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Question

Adobe Indesign, How to Convert a Variable Font (Inter) to Outline!?

Forum|Forum|7 months ago
June 2, 2025
6 replies
1548 views

Adobe Indesign, How to Convert a Variable Font (Inter) to Outline!? I can't merge it completely, this type of font, when convert its creates several shapes and irregularities in the corners, when converted to outline. Which I can only solve in Adobe Illustrator using Pathfinder, but when we got many pages with text, this is not pratical!!! - Is there any solution to do it!? Could Adobe Indesign review the Pathfinder, as it exists in Adobe Illustrator!? So I don't need to take all my text to Illustrator, use the Pathfinder there, and only Then, bring that convert Text to Indesign Again!!!? Thank You for Your Help.

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Dirk Becker

Brainiac

Consider the other parties involved.

Talk to the font vendor / foundry, show them how the font does not work for your special use case. Maybe they can produce a better single instance (rather than variable) font, or even better fix the variable font.

Also ask the sign cutters for a list of fonts that work with their special requirements.

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carloss67Author

Known Participant

Dirk Becker! Thanks Bro ... I don't know if you understand my problem ... But what I heard and ready, the problem it's in this new Variable Fonts (Inter) and The Vendor says that isn't a variable font version (crazy, but maintains the same construction philosophy), they are great for the WEB ... But a big mess to Graphics - and the problem it's my Company (Where I work) had purchased (buy) and are using these Fonts ... Thanks for your time

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Dirk Becker

Brainiac

I understand the problem.

You are using generic software and a generic font and expect them to work in the special production scenario involving vintage signage vinyl cutters.

Enclosed a scan from the "Adobe Type 1 Font Format" dating back to 1990, that explains the very problem.

So, once upon a time fonts were required to avoid this problem. Of course we all know by now that Type1 is not supported any more, otherwise it would b a quick way to choose a font exactly for your purposes.

A few decades later (2014):

https://www.thomasphinney.com/2014/01/overlapping-paths-in-type-design/

> Overlapping paths are sort of okay in TrueType fonts—the rendering engines will deal with them better. But they will still produce bad results if a user does something like apply an outline or stroke to the text.

Thomas exactly describes your problem, and steps by the font designer of those days to avoid them. If they care, they are not required to any more. So you have to look for fonts that are specifically fit for your purpose. Maybe your font vendor can follow Thomas' steps, especially as you now tell us it is not a variable font. Maybe they charge an extra price, maybe they won't do it at all.

Now continue to variable fonts (2019).

https://typedrawers.com/discussion/3216/overlap-in-variable-fonts

The images from John Hudson demonstrate why variable fonts require overlaps to work. All experts around there agree that it is ok to have them.

Quote directly below that image

> I trust a system that knows about variable fonts and can instantiate them for download to a printer to remove the overlaps more than I trust the printer to correctly interpret overlaps.

This part of the discussion was about printer drivers at OS level, not InDesign's application level.

I do not know anything about their special business, but your production company seems to be living in the past of 20 years ago where fonts were crafted the way described with the Type1 spec. They now gently push their problem to you by asking for outlines. They also should have included a hint in these requirements that not every font is fit for their purpose.

Late addition:

Looking around specifically for "Inter" – it is an open source font, so no vender, but you can try the changes yourself.

https://github.com/rsms/inter/tree/master/src

They even mention glyphsapp in that page . Looking further at https://handbook.glyphsapp.com/filters/remove-overlap/ there is a tool for your purpose … or you sort it out with Illustrator.

L

Laubender

Community Expert

Hi @carloss67 ,

below a screenshot from Acrobat Pro that is showing the feature to convert text to outlines in a PDF.

In category Print Production open Preflight and Single Fix Ups like that:

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

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carloss67Author

Known Participant

Hi, Laubender! And Thanks to answer to to my call. I use to work with Acrobat, Indesign, Illustrator & Photoshop ... With This New Variable Fonts (Name Ex: Inter) ... and You Open in the Acrobat & do the Preflight - it´s looks great, but if you open in the Adobe IlLustrator, just to check my question - You got the mess I had talk before, were you can see a font build with diferent shapes & crazy corners ... But Thanks Anyway Brad"Roaring Mouse get my point of view - Now only depends de Adobe Indesign to look better to this problem A PDF open in the Acrobat and convert with the Preflight (Just didn't done the test with the Flattener Preview yet) - What Adobe Illustrator show us ... is

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Laubender

Community Expert

Hi @carloss67 ,

thank you for testing Acrobat Pro to outline that text.

Well, obviously the bad outcome is due to the font designer's choice how to construct or how to define the path of a given glyph. As Dirk Becker already commented, I would contact the font designer and ask for a version of the font where this issue does not happen.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @carloss67,

Thanks for the detailed explanation and screenshots. They really help to understand your workflow and the challenges with Variable Fonts like Inter.

Since this would be a useful feature in InDesign, please consider creating a request on UserVoice here: https://adobe.ly/3HoRpoX? Adding your comments helps the product team prioritize it. Once you create the request, feel free to share the link here so others can upvote it too.

If you have any other questions, we're happy to help.

Looking forward to your update!

Abhishek

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carloss67Author

Known Participant

Thank you for your time, Abhishek Rao! Yes, I will do it. Anything that I can help, to improve Adobe products is a pleasure for me to be great to contribute, and this type of Variable Fonts can be very useful in some things. But a real nightmare in others.

Brad @ Roaring Mouse

Community Expert

Yah, it's an unfortunate affectation with Variable Fonts because their actual outlines are made of sections that can move, resize, and are sometimes separate (like the cross bar of a "t"), so what you are seeing is not a bug, but "the way it works".

This can actually affect static versions, too (mostly of the open source variety), if the font designer forgets to code their outlines to unite these shapes.

Unfortunately, right now it's unavoidable. I suppose it may be possible for Adobe to adjust InDesign's routine to automatically merge the outlines in a future version, but it will still have a hard time dealing with inadvertant incorrect font vectors, etc, on the part of the font designer (like incorrect winding directions), so the result can still be a mess.

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carloss67Author

Known Participant

Thanks Brad@Roaring Mouse - You really got into my problem! I hope that one day, Adobe will be sensitive to this issue (Variable Fonts)... Adobe and more the Indesign, because in Adobe Illustrator works perfectly this issue with Pathfinder - But for pagination I much prefer to work with Indesign, and since they are all Adobe products, they could look for a solution to this issue in the future - Thanks Once Again.

Willi Adelberger

Community Expert

Never outline any text with any font in InDesign. If you need outlines, export a PDF, open it in Acrobat pro, go to Preflieght, in Print Production. There use the command to outline.

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carloss67Author

Known Participant

Hi, Willi Adelberger! Thanks for the answer and your tip (I used to that with some Pdf)! My problem is that certain graphics companies here in Portugal, for the production of certain media (inauguration signs / car vinyl) need the fonts in outline, to make their cutters! The question and problem is with this type of Font (Net Variable Fonts (Name - Inter, to help you) - I did what you said and the preflight in Acrobat, but when I open in Illustrator, what I see ... and I hope you can see the printscreen that I pasted here, the Font continues to present some irregularities (extra shapes and crazy corners) And only in Adobe Illustrator I can solve this with Pathfinder. Thank You

Willi Adelberger

Community Expert

Do it in Acrobat Pro. To do it in InDesign is an absolute no-go. No discussion.

BobLevine

Community Expert

Someone else will do it anyway so I'm going to ask. Why are you doing this?

While doing it for a word or two for the use of artistic manipulation is fine, for many pages it's not. So, please, provide some background on it and maybe we can offer you some advice.

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carloss67Author

Known Participant

Hello, BobLevine! Thanks for the answer and tip! My problem is that certain graphics companies, for the production of certain media (inauguration signs / car vinyl) need the fonts in outline, to make their cutters! The question and problem is with this type of Font (Variable Fonts (Name - Inter, to help you) - but if you can see the printscreen that I pasted here! When I open my work in Illustrator, that Font continues to present some irregularities (extra shapes and crazy corners) And only in Adobe Illustrator I can solve this with Pathfinder. And I Hope one day the Indesign Pathfinder could do the same as the Adobe Illustrator does

Adobe Illustrator Pathfinder

John D Herzog

Inspiring

As a pre-press tech that also does the cut vinyl for our company. We use AI files as our cut files. InDesign is not made for that type of work. Illustrator is.

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