Skip to main content
F
flagdad2010
Participant
December 21, 2017
Answered

How to install Helvetica font to Acrobat Pro DC???

  • December 21, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 92502 views

I have purchased a PC standalone version Acrobat Pro DC for
my windows computer. I cannot get tech support for this version any longer
because it is over 12 months. Here is my issue. I need to install the Helvetica
font to my Acrobat Pro DC program and cannot find how to this.

The Issue:

I deal with a lot of
PDF's. The files are emailed. I put the pdf's on my computer to be edited. Text
is the only thing that is edited, not the pictures. With the original emailed
pdf I cannot edit the file. I have to print the pdf  to Adobe before I can make any edits. This is
done by choosing Print, then choosing Adobe, then give it a file name and Save.
This creates a new file that can be edited. All the original material it there.
The original pdf's are in the Ariel font. When the pdf is saved using the print
to Adobe, it USE TO SAVE ALL FONTS TO THE ARIEL FONT. Now the issue is this:
When print to Adobe it converts the entire pdf font to Helvetica, not Ariel any
longer. When I open the editable pdf all the fonts are Helvetica. So, to say I
have a 50 pages to each report in the Helvetica font. Acrobat Pro DC does
not come with the Helvetica font. I cannot find how to install the Helvetica
font to Acrobat Pro DC. Can anyone help. Thank you.

    Correct answer Dov Isaacs

    The issue is not only that of installing a font, but you also need to license the font.

    Helvetica is not one of the Windows system fonts. Microsoft made a decision back in the early 1990s to license and bundle the Arial typeface family from Monotype as a metrics-compatible “workalike” font to substitute for Helvetica. Within Windows, there are tables to equate Arial with Helvetica if no Helvetica is installed.

    The problem is that there are many different versions of Helvetica out there and most will not be recognized as the simple “Helvetica” from the original base-13 PostScript fonts or base-14 PDF fonts. On Windows, one source for the “original” Helvetica fonts may be the host software CDs or DVDs that accompany true Adobe PostScript printers.

         - Dov

    2 replies

    Dov Isaacs
    Dov IsaacsCorrect answer
    Legend
    December 21, 2017

    The issue is not only that of installing a font, but you also need to license the font.

    Helvetica is not one of the Windows system fonts. Microsoft made a decision back in the early 1990s to license and bundle the Arial typeface family from Monotype as a metrics-compatible “workalike” font to substitute for Helvetica. Within Windows, there are tables to equate Arial with Helvetica if no Helvetica is installed.

    The problem is that there are many different versions of Helvetica out there and most will not be recognized as the simple “Helvetica” from the original base-13 PostScript fonts or base-14 PDF fonts. On Windows, one source for the “original” Helvetica fonts may be the host software CDs or DVDs that accompany true Adobe PostScript printers.

         - Dov

    - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
      F
      flagdad2010Author
      Participant
      December 23, 2017

      Dov,

      Thank you so much for your response. That explains why I could not get the font to work. You made mention of "tables to equate Arial with Helvetica if no Helvetica is installed." How does a person access these tables and is there any way to make a pointer for incoming Helvetica font to convert to Ariel? Maybe make all incoming pdf's convert to the Ariel font. Is this possible?

      Thank you again,

      Steve

      Dov Isaacs
      Dov Isaacs
      Legend
      December 28, 2017

      Steve,

      A few issues here.

      If in fact you have a PDF file that calls for display of text using Helvetica, but Helvetica is neither embedded in the PDF file nor installed on your computer, Adobe Reader / Acrobat will substitute Arial for display and print. The same is true for Times and Times New Roman as well as Courier and Courier New.

      Looking back at your original posting, it is very unclear why you think you need to “print the PDF” to the Adobe PDF PostScript printer driver instance to yield an editable PDF file? Exactly what are you trying to achieve? There are numerous functions in Acrobat Pro that will accomplish many more fixups than “refrying” a PDF (i.e. PDF => PostScript => PDF via Adobe PDF and Distiller) will and will not degrade the PDF in the manner that refrying does.

      Perhaps you can post a sample of a PDF file for which you need to do something in order to edit it? That way we can address the heart of your issue. (Contact me via private message on the forums if you need to provide me a pointer to a file location).

      With regards to the font equivalence tables, Reader / Acrobat has some simple equivalences built in per above. A much more complex and complete table for substitutions appears in the Windows registry which generally I would not recommend messing around with (you can really muck up Windows' font and text handling if you edit that registry table improperly). Microsoft Office does use that table and if, for example, you were given a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document from a Mac that references Helvetica, Office does substitute Arial for display, print, and PDF creation.

      Finally, one of the problems with using the original Type 1 format version of Helvetica (or Times or Courier, etc.) under Windows (as opposed to an OpenType CFF or TrueType font with the exact same name) is that although Windows and Adobe applications still support Type 1 fonts, Microsoft Office 2013 and 2016 as well as some other applications have totally dropped support for these legacy Type 1 fonts even if said fonts are installed.

      Provide more info and a sample and I'll try to assist further.

                - Dov

      - Dov Isaacs, former Adobe Principal Scientist (April 30, 1990 - May 30, 2021)
        Just Shoot Me
        Just Shoot Me
        Legend
        December 21, 2017

        You install Fonts through the OS. Not to specific programs. Once it is installed through the OS and shows in the Font folder it should be available to all programs.

          Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
          Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices