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vxkatherinesmith
Participant
Feb 5, 2017 11:00 PM UTC
Question

Arial: "This font can't be used in editing" (Acrobat Pro DC)

Hi Everyone,

I'm having a "This font can't be used in editing" error when using Arial in PDF editing. The document I'm editing was created by me, and used Arial previously. Now, it won't let me use it. I'm using the 2015 release of Adobe Acrobat Pro DC (cloud).

Super annoying, I need to make some changes on the file (work related) and can't since the font wont work. Another font isn't suitable as Arial is needed for consistency.

Any advice?

Thanks

Katherine

    22 replies

    PJVERT
    Participating Frequently
    Oct 29, 2022 1:07 AM UTC

    Ive been having this same issue. Has anyone found a solution? I cant find anyone who has had success online for a problem that has been going on for years. I need help with this. 

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      PJVERT
      Participating Frequently
      Oct 29, 2022 1:11 AM UTC

      It replaces the Arial font with a font called Z@RE46C.tmp

       

      All solutions online discuss embedding fonts at the print settings but if I do that and print the file then I lose all my prepared form fields. The issue isn't about what it looks like when its printed, it is that I cant edit a field in the form using the same font that was previously used (Arial) 

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        Abambo
        Community Expert
        AbamboCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        Oct 29, 2022 2:15 AM UTC

        Look at the fonts in the document and report back the fonts. Are you working on a Windows or macOS PC. Please include also the OS version.

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        ABAMBO | Hard- and Software Engineer | Photographer
        cschroter98
        Participant
        Jan 5, 2020 7:39 PM UTC

        Also researching this issue. I have deleted text boxes and redone them. Works a time or two and then breaks again. Super frustrating. Finding lots of people complaining about this, but no real solutions. 

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          JPFeiler
          Participant
          Feb 3, 2022 6:21 AM UTC

          I'm having exactly the same problem - two years later!  Were you able to resolve this issue and, if so, how?  Thanks!

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            Jordan32599466xd8c
            Participant
            May 16, 2025 11:54 PM UTC

            same problem in 2025.

            my working solution is to close the app and reopen the file. this works for a little while then it occurs again.

            i have been useing Adobe Acrobat for a few decades, just started having this issue today.

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              griffinm48137393
              Participant
              Nov 14, 2018 3:29 PM UTC

              i deleted the text box and put a new one on the page where the issue was happening. After doing so i was able to type in Arial font no problem!

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              griffinm48137393
              Participant
              Nov 14, 2018 3:34 PM UTC

              Adobe needs to fix this glitch. Have we not complained long enough???!!!

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                davido19882257
                Participant
                Jul 31, 2018 9:01 PM UTC

                I am having the same problem with every PDF I try to edit.  I am at beginner level.  And stuck there!

                I am going to attach a sample PDF.

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                  davido19882257
                  Participant
                  Jul 31, 2018 9:02 PM UTC

                  Looks like there is no way to attach a PDF...

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                  try67
                  Community Expert
                  try67Community Expert
                  Community Expert
                  Jul 31, 2018 9:43 PM UTC

                  Upload it to a file-sharing website (Dropbox, Google Drive, Adobe Cloud) and post the link to it here.

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                  vxkatherinesmithAuthor
                  Participant
                  Jul 10, 2018 1:55 AM UTC

                  My computer ended up needing to be rebuilt for a separate issue so unfortunately I'm not able to provide a solution. My best guess would be to uninstall and reinstall fonts if you can as a first try. Otherwise try and post a sample file as suggested by others. Sorry I'm not more help!

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                  Karl Heinz Kremer
                  Community Expert
                  Karl Heinz KremerCommunity Expert
                  Community Expert
                  Feb 6, 2017 6:20 PM UTC

                  Without seeing the file, it's impossible to say what's going on. In general, it's always best if you can go back to the original document that was used to create the PDF file to make the changes. This of course does not help if you don't have access to that file anymore. One thing you can try is to convert the document to e.g. an MS Word document, make your changes in the Word document, and then convert back to PDF. How well this will work depends on how the PDF file was created.

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                  vxkatherinesmithAuthor
                  Participant
                  Apr 26, 2017 11:32 PM UTC

                  Hi Karl,

                  Sorry for the super late reply here. 3 months on the problem is still happening and it happens in every single PDF I edit, whether I create it or not. It seems to be only for Arial Regular as all the other version of Arial seem to work fine.

                  The only way for me to 'choose' Arial is to click Helvetica (which for some reason doesn't work in PDF) so it appears as Arial. Mind you if I change to Prepare Form, and back to Edit, I have to change the font all over again every time, otherwise it changes to Arial Narrow.

                  Does this sound like a file issue or a system issue?

                  Arial works in other programs, seems to only be Acrobat that has the problem.

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                    Dov Isaacs
                    Dov Isaacs
                    Legend
                    Apr 27, 2017 12:25 AM UTC

                    If you can post a sample file, maybe we can further assist you since we haven't previously seen or heard of this issue.

                              - Dov

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                    - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
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