced font such as PT Mono or Andale Mono. You will lose the ligatures in PDF, but when pasted into InDesign, they will be correct (of course you need to have Ligatures turned on in InDesign if you want to use ligatures). 

3 replies

A
alexpselamatCorrect answer
Inspiring
February 20, 2024

I had the same issue: Ligatures copied from PDF do not show up correctly when pasted in InDesign. My workaround: Before copying the texts in PDF, change the font to a monospaced font such as PT Mono or Andale Mono. You will lose the ligatures in PDF, but when pasted into InDesign, they will be correct (of course you need to have Ligatures turned on in InDesign if you want to use ligatures). 

    BobLevine
    Community Expert
    BobLevineCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    January 29, 2020

    Eric's given you some good advice but I would recommend Google Fonts over Adobe Fonts for web use, especially if you're running a WordPress site.

    A bit more info on the workflow would help us to help you more.

      Eric Dumas
      Community Expert
      Eric DumasCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      January 29, 2020

      Hi,

      First, it makes more sense to me that the editor adjusts the text in a word processor to update InDesign and the Website. There are some great and simple workflows used in newspapers industries. Also, there is a good case for using InCopy here, it would allow the editor to adjust the text in the context of the layout.

       

      Second, extracting text from PDF will always be problematic as the convertion process often breaks the text in irregular elements.

       

      Third, the website needs to use a similar font that is 'web friendly'. Using a desktop font for printed layout will not convert to web easily and will breach some copyright issues at some point. There are web fonts that support ligatures, check in Adobe Fonts library https://fonts.adobe.com/ but if your web site is based on a managed platform (like Wordpress, Joomla or similar) instead of just html pages, adding the new font will take some coding at the core of the site.

       

      Sorry, I do not offer a straight answer on how to fix this. Could the process be reversed? the editor creates the text online and you grab that for the printed issue once it is approved?

        Spenno
        SpennoAuthor
        Inspiring
        January 29, 2020

        I must say the thought of a better workflow is tempting. I have a little InCopy experience from a previous role but my current employer is a little more old school - I import a text document, when the magazine is complete I'll print a first proof and get back amends scribbled all over it, implement them then repeat if necessary. But I agree something along the lines of InCopy or simpler is definitely something I would like to investigate and present as an option.

        BobLevine
        Community Expert
        BobLevineCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        January 29, 2020

        There's lots of extra benefits, too:

         

        https://www.boblevine.us/the-hidden-benefits-of-an-adobe-incopy-subscription/

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