ArialMT font missing

Report · Sep 16, 2019

I have a customer that's on Adobe Acrobat Reader 2019.012.20040, with Windows 10 Pro x64 Version 1809, and when he tries to open a certain document, he gets the following error:

"Cannot find or create the font 'ArialMT'. Some characters may not display or print correctly."

So far, the user has uninstalled and reinstalled Adobe Acrobat Reader, his computer was wiped and re-imaged with a new Windows 10 baseline, we've added the ArialMT TrueType font file to Windows 10, and he's installed the DC Font Pack (my suggestion):

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC Font Pack (Continuous) - For Acrobat Reader DC version 19.x

But he's still getting the error. Are there any suggestions as to resolve his issue? Thanks.

Report · Jan 18, 2023

Same issue here. Autocad generated pdfs when opened in Adobe do not show the ArialMT font correctly but show dots and signs. Multiple occasions. The issue does not appear when the same files are opened in alternative pdf readers. Sorry to read above that Adobe are denying the issue. This makes me use another pdf reader.

Report · Jan 19, 2023

Hi @windi98871713

We are sorry to hear that. Would you mind sharing the OS and Acrobat DC version you are using? To check the version, go to Help > Check for update and reboot the computer once.

Also, check for any missing/pending updates for MS Office and try updating it and check.

Is this an issue with a particular PDF file or with all the files? Please share the original source file and the created PDF file for checking.

What is the workflow/steps you did to create the PDF file? A small video recording of the same would be very helpful.

Regards

Amal

Report · Jan 18, 2023

@Amal.

As you see by all replies here, it's up to Adobe to do something about this issue. It's now a new 'feature' in Adobe Reader, this thread started 2019 and you still have not solved it! It can't be that hard to do, if you want to...

Alot of other pdf-viewers can handle this without the isssue that Adobe Reader has.

I think that you are still thinking that all users should or are still using Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader as their main pdf-program, but thats not how it is nowadays. Many users are using other programs and if you don't solve this I will recomend other users to go to another viewer since you don't solve this issue.

Report · Jan 25, 2023

Like others said, I confirm that only Adobe Acrobat has this issue and that with other PDF readers, I can view the same files without any problems.

In my case, I figured out that this error does not occur when I use English text in my DWG (AutoCad) files but it occurs occasionly when the text is from different language (ex: German, Greek etc). It can also occur with TimesNewRoman and other fonts.

In the case that you have little anount of text in your DWG file and in order to avoid this error, you can change the text's font to a working one (you can try a few times in order to find the working fonts).

In the case that you have large amount of text, font changing will be time-consuming and you should switch to another PDF viewer.

Report · Jan 30, 2023

Hi there

We have reported this issue to our development team for review. We will share the update as soon as we get any news from them.

Regards

Amal

Report · Feb 08, 2023

Hi Amal,

Is there any update from the development team so far?

I have a user with the same issue but purely from Adobe Acrobat Reader, nothing related to other software, it just shows "Cannot find or create the font 'ArialMT'. Some characters may not display or print correctly".

Our organisation uses the intranet, and other users with the same version 2022.003.20258 of Acrobat Reader are able to view the file without such issue but this user.

For your kind advice, please.

Report · Jul 05, 2023

This problem is also occurring to me in several word files that are transformed into PDF through the "save as" of Word (Windows 10 Home, 64 bits.)
After a few attempts to open the file, the error stops appearing randomly and the file opens normally.
I have already tried to carry out all the guidelines presented in this topic, such as repairing the installation.
Analyzing the history of conversations, it is clear that most of Adobe's responses are based on a standard service script, without an effective solution. The problem has been discussed for 2 years and so far they have not found a solution.

Report · Aug 10, 2023

I also have this issue. I have had this issue for years across 3 different machines, many Adobe Acrobat Pro versions and also know of colleagues with the same issue. This seems to be a bug in the Adobe software from my understanding as the PDF populates with no text. Closing the PDF and opening it again enables the contents of the PDF to show.

I see that others have mentioned AutoCAD as being a potential cause. I do not currently have AutoCAD installed, however I have in the past so perhaps there is a link here.

I wanted to add a comment as this is an issue that has been going on for years, it's now 2023 and I'm running Version 2023.003.20244. So, Adobe, please be aware that this is an annoyance which I think is a bigger problem than perhaps you're aware of.

Report · Aug 11, 2023

Hi there

We have reported this issue to our development team for review. We will share the update as soon as we get any news from them.

Regards

Amal

Report · Aug 11, 2023

This issue has been going on for years and it's only now being reported? It aggravated me enough that I dumped Adobe and got a different product that works great... and no font error problems. Please do post when the fix has been completed.

Report · Oct 04, 2023

This is occuring for me in files that other people have generated. I have to view them through my web browser to see the contents but I can't digitally sign as Adobe Acrobat Standard wont display most of the characters on the screen. So essentially I've paid for software that is faulty and have been this way since 2019 without a fix. I've tried all the suggested 'fixes'.

Report · Oct 05, 2023

Hi there,

Is this an issue with the files generated by other people or with all the PDFs?

What is the version of the Acrobat Std DC you are using? To check the version go to Help > About Acrobat and make sure you have the recent version 23.06.20320 installed. Go to Help > Check for updates and reboot the computer once.

If its a specific file issue please share the file with us for further checking.

Also try to repair the installation from the help menu (Win Only) and see if that works.

Please try to reset the Acrobat preferences as described here https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/how-to-reset-acrobat-preference-settings-to-defau...

You may also try to create a new test user profile with full admin rights in Win or enable the root account in MAC and try using the application there and check.

~Amal

Report · Oct 05, 2023

Hi,

I can confirm there are no updates for my computer, microsoft office or Adobe. My abobe is version 23.06.20320.

I've also done the repair installation.

I've got 'use local fonts' ticked.

It's not every file, it seems to be only some peoples files. I can't share the contents of the files that aren't working due to confidentiality.

It seems that the manual reset of preferences made a change. All I did was rename and move this folder: C:\Users[username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Acrobat\DC\Preferences

Report · Oct 06, 2023

Hi there

Are you still experiencing the issue after manually resetting the preferences, If yes, we would need the PDF file in question to proceed further.

~Amal

Report · Nov 09, 2023

Amal,

Any news regarding an update on this long running problem?

Report · Nov 09, 2023

Hi there

We do not have any fixed timeline. We will share the update as soon as we get any input from the team.

Thanks for your time and patience so far.

~Amal

Report · Dec 05, 2023

I was having the same problem with the ArialMT font and TimesNewRomanPS-BoldMT in another document. I performed the suggested Preflight fix on both documents and the newly saved documents created as part of the embed font fix in Preflight did not have the problem. When I opened the orignal documents that had the problem, it was fixed in those documents as well. I have had this problem on and off for several months. I have used Adobe for several years and never had this problem before. I hope this fixes it for all instances where documents have these fonts. I also hope I don't have to do this nonsese for other files going forward.

Report · Dec 05, 2023

Correction on above - the orginal file was not corrected, I had to perform the Preflight fix each time I opened the orignal file.

Interestingly, the files in question were both generated by the same organization. In one case, opening the file from a link using MS Edge browser, the error does not occur, but when saved locally and reopened in Adobe, the error occurs. Also both the files can be opened in Bluebeam without the missing font issue.

I hope Adobe fixes this since, while it does not happen with every file, it happens frequently enough that I searched for a solution and spent more time than I should have on this considering I pay $264 per year for Adobe.

Report · Dec 05, 2023

Hi there

Hope you are doing well.

The Web browsers use their own PDF Mechanism to render and display the PDF file and they are no Adobe dependant. Please try to recreate the PDF via Adobe Acrobat Pro application and see if that works.

~Amal

Report · Dec 18, 2023

I seriously can not believe this has been an issue since 2019 and there is not a fix for it yet. I just received a file from a vendor created in AutoCAD and I can't read some of it and am getting the same error message as stated in the original post. We can't fix the problem on our side so I will be forced to use a competing product other than Adobe. Adobe needs to do better and find a fix for this. As others have stated, the competitors to Adobe don't seem to have this problem...

Report · Dec 18, 2023

First picture is the file opened in Adobe. Second is the file opened in PDF-XChange Editor. The issue seems to be with lines that have symbols if that helps.

Report · Dec 21, 2023

Hi there

Please go to Preferences (Ctrl,CMD+K) > Page Display, Under Rendering , select 'Use local font' > Click Ok and reboot the computer once and see if that works.

~Amal

Report · Mar 05, 2024

Hey everyone,

This issue has been persisting in our office still in 2024, but we were able to find a fix. The issue was only visible in Acrobat Reader, and was not present in Foxit Reader, Bluebeam Revu, Edge, or Chrome (did not test Acrobat Pro). I was using Adobe Acrobat Reader v.2023.008.20533 64-bit. See my error example attached.

The issue seems to stem from Autocad generated pdfs created on a seat of Autocad that has migrated settings from an older version of the program. Stan5CD2's is mostly correct, but newer version of Autocad have a slightly different workflow. See my attached ArialMT Fix Steps. Even if the "Capture fonts used in the drawing" box is checked, it is important to uncheck the box and check it again to properly edit he .pc3 file.

Report · Mar 07, 2024

You're assuming that this is only apparent in AudoCad generated PDF's. For me this is not the case. I often have this issue with PDF's from other sources.

To be clear, I do have CAD software on my computer, but I experience this issue with PDF's from many sources.

Report · Mar 07, 2024

Yeah, you are correct. Based on how we fixed it, I dont think it is a program specific issue, but an issue with pdf printers/exporters, possibly older ones that dont differentiate between Arial and Arial MT.

Try creating the effected pdfs with different methods and see if the issue persists. Use "print to pdf" if you were exporting to pdf, or vice versa. See if you can play with the options in your pdf printer to capture fonts or select a different pdf printer entirely. If you dont have a second PDF printer on your computer, you could download Cute PDF Writer, it is not my favorite, but it is free. I know this is a lot of messing around, but it could help localize the problem.

Although this issue originates outside of Acrobat, I by no means think this lets Adobe off the hook. The most basic requirement of a PDF reader is to read PDfs easily, and no other reader I tried had this issue. Other programs have figured this out, so I think Adobe can as well.

Adobe Community

ArialMT font missing

2 Correct answers