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cmvarga5
cmvarga5
Known Participant
November 3, 2025
Answered

Character Encoding Failed

  • November 3, 2025
  • 1 reply
  • 186 views

I keep getting these fails and when I checked, it is a bunch of tabs. Is there a way to solve this issue? I have percentages next to a graph and then one tab to align the words. Is there a way to solve this?

Correct answer Amal.

Hi there 

 

++ Adding to the discussion 

 

The “Character encoding failed” message usually appears when there are hidden or unsupported characters (like extra tabs, spaces, or special symbols) in the document.


You can try the following steps to fix it:

  1. Open the source file (e.g., Word, Excel, or whichever app you used before creating the PDF).

  2. Replace tabs with proper spacing or alignment tools — for example, use a table or text boxes to align your data instead of tabs.

  3. Check for hidden or special characters — you can use “Show/Hide ¶” in Word to see tabs and extra formatting marks.

  4. Recreate or re-export the PDF once the formatting is clean.

If the error occurs while processing the file in Acrobat, try saving it as a new PDF (“Save As → PDF”) to refresh the file structure before running any action or process again.

 

Hope this will help.

 

~Amal

1 reply

Thom Parker
Community Expert
Thom ParkerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
November 3, 2025

Please provide more detailed information. 

 

Thom Parker - Software Developer at PDFScriptingUse the Acrobat JavaScript Reference early and often
Amal.
Amal.Correct answer
Legend
November 4, 2025

Hi there 

 

++ Adding to the discussion 

 

The “Character encoding failed” message usually appears when there are hidden or unsupported characters (like extra tabs, spaces, or special symbols) in the document.


You can try the following steps to fix it:

  1. Open the source file (e.g., Word, Excel, or whichever app you used before creating the PDF).

  2. Replace tabs with proper spacing or alignment tools — for example, use a table or text boxes to align your data instead of tabs.

  3. Check for hidden or special characters — you can use “Show/Hide ¶” in Word to see tabs and extra formatting marks.

  4. Recreate or re-export the PDF once the formatting is clean.

If the error occurs while processing the file in Acrobat, try saving it as a new PDF (“Save As → PDF”) to refresh the file structure before running any action or process again.

 

Hope this will help.

 

~Amal

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