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Text getting compressed when editing pdf

New Here ,
Jul 16, 2025 Jul 16, 2025

I am exporting a document as a pdf and using acrobat to edit the document. When I open the pdf it looks fine but as soon as i edit anything some of the text is compressed and becomes dificult to read. Example below:

 

compressed text.jpg

TOPICS
Edit and convert PDFs , PDF
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1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION
Adobe Employee ,
Aug 22, 2025 Aug 22, 2025
LATEST

Hello @Dynamic_person6982

 

I hope you are doing well, and we are sorry for the delayed response and trouble.

 

This behavior typically occurs when Acrobat attempts to match fonts during editing, especially in PDFs that were exported from other applications or contain embedded fonts. Acrobat may substitute fonts incorrectly or apply OCR (Optical Character Recognition) settings that distort the text.

 

Disable System Font Substitution During OCR

If the PDF is scanned or contains image-based text, Acrobat may apply OCR and use system fonts that don’t match the original formatting.

Steps:

  • Open the PDF in Acrobat.
  • Go to All Tools > Edit a PDF.
  • In the left panel, click Settings, then More Settings.
  • Deselect the option “Use available system font”.
  • Click OK and allow the OCR process to complete.

This prevents Acrobat from substituting fonts that may compress or distort the text. See this article for more details: https://adobe.ly/47akIGH.

 

Check font embedding

  • Open your PDF in Acrobat.

  • Go to Menu > Properties > Fonts.

  • Ensure the fonts are fully embedded (look for “Embedded Subset” or “Embedded”).

  • If fonts are missing or only partially embedded, Acrobat may substitute them, causing compression.

  • To fix: Re-export the PDF from the source application with “Embed fonts” enabled. See this article for more details: https://adobe.ly/45R84Kw

If the PDF was created using “Print to PDF,” it may lack editable text layers. To preserve text fidelity, use Export to PDF or Save As PDF from the source application.

 

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

Meet Acrobat Studio

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Community Beginner ,
Jul 16, 2025 Jul 16, 2025

This may have to do with the font/ conversion. What happens if you change the font in the original document before exporting it to PDF? I assume word to pdf in your case.

 

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Adobe Employee ,
Aug 22, 2025 Aug 22, 2025
LATEST

Hello @Dynamic_person6982

 

I hope you are doing well, and we are sorry for the delayed response and trouble.

 

This behavior typically occurs when Acrobat attempts to match fonts during editing, especially in PDFs that were exported from other applications or contain embedded fonts. Acrobat may substitute fonts incorrectly or apply OCR (Optical Character Recognition) settings that distort the text.

 

Disable System Font Substitution During OCR

If the PDF is scanned or contains image-based text, Acrobat may apply OCR and use system fonts that don’t match the original formatting.

Steps:

  • Open the PDF in Acrobat.
  • Go to All Tools > Edit a PDF.
  • In the left panel, click Settings, then More Settings.
  • Deselect the option “Use available system font”.
  • Click OK and allow the OCR process to complete.

This prevents Acrobat from substituting fonts that may compress or distort the text. See this article for more details: https://adobe.ly/47akIGH.

 

Check font embedding

  • Open your PDF in Acrobat.

  • Go to Menu > Properties > Fonts.

  • Ensure the fonts are fully embedded (look for “Embedded Subset” or “Embedded”).

  • If fonts are missing or only partially embedded, Acrobat may substitute them, causing compression.

  • To fix: Re-export the PDF from the source application with “Embed fonts” enabled. See this article for more details: https://adobe.ly/45R84Kw

If the PDF was created using “Print to PDF,” it may lack editable text layers. To preserve text fidelity, use Export to PDF or Save As PDF from the source application.

 

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Anand Sri.

Meet Acrobat Studio

Translate
Report
Community guidelines
Be kind and respectful, give credit to the original source of content, and search for duplicates before posting. Learn more
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