PDFs opening in gibberish in version 2024.002.21005

[david_5228]

Upon updating to Adobe Reader version 2024.002.21005 some PDFs (not all) now show garbled as unreadable text.

The affected PDFs:

• Have fully embedded fonts
• Are unreadable on any PC running Adobe Reader version 2024.002.21005
• Look fine on all PCs running the slightly older Adobe Reader version 2024.002.20991
• Look fine when dragged into Chrome or Foxit, but not Adobe Reader version 2024.002.21005

So something appears to have changed between these two recent updates to affect this.

Could this be a bug in this latest version of Adobe Reader?

Any help and advice would be appreciated.

[PoorITman]

The same problem here~~

[kazama_543]

Me too

[oscar wong]

me too

Adobe Reader version 2024.002.21005

[markus_3120]

me too

[Stuart_adobe_user]

Same issue here, we need an update to fix this bug as a matter of urgency.

[jane-e]

@david_5228  @Stuart_adobe_user   @markus_3120   @oscar wong   @kazama_543 

This has also been reported in the Adobe Acrobat (paid version) forum. The OP found Type 1 fonts from 1984 were being used.

https://community.adobe.com/t5/acrobat-discussions/garbled-text-on-pdfs-tt2fco00/m-p/14804328

Can each of you check in Properties > Fonts and tell us which ones are being used? Are they Type1? Or fonts that were not embedded? Adobe responded to that thread and is looking into the issue.

Jane

[david_5228]

Thanks for this info. I've checked the affected PDFs and all fonts are embedded and yes, they are showing as Type 1 fonts.

I wonder if Adobe will fix this in a future update or if Type 1 fonts will no longer be supported from here..?

[S. S]

Thanks @jane-e for sharing this.

Hi Everyone, 

We have the team made aware about this.

Is it possible to share a sample PDF file with me? This will help the team investigate further and expedite a fix.

Thanks,

Souvik

[jane-e]

@david_5228 

I suspected Type 1 fonts. They had a 40-year run (longer than most software), but finally reached end-of-life in January 2023.

https://helpx.adobe.com/fonts/kb/postscript-type-1-fonts-end-of-support.html

I tagged Employee @S. S in the similar thread in the Acrobat forum and tagging him now in the Reader forum. It's the same issue.

I had this issue with a timesheet not long ago. It was garbled on Windows, but I mysteriously could view it on macOS. The creator should not be using Type 1 fonts in 2024.

Jane

Forum volunteer

[david_5228]

@jane-e   Thanks for all your info & advice on this. Much appreciated.

[jane-e]

You're welcome @david_5228! Souvik and the Acrobat team will take it from here.

Jane

[S. S]

This issue will be fixed with a patch by the next week.

-Souvik

[Stuart_adobe_user]

Many Thanks

[S. S]

@Stuart_adobe_user Any sample file that you could share with me?

This will help us expedite the fix.

-Souvik

[Stuart_adobe_user]

It happens on invoices that we send to clients that has confidential information on.

The problem only exists on the latest update of acrobat reader.

Here is a screenshot with private information not shown.

[S. S]

@Stuart_adobe_user Understand your point. 

Would it be okay to share the file with me via private message? On the next page, click on my profile name, followed by the blue "Send a Message" button. The file will be used specifically for testing and removed from our database once it is done.

While I understand the importance of the files, and our dev team is trying to launch a patch next week, we haven't been able to get hold of a file that used Type 1 fonts.

So, getting to test it with an actual file would be great.

-Souvik

[sergio_0923]

Hello,

Same problem here.

Thanks

[jane-e]

Many thanks Souvik!

Jane

[S. S · Accepted solution]

Hi All,

We have released a new update (2024.003.20054). Please update the application and let us know if the issue is fixed.

-Souvik

[Stuart_adobe_user]

Great job, works perfectly now.

Many thanks for your swift fix.