Missing fonts create huge problem

[laurelh64032563]

In spring of 2023 Windows forced an update while I was editing my eighth and final fashion technology  textbook. I was finishing a series of college-classroom tested textbooks that had taken 30 years to write. The books present how the industry drafts and sews, information needed globally, as even in the industry, thanks to line assembly, few know how the entire process works. The information is scaled down, allowing its use even without electricity. Scaled diagrams, step-by-step instructions present the information needed to understand the industrial processes involved with fashion production.

GONE were my most important fonts - Bookman, Edwardian, that had been imbeded in my paragraph styles. I contacted my computer expert and he helped me purchase substitute fonts, which require replacing three to four fonts in every chapter in all eight books. Each book contains at least 20 chapters.

Always in the past it was so easy to access the fonts by just accessing the desired font from the "type" drop down, then selecting a bold or italic version if desired. That's gone. I'm used to working a certain way, which has been interruped.

Fortunately the books had also been saved as PDFs, but to make even the smallest correction in any of the books, I have 20 chapters to update with fonts, an overwhelming task.

I wish computer innovaters would consider the effect their upgrades can have on those of us who depend on our computers to make information available. The whole experience is demoralizing.

email and URL deleted by moderator

[BobLevine · Accepted solution]

You have given us nothing to go on. Version and build of InDesign? Version and build of Windows? Do these fonts work in other applications? And what format were these fonts? OpenType? TrueType? Type 1?

Unless they were Type 1, whatever has happened here likely has nothing to do with InDesign but if you want to fill in the blanks we might be able to offer some help.

BTW, if this is truly a book using the book panel, you can sync the styles across all of the chapters.

[JeffreyAdams]

They gave you plenty to go on, missing fonts is all you need to know. It doesn't matter if it's InDesign or Encoder or Premiere or what it is, THE FONTS SHOULDN'T JUST DISAPPEAR and we shoudn't be paying for something that isn't properly beta tested, we're losing time and paying for something while adobe makes a killing as they're killing our bank account and inspiration. They need to fix the font issue once and for all for ALL the apps. 

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Hi,

I understand how frustrating this can be. We need some details to troubleshoot or escalate the issue. Details like the version of InDesign, OS, and if it is happening with a specific font or multiple fonts. These details help us in identifying the root cause of the issue. You can also try the suggestions shared in this article for font issues. 

Thanks

Rishabh

[JeffreyAdams]

We are not paying adobe to be guinea pigs. Sure, we'll try to give you all we can. But, really, we're giving adobe so much money they need to be giving us a product that works because it has been tested. They need someone testing things properly. 15 years ago i was able to reach an adobe tech person high up and he clearly said they do not test on real world use scenarios. It's very obvious. 

[BobLevine]

Like the OP, all you're doing is ranting and you'll get the same help they got...which was in my initial reply. If you have a problem, start a new discussion with actual details and we might actually be able to point you in the right direction.

Since this post has been asked and answered and has obviously run its course, I'm locking it.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

The OP gave an extended rant without including any details at all.

I suspect that they were all Type 1 fonts, which Adobe apps stopped using at the start of 2023 after YEARS of rather annoying warnings that the font technology was being deprecated. So if the OP, as other users have come here to complain about, ignored all the warnings and did not update hir font technology... yup, sooner or later an update came along that no longer recognized those ancient font files.

Yes, it's annoying. It was a bit of a hassle for all long-term users to purge their font library of T1 fonts and update to newer tech. But in a world where such requirement changes ("Oh, yes, you need 64GB RAM to run this update!") are frequent and have little to no advance warning, Adobe alerted users for an almost absurdly long time, and in a way that could not be ignored.

I'm always sorry that anyone has a hassle like this with an app or a platform issue. But — unless the OP's issue traces to some other problem, which I think is unlikely — it's an example of how tech evolves and avoiding update needs and warnings is a bad idea. The actual "crash" is likely to come at the worst possible time... and a rant afterwards might feel good but doesn't fix things.

[BobLevine]

I've deleted the email and URL in your post. This violates the TOS you agreed to. If it's part of your email signature, please delete it future posts.

[Test Screen Name]

Have you been allowing CC to update InDesign while you work on these books? I'm guessing you chose to install the new InDesign which blocks the type 1 fonts (which Adobe declared obsolete 20 years ago but nobody noticed). It's always a risk to allow InDesign updates mid-project. You can keep old versions and use them. 

[Aidan_C]

Install an older version of inDesign?
Use: Type, Replace fonts dropdown and do it all at once?