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

[anemonfort]

I dropped back to 29.6 and haven't had an issue since. But if you are risk adverse I'd consider going back farther.

[JodyRadzik]

Thanks for letting me know. I'm back to 29.4 and so far, ok.

[thebronxdaddy]

I went to 29.0 just to be safe.

[Randy_111]

29.4 has been stable for me, I also work on complex packaging files. I had issues with 29.6.

[JodyRadzik]

Thanks for letting me know. I'm on 29.4 and everything seems ok, although lately, using any version of Illustrator now feels like there's a gun to my head.

[bwatel]

Exact same thing happening to me. Working on a master file with dozens of labels and all two families of fonts that are properly installed changed once to gibbrish (I had to renter text using the glyphs window!) worked well for a while, did it again and was fixed, then re-happened a few days later and was fixed just by restarting the computer. But what a waste fo time! This moning, same doc, it replaced two families with Myriad. I did a Find/Replace, only to find out that text on other locked layers has randomly dispeared in preview. Come on Adobe, you can do better than that, instead of fiddling with AI please let designers do their work.

[Anubhav M]

Hello everyone,

Our team has requested additional info. Could you kindly share a link to a sample file with this problem after uploading it to a file-sharing service, so that we can check it on our end?

Note: While sharing the link, kindly ensure it is set to Public and the option for Save a Copy/Download is enabled.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[katc60712215]

We are a sign company and we are having the same issue with AI files. PDF shows correct font and spacing and AI file is corrupt. This is causing major issues when sending files to print. 

The link is here:  

https://we.tl/t-jA7WG7TEZd

[Anubhav M]

Hello @katc60712215,

Thanks for sharing the file. I have forwarded it to the product team. I will update this thread as I have more info.

Anubhav

[martin25141082gjhg]

Still crickets from Adobe on this. We the consumers deserve an official response to this. I'm hoping that Anubhav is being given resources to work on this. Unfortunately I am very sceptical. Thinking it might be in the to hard, not enough profit pile. 

Martin

[thebronxdaddy]

It's a shame. Programs can have bugs. Abrupt crashing here and there, freezing, buttons not clicking, these are all acceptable and understandable bugs. But altering and ruining a file that is already made and saved? What kind of incompetence is this from a industry leader? This bug can make a business go out of business. You know what I think the reason is? Too many updates. It's totally unnecessary. But they have to because they need to make it seem like the subscription is worth something. I've been using Adobe programs for 30 years and with every updates it gets worse and worse. Not with features but with stability and reliability. Slow down, Adobe. Sometimes if you try to run too fast, you fall.

[Bobby Henderson]

Unfortunately the text objects in something like an Adobe Illustrator AI or PDF file can be affected by more than just bugs in the host application. Fonts can be affected by multiple factors, starting with the font files themselves. Font files can have bugs too. The operating system plays its part. Other applications running in the background can affect installed fonts. For example, I've seen CorelDRAW and its built-in font manager mess with fonts in Adobe Illustrator. Certain styles in a type family would go missing in the Illustrator fonts menu. I'd close both applications and then re-launch Illustrator and the entire type family would be restored.

It would be easy to fix if it was just a bug in one application.

[bwatel]

Everything you say here is true, nonetheless, fonts have been working just fine until 26.1. This tells me the pb is this new version of Illustrator.

[Bobby Henderson]

That could very well be true. On the other hand, other pieces of software in the computer system receive periodic updates as well. It's looking like a recent security update for Windows was responsible for the rash of clipboard-related crashes to Illustrator.

[JodyRadzik]

Said like a true Adobe plant. This application is a disaster now, all on its own, all by itself. The litany of complaints about the same infuriating problem prove it. Tell your masters to get their act together.

[Bobby Henderson]

Jody, I am not an Adobe employee, or a "plant" like you claim with your attack. I do have many years of experience using Adobe Illustrator and using other rival graphics applications too. I've seen enough to know ill behavior and outright crashes in an app like Illustrator can be caused by more than just a possible bug within Illustrator itself. Other applications and utilities running in the background can be a culprit. Graphics board drivers are another variable. So are the drivers for attached devices, like a Wacom tablet. Individual font files can be a problem too.

I get just as angry and frustrated as anyone when an application is acting up. For example, my workplace is a mixed software environment; I often have to open CorelDRAW-generated .AI files in Illustrator, but if the art has any live text objects the file won't open in the current version of Illustrator. I have to open the file in Illustrator 28 and re-save it so the file will open in version 29. It's an annoying work-around.

The point is this type bug in Illustrator may not be as simple to fix as some are making it out to be. Not every Illustrator user is being affected by it. The developers have to go through all the different variables to narrow down to the culprit causing the problem. They might have an easier job doing that if they're getting as much information as possible rather than getting verbally attacked.

[Randy_111]

I don't understand how anyone can defend the mess that has become Adobe Illustrator. This is more than a bug; it is a major programming error. It's clearly their fault; it started with an update!!!!!!!!! And now weeks with NO end in sight. The only answer being go back to 29.4 and don't update. I'm afraid to update any Adobe app right now.!!

[Bobby Henderson]

On the Windows platform more than just Illustrator has been updated since version 29.4 was released in March. The Windows OS has been updated multiple times. I've seen at least one or two NVidia graphics driver updates and motherboard BIOS updates since March. Wacom released its latest graphics tablet driver update in June. Drivers for plenty of other components get updated too. Let's not forget the Windows platform has a whole smörgåsbord of different computer hardware combinations. That contributes to why some users may be affected by an application bug while other users aren't affected by it at all.

[k9tag]

Bobby Henderson,

Yes, Windows has been updated since Illustrator 29.4 was released, and I'm sure there have been software upgrades to the MAC OS as well. .  Illustrator 29.4 continues to run perfectly on the PC after all of these recent Windows software modifications, with no catastrophic random font substitution bug.   Now, install Illustrator 29.5.x, or 29.6.x, 29.7.x on the same machine, and you have the random font substitution bug.  It doesn't take a Nobel Scientist to deduce that the random font substitution bug is introduced by these latest versions of Illustrator, not by the Windows operating system or some new driver.  I'm not sure they have totally fixed this on the Mac either according to some reports on this site.

I have a couple of Dell laptops, one runs Windows 10, one runs Windows 11.   The same versions of Illustrator mentioned above indroduce the random font substitution bug on each of these machines.  If you use Illustrator 29.4,  it's as if the bug never existed.

[Bobby Henderson]

I have an Alienware X17 notebook running Win 10 Pro and a Dell XPS desktop system at work running Win 11 Pro. I can't replicate the font bug that others are seeing in Illustrator 29.7.1. Why? If it's 100% a bug in Illustrator wouldn't everyone using version 29.7 be affected by it? The actual cause of the font problem may be a combination of code in Illustrator and code outside of Illustrator in other applications and/or drivers.

[Randy_111]

How complicated are the fonts in your file, one, two, three or like some of mine 8-10 in one Illustrator packaging file. The legal section alone is something that uses older Helvetica font family because of how complex they are. And even though it has NOT happened to you, makes Adobe no less liable for the gaff they can't track down or fix. We are now playing more than $75.00 a month for this headache.

[k9tag]

Bobby, yes, it is the code inside of Illustrator THAT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH FONTS that I hope the Illustrator team is concentrating on.   Something external? ...  hmmm... I'm not so sure about that... I have been using the program since the late 1980s and I have never ever run into an issue where Windows screwed up Illustrator and made it unusable.  Small nuisance bugs have happened of course, but they have always been fixed by subsequent vesions of Illustrator.   

However, there may be some kind of difference in the way that we two use the program that causes the random font trap to be sprung for me, but not for you, even though we are both on W10 and W11.  For instance, when saving my Illustrator files, I always check the box to save as a PDF Compatible file.  Maybe that is the trigger that springs the font trap with the newer versions of Illustrator.  Or maybe you have a regular routine that you use to clear the font cache.  I don't do that ... or know how to do it for that matter.   Hey, maybe you can be a good test case for us.  A Windows guy on 29.7.1 who does not seem to be experiencing the random font replacement bug.  Do you save with the PDF option?  Give it  a try and see if the bug appears.   Font manager?  What is that?  For the last 30 years, I have just installed fonts from wherever into the windows fonts folder as the need arose.    Maybe you use a specific font manager and a more elegant method to install fonts?  "Grab-and'stuff" font management has worked forever, but perhaps the Illustrator team has made a change in the recent program versions that causes the font replacement bug trap to spring in these cases?  Can you think of anything else in the way that you use Illustrator that might be different or useful for those of us suffering from this bug?  

I have no Idea if you are in the minority with Illustrator working fine with fonts at release level 29.7.1, or if I am in the minority experiencing the font replacement bug with any of the recent releases.  That would be nice to know.  As an ADBE stockholder since the 1980s, I very much want Adobe to fix this.   They have enough work to do fighting the artificial intelligence battles, and having a big bug in one of their flagship apps is not helpful.

[Bobby Henderson]

k9tag, there are processes within the Windows OS that affect the operation of Adobe Illustrator. Any other applications or other processes running at the same time can potentially affect Illustrator. That could be anything from other graphics applications, anti-virus/spyware utilities and, yes, third party font managers.

Apps like Extensis Suitcase (aka Connect) have been around for a long time. Such apps can allow more flexible use of a large font collection without having to install all the fonts directly into the OSX Font Book or Windows' Fonts folder. CorelDRAW has its own font management app, which used to be Bitstream Font Navigator. As I said before, I've seen that app cause various headaches and even hits to computing performance.

Every Windows PC is going to have a unique combination of hardware, installed applications and other stuff loaded, right down to the fonts. Some users many have too many fonts installed in the OS. Badly authored fonts are another problem. Even good quality commercial fonts can have bugs. Take the Barlow type family for example. Static versions of it are available at both Google Fonts and Adobe Fonts. There is a variable version that can be downloaded for free. It seems to work alright in Illustrator, but it can cause CorelDRAW to completely crash when the font is selected in its fonts menu. That might partially explain why the variable version isn't available at Adobe Fonts or Google Fonts.

Windows still has an antiquated way of cataloging fonts, wanting to group the styles of type families in groups of four. A font super family can have over 100 styles yet Windows thinks there are only 4 styles (regular, italic, bold and bold-italic). The type designers and developers come up with ways to get around that. The tricks don't always work.

The bug causing these font substitution issues may indeed be within Illustrator. But it's still possible for the problem to be caused by a bug elsewhere or a combination of factors. The developers have to investigate all those possibilities. If the problem was just within Illustrator alone the bug would be easier to spot.

I don't think I'm doing anything unusual with Illustrator. I'm guessing it's just luck that my installations of Illustrator haven't been affected by this specific font-related bug.

[Randy_111]

It happened with an UPDATE, Adobe can't seem to fix, they need to take ownership.

[k9tag]

Bobby Henderson,  have you read any of the other posts here?  I will again repeat my post from A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO below in the hope that I can save someone else from this CATASTRPHIC BUG in Adobe Illistrator 29.5.whatever, 29.6.whatever, 29.7. whatever.  This same bug was posted for months as occuring on MACs, and a user has posted that the bug was FIXED by version 29.7-ON-THE-MAC.   ADOBE, what in the heck is going on?  You grab these guys that fixed this devastating Illustrator bug on the MAC, you put them into a room with the Windows guys, and you don't let them out until the same bug that was fixed on MAC Illustrator is fixed on PC Illustrator.  Not rocket science.  Just everyday computer science debugging protocol.  Why do you continue to ask for data like this is a different bug?  It is the same bug, and the fix that worked on the MAC should be implemented on the PC.

Everyone worldwide should revert to version 29.4 on the PC.    29.5.whatever=deadly font bug, 29.6.whatever=deadly font bug, 29.7.whatever=deadly font bug.    29.4 = NO FONT BUG AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY GET SOME FREAKING WORK DONE.  The bug is caused by a change that was made to the Adobe Illustrator software, and is nowhere else.  Adobe, please end this long international nightmare soon.

================= My Post From June 6th below  =============================

Re: Fonts changing in files when opened in Illustrator 29.5.1

I keep getting emails about other Adobe illustrator users who have fallen into the trap of this terrible bug.  I can only repeat: Illustrator 29.6.whatever is unusable worldwide until this problem is fixed.    Illustrator 29.5.whatever is unusable worldwide until this problem is fixed. All users worldwide should downgrade to 29.4, a level that does not have this bug. This should be a little concerning to the development team.  An immediate worldwide stop should be issued, and 29.5.whatever and 29.6.whatever should be removed by Adobe as options for download, because guess what, you are just going to get more and more users who are impacted by this bug, costing them no telling how much money and no telling how many problems with their clients. Don't even think about upgrading to 29.5.whatever or 29.6.whatever.  You will regret it.  I have currently dropped back to 29.4 and stopped auto update on ALL of my Adobe products until this is resolved. I advise everyone to do the same. Adobe, this will take a long time to get over, because once we have a working level that we can revert to, we don't have the time to debug your software - we have to get actual work done that puts dollars into our pockets.  Please let us know here when this terrible bug is fixed. Great job since the 1990s providing me with a piece of software that has worked very well for a long time without major bugs.  This though, IS a MAJOR BUG, and as i mentioned before, you you need all hands on deck to fix this.

k9tag Jun 06, 2025 02:55 PM