Unable to display combining unicode characters

[stu.crawford]

I am unable to get Adobe Illustrator or InDesign to correctly display certain combining unicode characters.  Specifically, I am having issues with the combining underline, Unicode 0332.  It is not visible when it is typed in Illustrator or InDesign.

The combining underline is actually there, even if it is not visible.  If I copy and paste the text into a different program, it will be correctly displayed.  So, the issue is not that I am unable to type the Unicode character in Illustrator, it is just that it is not being displayed.

Some other combining diacritics do work properly.  For example, the combining acute accent (Unicode 0301) displays correctly.  Oddly, the combining circumflex (Unicode 0302) displays over some letters (like a g), but not over others (like an x).

I have tested this on CS6 and CC, for Illustrator and InDesign.  The issue is present in both programs. However, if a Word document is exported as a PDF, it does display properly in Adobe Acrobat.

I am also using the small capital G (Unicode 0262), and this character is displaying properly.  However, the combining underline is not visible under it either.

I have 18 fonts that have both the combining underline and a small capital G, and Adobe behaves the same for all of them. If anyone wants to duplicate this, some fonts that include both Unicode characters are Calibri, Cambria, Lucida Grande, Tahoma, and Times New Roman.

An oddity is that if the combining underline is of a different font than the preceding character that it is combining with, it will be displayed properly.  So, if the original character and the combining underline are of different fonts, the combining underline is displayed.  If they are of the same font, the combining underline is missing.

A similar oddity is that if the font does not have the glyph that is being displayed, the combining underline will also be correctly displayed.  For example, Helvetica has a combining underline, but no small capital G.  If I type ɢ̲ in Helvetica, The combining underline will then be correctly displayed underneath the .notdef glyph (the rectangle with an X in it).

[EmmettBrown]

Has this been made any better? I'm running into the same problem with the latest version of InDesign. All the while and since quite some time, SublimeText, or even Windows' WordPad have been able to display those...

[Anubhav M]

Hello @EmmettBrown,

We understand that encountering technical issues can be frustrating. We are here to help and would like to suggest trying to enable Show Indic Options under Type and checking if it helps? We appreciate your time and effort in helping us resolve this issue.

Looking forward to your response.

Thanks,

Anubhav