Having issues with font in certain files

[marcdarrylgb]

Good day!

I'm not sure what happened to my Adobe reader (Laptop, Windows 10) but certain files suddenly changed fonts like below:

I've had this file for a while and had been using it without issue. Then one day, it looked like this. I initially thought it was just this one file but I've started to notice it on some other files. I already tried reinstalling Adobe but to no avail. I attached the file for reference.

Hoping anyone can help me on this.

Cheers,

Marc

[Dov Isaacs]

There is no such software as “Adobe reader” — we assume you mean Adobe Acrobat Reader.

I examined the file you sent. It displays and prints with no problems on my Windows 10 system using the latest version of the software. Running Preflight in Acrobat Pro DC on the file, I can see that there are instances in which various faces of a TrueType version of Helvetica are not embedded in the PDF file. Normally, such unembedded Helvetica typefaces are substituted with Arial if Helvetica isn't installed on your system. (No version of Helvetica, either Type 1, TrueType, or OpenType is a “system font” in Windows. I would almost guess that the original Word document was created on a Mac!) There are no other issues with the PDF file.

Apparently, on your system, the missing Helvetica fonts are not being substituted with corresponding Arial fonts! Have you done anything to remove or hide the Arial fonts on your system (perhaps with a font manager)?

In the general case, it is best practice to always subset embed all referenced fonts when you create PDF files to avoid complications when substitute fonts cannot be used for some reason. Your PDF file will be slightly larger, but reliability of viewing and printing will increase dramatically. (Plus, remember that “font” is a four letter word beginning with an ‘f’ …)

[marcdarrylgb]

Hi,

Yes, I meant Adobe Acrobat Reader! Thank you for the reply. I don't think I did anything out of the ordinary with the system in the past months. Not sure on the making a PDF one though (as the file is from a government website).

Is there a way I can figure out / remedy the matter on Arial fonts? 

Cheers,

Marc

[Dov Isaacs]

First thing to do is open the Fonts Control Panel in Windows and ascertain that the Arial fonts are installed. If they are, check their properties to ascertain that they are not protected against access by non-Administrators (if you are not running with Administrator access, if someone somehow blocked access to these fonts for non-Administrators). If those fonts are not installed, you might need to repair your Windows installation.