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alexanderp67469761
alexanderp67469761
Participant
June 23, 2018
Answered

Garbled text when copy and paste after creating a new pdf from the old one

  • June 23, 2018
  • 1 reply
  • 8141 views

I need to create a new pdf file from the old one to make it bigger, but after I print it to the new pdf I can't copy and paste the text from the new pdf. The text like "ďƌĞĂŬĞǀĞŶ" appears when I paste the text. Also some symbols like ' aren't in right places. How do I solve the problem? The problem doesn't appear for all documents, only for several ones.

I have Acrobat Pro DC 2018.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com

From your description, it sounds like the fonts used in the 1st PDF are not on your system, and they aren't being carried over to the new PDF.

...but after I print it to the new pdf

Worst way to make a PDF! That method does not embed the fonts into the PDF and you're likely to degrade the quality of the resulting PDF.

Use either of these 2 better methods to make a new PDF from the original one:

  1. Open the original PDF in Acrobat:
    1. File / Save As
    2. And give the new PDF a different name from the original one.
  2. In Apple Finder / Windows File Explorer:
    1. Select the original PDF.
    2. Make a copy of it.

Then, make your adjustments in the new PDF.

RE the fonts: you still might have font problems like ďƌĞĂŬĞǀĞŶ, blank squares instead of characters, and strange spacing. That's a clear sign of missing fonts on your workstation.

To find which fonts are missing, open the original PDF, select File / Properties, Fonts tab, and view the list of fonts used in the PDF. Make sure all of them are installed on your workstation. PDFs do not embed the full font, only the glyphs that were used to create it (this is called subsetting).

How this affects you: if you add the word "Zebra" with a capital Z, and capital Z wasn't used anywhere else in the PDF, then you'll be missing the capital Z and won't be able to add Zebra in that font.

1 reply

Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.com
Bevi Chagnon - PubCom.comCorrect answer
Legend
June 23, 2018

From your description, it sounds like the fonts used in the 1st PDF are not on your system, and they aren't being carried over to the new PDF.

...but after I print it to the new pdf

Worst way to make a PDF! That method does not embed the fonts into the PDF and you're likely to degrade the quality of the resulting PDF.

Use either of these 2 better methods to make a new PDF from the original one:

  1. Open the original PDF in Acrobat:
    1. File / Save As
    2. And give the new PDF a different name from the original one.
  2. In Apple Finder / Windows File Explorer:
    1. Select the original PDF.
    2. Make a copy of it.

Then, make your adjustments in the new PDF.

RE the fonts: you still might have font problems like ďƌĞĂŬĞǀĞŶ, blank squares instead of characters, and strange spacing. That's a clear sign of missing fonts on your workstation.

To find which fonts are missing, open the original PDF, select File / Properties, Fonts tab, and view the list of fonts used in the PDF. Make sure all of them are installed on your workstation. PDFs do not embed the full font, only the glyphs that were used to create it (this is called subsetting).

How this affects you: if you add the word "Zebra" with a capital Z, and capital Z wasn't used anywhere else in the PDF, then you'll be missing the capital Z and won't be able to add Zebra in that font.

|    Bevi Chagnon   |  Designer, Trainer, & Technologist for Accessible Documents ||    PubCom |    Classes & Books for Accessible InDesign, PDFs & MS Office |
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