Extra whitespace characters in exported PDF

Hi there,

A user of a PDF I exported from InDesign has reported issues with not being able to search (in Acrobat) for certain text strings.

Looking at the PDF, I can reproduce the issue. It turns out there are extra whitespace characters in the PDF that aren't visible but prevent text searches from working. Cut & paste from the PDF into a text editor reveals these extra characters.

Here's a screenshot of a minimal test case I created. This shows:

• The PDF open in Acrobat.
• A (non case sensitive) search for "shield" only showing one result, where two instances of the word are clearly visible in the PDF.
• The result of cutting & pasting the complete PDF text into a text editor. Note the extra newline in the first instance of "Shield". It seems this is what prevents search from finding that instance of the word.

It seems the issue is somehow related to the font. Alverata with OpenType All Small Caps seems to cause the issue in this case. (I have seen similar issues with other fonts though.)

Does anyone have any insight into what might be causing this? I'm unsure if it's an issue with InDesign, Acrobat, the PDF export, the font, or the PDF file format itself.

Thanks!