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Dániel5FCE
Participant
August 24, 2020
Question

Crossed rectangles instead of text

  • August 24, 2020
  • 4 replies
  • 5962 views

Hi!

 

I am currently trying to modify an existing label, which has chinese and english text as well. 


When I try to open the pdf in illustrator however all the english text is replaced by crossed out rectangles.

If I try to type in the text box full of them, new text seem to display just fine, but the old text does not covert back. 

 

See the attached picture.

 

Thanks for the help in advance,

Daniel

This topic has been closed for replies.

4 replies

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Monika GauseCommunity Expert
Community Expert
August 26, 2020

If the fonts show in Acrobat, you can create a new Illustrator file. Place the PDF in it (linked) and then Object > Flatten transparency. Check Outline fonts. The text will be converted into paths.

    michelew83603738
    Community Expert
    michelew83603738Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 24, 2020

    This is an issue of missing fonts. They clearly were not embedded in the pdf and Illustrator will not do that for you. If you can't recover them through Acrobat and don't have them, then you will have to replace them or go to the source to try and get them to embed them into the file.

    Luke Jennings3
    Community Expert
    Luke Jennings3Community Expert
    Community Expert
    August 24, 2020

    It looks like there may be unembedded fonts in your PDF. With the PDF open in Acrobat, go to File> Properties> Fonts, all fonts should say embedded or embedded subset. Illustrator is not a universal PDF editor and type changes are better made in the original program that created the PDF. You could try running an Acrobat preflight fixup to embed the fonts (Tools> Print Production> Preflight), then try re-opening the PDF in Illustrator. If that doesn't work, your best option might be to re-set the type from scratch and save as a new PDF.

      D
      Dániel5FCEAuthor
      Participant
      August 26, 2020

      Thanks for the help, but it seems to be another issue, all the fonts are embedded or embedded subset. Sadly I do not have access to the original file from which the PDF was created.

       

      Luke Jennings3
      Community Expert
      Luke Jennings3Community Expert
      Community Expert
      August 26, 2020

      I would still try to run the preflight, even though the fonts appear to be embedded in Acrobat, you could also try running the preflight Fix Potential Font Problems.

      Do you get a missing font message in Illustrator? Try replacing ArialNarrow-Bold font with a similar font on your system.

      As a last resort, you can run the preflight Convert Fonts to Outlines, which will give you the same result as Monica's suggestion, although you will not be able to modify the type.

        Mike_Gondek10189183
        Community Expert
        Mike_Gondek10189183Community Expert
        Community Expert
        August 24, 2020

        PDF is not meant top be an editor. Illustrator is much better for editing. Open the PDF in Illustrator. If you have the fonts loaded you will be good, otherwise you may need to outline the fonts.

        If you still have trouble please post a copy of the .pdf , we can help you better. 

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