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baruke
baruke
Participating Frequently
October 27, 2020
Answered

Help with embedding font in a PDF

  • October 27, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 2692 views

Hello, 

I am currently trying to embed a free font into a PDF document using Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. I tried downloading the font, and un zipping it, then I open my PDF, go to file---properties---font, but I do not see my font anywhere.

 

Can someone walk e throu the process of embedding a font?

Thanks!

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Dov Isaacs

A font must be installed in order for it to be recognized and embedded in a PDF file. Simply unzipping a font doesn't install it. If you are on Windows, right click on the font file and choose the Install for all users option. On MacOS, use Font Book to add fonts (File=>Add fonts).

 

There are two other necessary conditions to embed a font within a PDF file:

 

(1)    The font must allow embedding for at least Preview and Print.

 

(2)    There must be text already in the PDF file that references that font in which case you must use Acrobat Pro DC Preflight to embed the font. Alternatively, the font can be embedded if you are adding new text via the edit function and have selected the font (already installed on your system) from the list of available fonts.

 

2 replies

Dov Isaacs
Dov IsaacsCorrect answer
Brainiac
October 27, 2020

A font must be installed in order for it to be recognized and embedded in a PDF file. Simply unzipping a font doesn't install it. If you are on Windows, right click on the font file and choose the Install for all users option. On MacOS, use Font Book to add fonts (File=>Add fonts).

 

There are two other necessary conditions to embed a font within a PDF file:

 

(1)    The font must allow embedding for at least Preview and Print.

 

(2)    There must be text already in the PDF file that references that font in which case you must use Acrobat Pro DC Preflight to embed the font. Alternatively, the font can be embedded if you are adding new text via the edit function and have selected the font (already installed on your system) from the list of available fonts.

 

- Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
    baruke
    barukeAuthor
    Participating Frequently
    October 27, 2020

    Thank you!!!

      gary_sc
      gary_sc
      Adobe Expert
      October 27, 2020

      Hi Baruke,

       

      Sorry but it doesn't work that way. The fonts go into your system and are used by applications. Once you've completed in creating your application you can either print to your printer or print to PDF with Acrobat. Acrobat uses the font that you used in the application and varrying on a variety of things will probably embed the font into THAT document becuase it's needed in THAT document. 

       

      If you need to change the font used in THAT document, you need to open the original application that made the document, change the font, and then re-print to PDF it with the new font.

       

      I hope that makes sense. Simply Acrobat is not a document creation program. It is a digital printing program (and digital document reading program with a bunch of other capabilities in that media).

      baruke
      barukeAuthor
      Participating Frequently
      October 27, 2020

      Hi, thank you for your response. I am very new to this, so it is still a little confusing to me. My goal is to sell the pdfs as editable wedding stationary, so the customers can change their names on the wedding invitations (pdfs) and then print. I originally made the invitations in photoshop, would I had to have embedded it there first? 

       

      (I am testing out free fonts, but am working on getting a custom license for a font, allowing me to have the rights to embed it, in case that makes a difference)

      Dov Isaacs
      Dov Isaacs
      Brainiac
      October 27, 2020

      Several issues here:

       

      (1)    Photoshop is primarily a raster image creation and editing program. Wedding invitations are typically and primarily text with the possibility of images brought in from Photoshop. Adobe InDesign or even Illustrator would be a much better choice for wedding invitation design.

       

      (2)    Embedding a font within a PDF file does not allow that font to be used for changing or adding text via Acrobat. Any person trying to change or add text via Acrobat would also need to have the font installed on their system. These edit functions do not use the font already embedded in the PDF file.

       

      (3)    The only solution that would use the embedded font would be if you used the PDF forms feature where you design a text field and assign the font in question to that field or fields. You can create forms fields either in Acrobat for an existing PDF file or in InDesign as part of your overall design of that invitation. The creation of the forms field using the font would embed the font completely such that all characters could be accessed.

       

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