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Known Participant
January 27, 2024
Question

Opening a pdf with runic symbols

  • January 27, 2024
  • 1 reply
  • 2935 views

Hi

I'm tryng to open a pdf file in illustrator that countains symbols (runes), and all I get is crossed squares.
Here's what I found so far :

-the ascii symbol displays fine in a browser or other app that uses system fonts.
-The document opens and reads properly in acrobat pdf reader.
-The document can be opened in google docs, the formating is messy but the symbols display fine.
-The formating in illustrator is fine, but all symbols are crossed squares.
-If I copy-paste, in illustrator, from the file opened in google docs, the regular alphabet displays correctly, but the runes show a crossed square.
-If I copy-paste the runic symbol from elsewhere, I still get a crossed square. I cannot change the font, it stays stuck on Myriad Pro.

Any idea how to solve the problem?

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1 reply

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Community Expert
January 27, 2024

Illustrator is not a general purpose PDF editor. Things can happen.

 

You can try: turn on "Missing glypg protection" in Preferences > Type

 

If that does not help: do you need to edit the text?

If not: create a new Illustrator file.

Place/link the PDF

Select it and Object > Flatten transparency. Turn on "Outline Text"

Dee-SAuthor
Known Participant
January 27, 2024

Thanks, it seems the options was already turned on.

Yes I really need to edit the text, and there's a larger problem that I cannot type rune symbols in general.
Now there's something very strange : the symbols display well in text editors like office. It uses a font called "liberation". It doesn't show up in Illustrator.

Even more strange, system fonts like, well, "System", "fixedsys", "small fonts", do not show up in office, though I can still use them by writing their names. In illustrator, they don't show up and I cannot use them.
I have the impression it could be related but I'm puzzled where it comes from

Monika Gause
Community Expert
Community Expert
January 27, 2024

Is the font only installed in Office? Is it perhaps a font that only Office can run at all?

 

For Illustrator fonts need to be installed "For all users" in the system.