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D.A.J.5FF2
Participant
July 13, 2021
Question

Font is replaced when opening InDesign file in Acrobat Pro DC

  • July 13, 2021
  • 1 reply
  • 1797 views

So I'm stuck with this thing the really was simple to do in the recent past: 

1. I've created an InDesign file that has a few different fonts, one of which is Titilium Web. 
2. I open the InDesign file (.indd) in Acrobat Pro DC so I can create decent print-ready files. 
3. When opened in Acrobat, all the text is replaced with Myriad Pro (probably some default font). 

Now maybe I'm just plain dumb but if I remember correctly this procedure did work as it should at some time in the near past. The only possible explanation is that in the past I used to outline text in InDesign before opening in Acrobat, I don't recall exactly but that workflow doesn't make sense to me. I'd say the print production > flattener preview should be the right tool to convert al text & strokes to outlines, no need to discard the text editing posibility in the InDesign file by outlining text. 

So the main questions: 

1. Should the above mentioned procedure (opening the InDesign file in Acrobat) work without messing up the the fonts? And when yes: 
2. What could be the cause of the fonts getting substituted? 

I have the same issue on 2 Windows 10 computers running Adobe CC. Fonts like Titilium web are from Adobe fonts and are not installed as a local windows font, yet in Acrobat DC, PS, ID, AI etc. the fonts are available. 


 

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1 reply

Brad @ Roaring Mouse
Community Expert
Brad @ Roaring MouseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 13, 2021

Opening an InDesign file with Acrobat?? Not the way to do this.

You should be exporting your file as a PDF from within InDesign (File > Export > Adobe PDF (Print), or if you want more specific control: File > Adobe PDF Presets... selecting a high-quality preset like PDF/X-4:2008 or PressQuality, etc.)

D
D.A.J.5FF2Author
Participant
July 14, 2021

Thanks for your fast reply, really appreciate it! You're probably right, but do you think you could explain to me exactly why this is not the way to do it? Because this is how I used to do it untill I found out (actually I read it somewhere on the web) that you can actually skip that step and open InDesign file directly in Acrobat. For me (novice) that sounds like a great shortcut because it is one step less where i can screw up things as the various PDF presets also have an effect on the final appearance (like flattening etc.) and for me it sounds a bit strange to do the same process twice. 
Again, this used to work perfectly untill now and I think I've found out why this happens: it only works if the fonts are actually installed as a Windows font, having the font available within Adobe CC apparently doesn't work. 

What I fail to understand is why Acrobat doesn't apply the correct fonts despite the font being available within Acrobat. Also there is no warning whatsoever that the font is missing when loading a file. Again, probably I'm just plain dumb for wanting to do it this way but this was kind of my new workflow for print files and really prefered it this way, so still hoping to fix this somehow. 

BarlaeDC
Community Expert
BarlaeDCCommunity Expert
Community Expert
July 14, 2021

Hi,

 

This is just my two cents on why you should convert to PDF from InDesign.

 

In InDesign, you can set up and control just about every aspect of how you want your PDF to be created, you can embed fonts, aim for a specific version of PDF.

 

In Acrobat, it takes is best guess as to what you want you PDF to be, no settings, no options, just converted to PDF and there you go.

 

Why spend the time in InDesign to layout your document and then just hope that Acrobat can convert it properly. If you are looking to make the flow easier, you can easily script InDesign to use your settings and open the PDF in Acrobat, and you could probably do that all from a shortcut which would be one step too.

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