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amandhag
amandhag
Participant
May 30, 2020
Question

Trouble embedding a font in fillable pdf (Character Sheet)

  • May 30, 2020
  • 1 reply
  • 1086 views

Hey guys, 
I've made a form in Adobe Acrobat (latest version), and I'm using two fonts in it; 'Georgia' for the names of the fields, and a TrueType handwriting font called 'Nanum Pen' for all the fillable sections. 

 

I'm having trouble with embedding Nanum Pen in the pdf so it shows up across Windows/Mac OS platforms. When I open document properties, the font section says Nanum Pen is embedded, but it still doesn't show up in my friends' devices, and instead defaults to Arial/Minion pro. 

Is there something I'm missing?

 

I've tried the following things already, just as a heads up: 

1. Checking/Unchecking 'Use Local Fonts' button in Preferences

2. Entering a line of text in Nanum Pen and changing it's color to white, so the document embeds a subset of letters

3. Trying other free handwriting fonts as well

 

I really want to use a handwritten font instead of the standard serif/sans-serif ones available, is there any way to do that? 

 

Help is much appreciated, thank you in advance!

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    1 reply

    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
    Legend
    May 30, 2020

    << is there any way to do that? >>

    Nunam Pen is a Google Font, and as far as I can tell, it is not restricted from being embedded into a PDF. (Note, some fonts prevent users from embedding them into any type of digital file, not just PDFs.)

     

    #1, in a traditional PDF, fonts can be embedded through Acrobat's Preflight tool:

    1. From the Preflight or Standards tool panel on the right side, select Preflight.
    2. Then click the blue wrench at the top.
    3. Scroll down and expand the Embed Fonts utility.
    4. Click Fix and the blue wrench in the lower right to execute the utility.

     

     

    Note two possible problems:

    • Adobe Acrobat and Reader do a good job of recognizing embedded fonts, but other brands of PDF viewers used by the general population might not and will swap in their own preferred default font. In other words, you can't guarantee this font will be seen by everyone.
    • You're specifying a font for form fields, and again, this is dicey even in Adobe Acrobat and Reader. In our forms business, we rarely specify a font for form fields because it's unpredictable.

     

    Bottom line: Go ahead and specify the font and embed it, but expect that the form won't appear the same across everyone's PDF viewer.  And give up. It's not worth the time and pain for this level of control. (grin: spoken as a designer to another designer)

     

    |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bevi Chagnon &nbsp;&nbsp;|&nbsp;&nbsp;Designer, Trainer, &amp; Technologist for Accessible Documents ||&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;PubCom |&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Classes &amp; Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs &amp; MS Office |
    amandhag
    amandhagAuthor
    Participant
    May 31, 2020

    Ahh, that makes sense. Unfortunately, you were right and this didn't make the pdf cross-platform compatible, but I appreciate the help nonethelsess. 


    Thanks so much!

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