Palatino Linotype dropping capital H in Adobe Acrobat Pro

Report · Nov 24, 2019

I'm trying to create a PDF from a Word file. I'm using Palatino Linotype, which is installed on my computer. When I do a plain SAVE AS from Word to PDF, all is fine. But when I try to go into Acrobat Pro DC and save to PDF, every single capital H in the document that is in Palatino Linotype gets dropped.

I've been chatting with online support and was told some idiotic thing. Then I was told to do this:
"Please download the fonts. To embed the font , go to Edit > Preflight as shown in figure 4. Next select the “PDF fixups” option and select “Embed missing fonts ” and click the “Analyze and fix” button to embed any unembedded fonts."

I don't need to download a font that's already installed and when I told him I can't find Edit>Preflight the support person has disappeared and has stopped answering my questions. Can anyone here help with this? I'm on deadline and this should just simply work.

Report · Nov 24, 2019

Instructions for embedding fonts into PDFs are posted in a related topic at https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat/text-changes-to-special-symbols-with-saving-pdf-in-acrobat/m-...

Before you attempt this, ensure that your fonts are installed and active because the above instructions require that the fonts be on the workstation before preflighting/embedding.

One way to check them is by using them in a document and printing it to your desktop printer. Just seeing their name in a font list or in a font manager doesn't guarantee that they are installed correctly or not corrupted.

Report · Nov 24, 2019

Thank you. It prints just fine so the fonts are there and working. I tried to follow the instructions at the link you provided, but I don't understand any of it. I can't find the PDF/UA profile. And there is no blue wrench anywhere.

Report · Nov 24, 2019

What version of Acrobat are you using?

From the Help menu, "About Adobe Acrobat," and give us the complete version number, such as 2019.###.#####.

Report · Nov 24, 2019

.021.20056 - just reinstalled today after the issue first appeared.

Report · Nov 24, 2019

Quote: "I can't find the PDF/UA profile. And there is no blue wrench anywhere."

You need to open the Preflight Tool Panel first, and then locate the PDF/UA section. Preflight is located on the right side of your screen either as the Preflight tool icon, or in the PDF Standards icon (newer versions of Acrobat).

If these are not in your right-hand menu or tool icons, then you can find the tools under the Tools menu in the upper left menu bar.

Report · Nov 24, 2019

I finally found preflight and was able to tell it to Embed fonts. It did not fix the issue. If I look at the document properties, it says the font is embedded. I'm exhaused after having worked on this one issue for over 6 hours. I will take a look tomorrow and maybe try to find the font from Microsoft or just change to a different font. I am not a happy camper at this point.

Report · Nov 24, 2019

Quote: "I am not a happy camper at this point."

I understand and my clients have been in similar situations.

But this might not be an Adobe problem, but instead a Microsoft/Linotype problem.

Linotype is renegotiating the licensing of its fonts to MS Windows/Office and several fonts have already been affected, although it's the first I've heard of with Palatino.

Linotype sells Palatino at its website, https://www.linotype.com/57056/palatino-linotype-family.html Note the price tag for each weight. That should give you an idea of why Linotype is renegotiating its agreements with Microsoft. Also note that with any new font purchases from Linotype, you'll have to pay for different uses of the fonts: Desktop font, embedding into PDFs, embedding into EPUBs, embedding into websites.

I was told they are "monitizing their intellectual property."

FYI, unless you see the Adobe logo next to someone's name, we're all just volunteer ACPs and MVPs on the list trying to help our fellow campers.

Report · Nov 25, 2019

Wow. Well, that would certainly explain it. I guess I'll find a similar font to use. This project is an anthology of stories by grades 3-8 children. Any thoughts on a font that might look nice in print?

Report · Nov 24, 2019

Just background info and suggestions:

You're right, the fonts should just work. In this related thread, Adobe states that there is an ongoing problem and a fix is due in a couple of weeks. See the reply from Dov Issacs @Adobe at https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat/capital-quot-i-quot-disappearing-when-converting-from-word-to...

In the meantime, if embedding the fonts doesn't work, try these time-tested techniques that can correct font problems.

Since fonts are software that can become corrupted or mal-functioning over time, reinstall them.
1. Uninstall the complete family (or just the weight/version that is having problems).
2. Shut down and then restart your computer. Make sure it's a cold boot so that all the old font information is removed from caches and memory before you reinstall the fonts.
3. Find the original font files that you purchased or came with your operating system and reinstall from them. (You did save the original download font files way back then, didn't you?) <grin>
4. If you can't find the originals, then find versions from a backup a year or so ago. Don't use a recent backup because they could be corrupted in it.
If your fonts are older TrueType or PostScript versions, upgrade to OpenType versions. Although in theory these older font technologies should still work, we're finding they are becoming unreliable in modern operating systems and software. FYI, the computer industry standardized on OpenType in 2000, 19 years and 11 months ago.
When exporting to PDFs from MS Office, InDesign, or any other source program, ensure that your export/conversion settings are set to embed all fonts (subsetting if less than 100% of the fonts characters are used).

Hope this help you meet your deadline.

Report · Nov 24, 2019

Unfortunately, Palatino came pre-installed with my computer. I have no idea how to obtain a single file out of a backup.

And I can't wait for a fix to the issue. So I'll have to find a different font. But it gets worse. With all the mucking around trying to fix the issue, including having an Adobe tech remote into my computer, NOW the font I specifically purchased for this project doesn't work. I can no longer print-to PDF either because that doesn't like the newly purchased font. Hours and hours of wasted work.

How do I do this? When exporting to PDFs from MS Office, ensure that your export/conversion settings are set to embed all fonts

Report · Nov 24, 2019

Quote: "How do I do this? When exporting to PDFs from MS Office, ensure that your export/conversion settings are set to embed all fonts"

From the Acrobat Ribbon in MS Word, choose Preferences.
Select the Conversion Settings for your project (Press, Standard, Web, etc.)
Select any of the other check boxes on that screen that apply to your project and the type of PDF you're trying to create (such as print or accessible tagged PDF).
PDF Conversion Settings in MS Word's Acrobat ribbon.
Select Advanced Settings.
Select Fonts from the left menu.
Check the 3 options as shown.
Remove any fonts in the "Always Embed" section.
Remove any fonts in the "Never Embed" section.
Embed fonts into PDF.
Save your settings when prompted and exit out of the Preferences section.
From the Acrobat Ribbon, select the first icon to Create PDF.
Create Adobe PDF.

Report · Nov 24, 2019

Palatino Linotype comes free with MS Windows from version 2000 through version Windows 8. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/palatino-linotype#products-that-supply-this-fo...

It is included only with some versions of Windows 10.

Suggestion: Whenever you get a new computer, or install a new operating system, or install a new version of MS Office, always ALWAYS ALWAYS make a copy of the Windows/Fonts folder and save it to another storage device, such as a USB flash drive, external hard drive, file server, or cloud storage.

This lets you recover the fonts you purchased in times like this.

Report · Nov 25, 2019

Most likely, you are experiencing a known problem for which a fix is expected to be released within the next two weeks.

The “missing character problem” seems to be associated with formatting text in Word where the text attributes include both pair kerning and any form of ligatures. For this particular problem, turning off these attributes for the text should eliminate the missing characters. Yes, we know it is a major problem. But at least the source has been identified and we expect the fix to be released soon.

Please advise if this missing character occurs without pair kerning and ligatures selected.

In either case, the support agent was giving a nonsensical response for which we are quite sorry!

- Dov

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

Report · Nov 25, 2019

Thanks, Dov. I saw your answer on the other related question. I removed kerning and some of my capital H's came back. I just made another adjustment and that fixed the issue as long as I print to Adobe PDF instead of using the Create PDF function.