Text jumbled in PDF

Report · Feb 01, 2023

Whenever I edit text in my PDF and then save the file, the next time I open the file the text is jumbled. See photo attached of my Table of Contents. What do I do to stop this? It's effecting my work.

Report · Feb 01, 2023

@JamieBarmakian

The best way is to edit the source document, then create a new PDF. That being said,

How was the PDF created?
File > Document Properties > Description
What are the original typefaces and are they embedded?
File > Document Properties > Fonts
Are the typefaces Type 1?
Do you have the same typefaces installed on your system?
Was the PDF scanned, then OCR'd?
What did the ToC look like before you edited it?
Did you edit a copy or the original?

Jane

Report · Feb 01, 2023

Thanks, Jane.

The PDF was created by combining multiple other PDFs together. It is a very large document (see photo for a screenshot of the description)
There is a very long list of fonts embedded (see photo for 2 screenshots - there are many more than shown)
Some are Type 1, some say TrueType (CID) or just TrueType
I am not sure if they are installed on my system
It was not scanned
See photo of ToC before edited
I edit the original, but I also keep a copy on a cloud that I download and edit when things get jumbled and then I re-edit that one and delete the original.

Thanks for your help! This is a repeated issues with this PDF that I use for work on a daily basis.

Report · Feb 01, 2023

@JamieBarmakian

Hi Jamie,

I was afraid you were going to say Type 1 was involved. Type 1 fonts were released in 1984 and have been disabled by Adobe. They can remain in your PDF, but cannot be edited. You might have success if you change the typeface to something you do have before editing.

I watched this video from Thomas Phinney just a few days ago. It's long, but explains the issue thoroughly. You can start about 4 minutes in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2X_DZRN66o

Phinney first warned us about the end of Type 1 in 2005, so theoretically we had a long time to prepare, but it has still caught folks off guard.

PDFs were never meant to be word processors. When I started using Acrobat with version 2.0, it wasn't even possible. If it were my file, I would export the PDF to Word and clean it up. Then either continue making edits in Word, followed by making a new PDF from the Acrobat toolbar each and every time. Or at the very least, use the new PDF going forward.

I noticed that your PDF was created by Microsoft Word for Office, so it is a Microsoft PDF, not an Adobe PDF. The Microsoft PDFs are not always well made and can be harder to edit. They also won't create Bookmarks, Links for ToCs, Indexes, etc. One way to make an Adobe PDF is to use the Acrobat tab on the Ribbon. Adobe PDFs say they were made by the PDFMaker.

Jane

Forum volunteer

Report · Feb 01, 2023

Thank you so much. I will take your advice and see how it goes!