Fonts changing in files when opened in Illustrator 29.5.1

[Lavish_coder1549]

I've experienced this twice now, both times in the last month. I design beer labels and I'll often open an older label and use it as the template for a new one. When I open the older file (an .AI file), it will load, and most of the live text will have switched to a different font arbitrarily. Some fonts switch to OTHER typefaces that exist in the same document, others switch to different weights of the same font, and still others switch to defaults like times and myriad.  Some of the switched fonts are stored locally, and others are served via Adobe Fonts. The file does this consistently even after I've restarted illustrator and restarted my computer. 

I've attached a screenshot of one of the files with its original fonts (from an outlined version for print), as well as a shot with the changed fonts.

Has anyone else experienced this?

System:

2022 Mac Studio M1 Max

MacOS Sonoma 14.6.1

Illustrator v 29.5.1

[JodyRadzik]

It is unconscionable that Adobe has a virtual monopoly on professional graphic design tools with the complete lack of quality control it is delivering now. This isn't just their darling scrapbooking moms being affected, but large scale commerical enterprises that rely on these tools to keep businesses afloat. But I doubt they care much about that with their hands in our pockets once a month.

[JodyRadzik]

I'm reporting that after downgrading to Illustrator 2024 (28.7.8), the corrupted files open correctly and save correctly. This has saved me a ton of time, but as I already mentioned in my response to Adobe's attempt to make me an unpaid beta tester, I am not upgrading again.

[JodyRadzik]

Unfortunately, I now have to deal with the quality control problems that plagued this version, one of which is 15 seconds of the spinning beach ball when switching between windows. There is just no winning with Adobe.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @JodyRadzik,

I understand how problems like these can disrupt your workflow. Our product team is actively working on fixing this as soon as possible. Could you kindly share a link to a sample AI file you're having trouble with, so they can check it on their end?

Note: While sharing the file, kindly make the link public and enable the option to Save a Copy/Download (if any).

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[JodyRadzik]

Yeah, no, that's not going to happen. This is propriatary work for a national brand for unreleased products, and you are asking me for a favor that Adobe would never do for me. I'll stay downgraded out of necessity and continue to resent Adobe for supplying unreliable products that often make my job a nightmare, along with the rest of my colleagues here who feel more or less the same as I.

[thebronxdaddy]

Are you kidding me Adobe??? It just happened to me on 29.6. This bug can bring down a whole company! Fix this right now.

[thebronxdaddy]

It's still happening in Beta!

[thebronxdaddy]

One thing I noticed is even if the font is randomly changed (in this case from Helvetica condensed to extended), the bounding box is showing the original size. (see attached photo)

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @thebronxdaddy,

Thanks for confirming that this is happening in the 29.7 beta. The 29.7 GA (general availability) release is now live and available to install via the Creative Cloud Desktop app.

Could you please update to that version and check if the issue still persists there? Also, just to be sure, kindly check if the affected font is installed both on your system and synced via Adobe Fonts. If it's present in both places, it can sometimes lead to conflicts, so it's best to keep it in just one.

If the problem continues even after testing on 29.7 GA, please share an affected sample file and the specific font you're using, so we can investigate this further on our end.

Looking forward to hearing how it goes!

Abhishek 

[fluke-d]

It is still happening with 29.7 GA - see my post from the 29th. Fonts are Gotham / Gotham Condensed, and in another file Gilroy was affected. Neither are Adobe fonts.

 

[fluke-d]

 

[thebronxdaddy]

Still happening in 29.7 AND 29.8.

The affected fonts are not installed on Adobe Fonts. I make sure all personal fonts are installed on Apple Font Book only. Fonts used are Helvetica Neue LT Std family.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @thebronxdaddy, @fluke-d,

I'm sorry to hear you're still having trouble with this. Could you kindly share a link to the System Info from the Help>System Info menu in Illustrator along with the sample AI file, so I can get it checked with the product team?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Anubhav

[thebronxdaddy]

I am copying the system info below. Please note that I went back to version 29.0 after this bug was found.

Also I am attaching the Illustrator file that is affected and the PDF of the same file that fortunately kept the original look of the fonts so you can compare. You can see from the time stamp that they were made at the same time. I did not include the linked image since it's not really necessary.

Please note these are very confidential company files.

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[Randy_111]

It seems the last version that worked correctly was 29.4. You may want to go back to that and just re-do the updates from there instead of trying to find-ovewrite ADOBE'S bad code. It is more then one OS and one type of mac that being effected here, it wide ranging, don't you get that. This is so clearly an Adobe probelm not a apple or user one.

[Randy_111]

One more thing the latest update I have avialable to me is still only 29.6.1. Chicago area US. I've rebooted to don't go there.

[walterd8318663]

Have same problem here. Worked on a file, opened the same file the next day and some texts have a completely different font 😞 Need to rework the complete document, thx you

[Randy_111]

I've went back to 29.4 a week and half ago and don't seem to have the problem. I think this might be the last stable version.

[active_appreciator89724]

Yes, I'm having the same issue. All fonts in my file revert to Wingdings 2 without any warning. And if I try closing the file without saving, the fonts are saved with Wingdings 2 font, so it has saved the file with the unwanted font!

[Graffikker-67]

This is still happening for me in version 29.7.1

[fluke-d]

Same for me.

[dang8813046]

yep, this just happened again. So frustrating.. I'm now duplicating all of my work (in file) prior to saving and then outlining the fonts on the duplicated work. This way I'm not completely screwed over before a presentation, like last time. What a nightmare.

[JodyRadzik]

I'm hoping to get some advice. I work with very large and complex packaging files with many different fonts. When the bug-infested Illustrator completely ruins them with it's font substitution bug, my life turns into a nightmare. I can't stop working, but I'm terrified this will happen again and I'll lose yet another day trying to fix it. So, I'm hoping to get some official advice from Adobe as to which version of Illustrator (if any) does not have this issue. Please advise.

[JodyRadzik]

I just read in another reply that 29.4 is the last stable version, so I'm downgrading to that and crossing my fingers.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @JoDy Radzik,

Our team is aware of the problem and is currently investigating it. I will update this thread as I have more info.

Feel free to reach out if you have more questions or need assistance. We'd be happy to help.
Anubhav