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Question

Can't get incomplete and embedded fonts out of file: can't package fonts in

Forum|Forum|9 months ago
May 17, 2025
3 replies
1374 views

Trying to package an InDesign file, and fonts aren't going into Document folder. The fonts that won't go happen to also have been Type 1 fonts in the original product (this is an update of said product). They're still listed in the packaging as "embedded." I did replace all fonts with an updated font (Gotham family) in InDesign and in all Illustrator files coming in. I cleared caches (Adobe and Windows). I uninstalled and reinstalled the fonts (and InDesign). I've rebooted each time I've made a change and ensured all Adobe apps were closed for everything I tried. I can only get Gotham Medium to show up in the folder. It keeps saying that I have 4 "incomplete" fonts, which is why I think those Type 1 fonts are interfering, but I can't seem to get rid of them! (Went to Windows folder to get rid of them, and they aren't there, but they do show up in MS Office apps.) I've lost the whole day's work on this... Does anyone have any advice???

Robert at ID-Tasker

Legend

@Sioco

Also, fonts that has been activated through Adobe Fonts - won't be packaged.

The same is with licensed fonts.

Brad @ Roaring Mouse

Community Expert

Let's deal with the information above.

Embedded Fonts:

Fonts saved in Illustrator files (.AI) will be listed as embedded, as they are included in the "PDF-Compatible" side of the .AI file (subsetted). They will not be collected as they aren't necessary since the .AI files already have what they need for print.

Similarly, old EPS files with embedded fonts will behave the same.

Old EPS files without embedded fonts will collect them only if they are currently available on your system. However, If these EPS use Type 1, they will be listed as missing (not available and cannot be used) in any current InDesign since the Type 1 deprecation.

Incomplete:

Usually meaning a family is incomplete. This might be because of the new files you have for Gotham. Where did you get them? Adobe Fonts just recently added Gotham to their collection. If you've configured your InDesign to autoactivate, you might have conflicting versions... and, of course, if you are using Adobe Fonts versions loaded, you cannot collect those anyway. If you got your new "Gotham" anywhere else than from a legal vendor or Adobe Fonts, you should put 'em aside.

Advice? Just collect your fonts manually to the Documents Fonts folder if you need to. You don't HAVE to rely on InDesign to do it; It's there for convenience. It just means you will have to have an accurate knowledge of which ones you need to include. If you use a Font Manager, some have a utility to scan for fonts in documents and create a set that you can export.

S

SiocoAuthor

Participating Frequently

Thank you, Brad! This is very informative! I got the updated Gotham typeface from Adobe Fonts. They don't appear in any of my font folders (which was my trick before--just to copy them over as long as they were licensed for that use). I did find them through a bizarre, arcane process in which they were named with numbers, and I hesitated to rename them and copy them into the folder for the client. Any tips on a better place to grab them and copy them over? Or is that what everyone does, and it's okay to do it? I'm just not positive how to rename, but I'll follow however Gotham Medium (the one font that made it into the folder) is named, I guess?

Sioco

Brad @ Roaring Mouse

Community Expert

Yah, don't do that. You cannot distribute these legally. Besides, you don't NEED to package Adobe Fonts because anyone who will open these will have the same access you do, so packaging them is unnecessary. Back in "the day" when you had to send native files to printers, there was a clause in the terms and conditions of any Adobe fonts that one could send fonts to a service provider/commercial printer ONLY for the purpose of outputting a file with the caveat they had to have a legal license to use them themselves*. Collecting licensed fonts to distibute to another user or agency is actually not in the bounds of the T&C.

* it didn't happen to us at the printer I was working for at the time, but another large printer in our city was hit with a software audit (yes, that was a thing), and they were fined for things like using illegitimate software and also "keeping" and using fonts they did not have licenses for. After that, to be on the safe side ourselves, we purchased the entire Font Folio so we would have a legitimnate licensefor any Adobe font our clients would use.

Joel Cherney

Community Expert

They're still listed in the packaging as "embedded."

"Embedded" means that they are used in one of your placed assets - maybe an EPS file, maybe an Illustrator file? Save a copy of your file, then go to your Links panel and delete half of your links. Go back to your Fonts dialog - if you have zero embedded fonts, then you know that one of the placed files you deleted contained those embedded fonts.

When you say you "deleted caches" did you follow instructions like these?

(Went to Windows folder to get rid of them, and they aren't there, but they do show up in MS Office apps.)

You can always track down the exact location of a font used in an InDesign file (as well as how many fonts are used in your graphics) from the Type -> Find Font dialog:

Willi Adelberger

Community Expert

OTF fonts contain T1. If you embed fonts in PDF or in AI file they will appear as T1 fonts if you have a look in Acrbat.

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