Error when Exporting PDF-X4 file : Missing Glyph

[licral83685769]

Hello,

I'm currently facing an issue with indesign CC2018, latest version.

It's a 24 pages document, no missing font, no broken link, no error showing, green dot on the bottom of the screen :

Yet, I'm having an error showing up after exporting in PDF X4 print PDF format (file is exported, but PDF X4 standard is not respected) :

What's wrong ? I can't tell what's happening.

Help ?

Thank you

[Peter Spier · Accepted solution]

The error message (and lack of ID finding it in preflight) suggests the problem is an imported graphic that does not have all fonts embedded.

[bracewell4213]

I get the same message, but the bigger problem is that I have no way of figuring out which imported ad is missing the fonts. Acrobat > Print Production > Preflight > PDF Analysis >  "List potential font problems" does not show any missing fonts.  [Is a missing glyph the same as a missing font, or does it mean an embedded font doesn't have a certain character?] 

It does say "A font name is not unique." "A font with the same name is embedded multiple times." I can't do anything about that if multiple advertisers embed the same font in their ads. But Preflight doesn't say any fonts or glyphs are missing. So InDesign is offering an error but no way to track it down, right?

[Peter Spier]

The only way I can think of to find the problem would be "divide and conquer" where you continually split the failing doc in halves until you isolate the failure. You could also, of course, generate the PDF and proof it.

Are you actually responsible in any way if this goes as-is? Whose responsibility is it to properly create the ads?

[bracewell4213]

Indeed, Peter, like so many generic errors, I would have to export each page, to see which have missing glyphs. But the second problem, font name not unique, would be trickier. I think I can hunt through the preflight analysis to try to see common fon names, but I can't change their ads.  I think most ad makers do embed the fonts in the PDF ads. If I I have the fonts, sometimes I will open and convert to outlines or rasterize, but usually I don't have the fonts.  Ultimately I think all I can do is warn the advertisers and perhaps ask them to rasterize the file, but most folks don't have Photoshop or understand resolution, so that's probably riskier. Acrobat is kind of too good at allowing anyone to create a PDF but few people have the tools to fix them.

[Peter Spier]

I just re-read your first post. I don't think the font name not unique error is due to multiple ads, but rather to a single ad with a problem (or perhaps several ads with the problem, but not that they are using the same fonts as others, but rather they are embedding several fonts in the same ad with the same name). I think this could happen if users have multiple versions of some common fonts -- from both Adobe and Google, for example -- installed, or possibly collected in other elements assembled into an ad. Divide and coquer should find that as well.

And I seem to not have answered that a font need not be missing for there to be a missing glyph.

[Joel Cherney]

Peter's completely correct; a missing glyph isn't a whole missing font, just a single letter, or character, or bit of punctuation. "Glyph" is the correct term for both a single letter in an English word and a single character in a Chinese word, for example.

Anyhow, you can make a custom preflight profile that should take you directly to the whatever-it-is that is missing. Most likely case is that Peter is correct and it's in a placed graphic, but it could also be hidden in three or four other ways. The basic Preflight profile won't show you; it'll only show you missing fonts. But in the Preflight panel, you can click the flyout menu button (the hamburger icon in the top right hand corner) and choose "Define Profiles." Make a new profile by clicking the plus button under the list, then expand the Text section by clicking on its little triangle, then check the box for "missing glyphs." With this profile active, you should be able to double-click on any missing glyph indicator, and it should take you straight to the graphic or frame or whatever that has the missing glyph. 

[yoo_soo_8216]

Hi.
I ran across the same problem yesterday.
Went through every mm(inch) of the document and found nothing.
And after a long 3 hours struggle, I somehow found that by unchecking 'page information' in 'Export Pdf>Marks and bleeds>marks' my document was totally alert free.

I assume you have overcome this issue by now. I'm just leaving this in hope that it might save some fellow designer's invaluable time.

=Bottom line.=

If you get missing glyphs alert for no reason in Indesign, try unchecking page information in Mark and bleeds.

Peace.

[leo.r]

And after a long 3 hours struggle, I somehow found that by unchecking 'page information' in 'Export Pdf>Marks and bleeds>marks' my document was totally alert free.

By @yoo_soo_8216

Interesting. I wonder what are your versions of InDesign and the operating system? 

Also, does your document name contain any special characters, accents, diacritics, etc? Although normally this shouldn't make any difference anyway.