Participant

Question

Adobe Form Not Uploading Fonts Correctly

Forum|Forum|11 months ago
May 23, 2025
2 replies
418 views

I am using Adobe Forms in a laboratory setting for some worksheets. These forms are filled out and uploaded into a laboratory information management system. I have several forms I have created in the same manner. One form when completed and uploaded will scramble some of the text. For some users, it is the fillable fields. For some users, it is the plain text they cannot edit. Is there any troubleshooting I can do on that form to determine why it will not upload properly compared to the others? Clearly something is wrong with the way the text is saving for this form. I used the same font settings for this one as I did the ones that work. Here is an example of how one area on the worksheet looks. Some words are not altered as well.

PDF forms

Thom Parker

Community Expert

What application created these forms?

Are the problem fonts embedded?

What application was used to fill the forms?

What application is displaying the form in the screenshot?

There are many non-compliant PDF viewers, i.e., viewers that do not insert data into PDF forms fields in a way that complies with the PDF specification. In these cases the text might appear correctly in the application where the text was entered, but not in another application. This is most often a problem with Apple Preview, because it is popular. But it is also a problem with other apps.

As an example, if the specified a font for the filled data was not embedded in the PDF, and was not availble on the system where it was viewed, then the text could be garbled. The same is true for page text. If the app that created the form did not embed the font, then when that PDF was viewed on another system it might appear garbled.

Can you post an example form?

Thom Parker - Software Developer at PDFScriptingUse the Acrobat JavaScript Reference early and often

T

tranquil_magic3270Author

Participant

I used Adobe forms to create the form. I have used the same process for each form I've made. I'm not sure if the fonts are embedded. I don't have a computer background, so this is all a bit new. Adobe Acrobat Pro was also used for filling these out. We are essentially just uploading these into a software that just is a storage space. Upon uploading, the text can become garbled as I showed in the photo. I cannot upload the entire form due to security. I know the software is capable of receiving these forms, as it is processing the other ones I've made with no issues. I just need to know how to troubleshoot this specifric form's font issues. As stated, for some users the issue is with the text outside the fillable areas. For others, it is the fillable areas text.

Thom Parker

Community Expert

So, the issue is only after uploading to the laboratory information management system?

What is displaying the PDF with the garbled text at that point?

Is there a built-in viewer in the laboratory information management system?

Can you download from the laboratory information management system and open the form in Acrobat, and still see the garbled text?

What I'm getting at is that there are two possible situations

1) Only the viewer associated with the laboratory information management system is displaying bad text

2) The laboratory information management system is changing the PDF.

You'll know if it is changed by the "laboratory information management system" if the file size is different when it's downloaded. There are also other ways. Each PDF has a unique two part ID. The first part of the ID never changes, and the second part only changes when the PDF is saved (if the app making the changes is compliant). Check this ID.

Thom Parker - Software Developer at PDFScriptingUse the Acrobat JavaScript Reference early and often

T

Tariq Dar

Legend

Hi @tranquil_magic3270,

Thank you for reaching out.
When assessing the situation, the most critical factor to examine is the type of application the users are employing to open documents. You should determine if they are utilizing an Adobe solution, such as Acrobat Pro or Reader, which are specifically designed for handling PDF files with a variety of features and functions. Alternatively, they might be relying on a third-party application like Preview, which is commonly used on macOS systems. Identifying the application in use can significantly impact the troubleshooting process and the user experience.

Let us know what you find.

~Tariq

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