Random Font Replacement with Symbols/Boxes in PDF Exports from InDesign

Report · Aug 21, 2024

Our company uses Plus Jakarta across all of our templates and documents in both the Creative Suite and Microsoft products.

Occasionally, when exporting from InDesign to PDF the font exports with significant formatting issues and replaces the fonts with symbols and boxes. The templates use paragraph styles. There has not been a pattern to the issue and we are unable to replicate it. It appears to be happening randomly.

At first, we thought it was a font issue so it was uninstalled and the TTF font was reinstalled, however the issue keeps happening.
A Google search suggests the computer cant find the font used in the original document, however the fonts show installed in the fonts folder.

Any ideas of what could be happening or how we might be able to better troubleshoot the situation?

Report · Aug 21, 2024

Hi @Jerad5E8A,

Thank you for reaching out, and I understand how frustrating this issue must be, especially when it’s affecting your company’s templates.

To help troubleshoot further, could you please confirm a few details?

1. Which version of InDesign and operating system are you using?
2. Are these issues happening across multiple devices or just one?
3. Have you noticed if the issue occurs after performing any specific action in InDesign?

Additionally, it might help to clear InDesign's font cache or try exporting with a different PDF preset to see if that resolves the problem.

Reference: Troubleshoot font issues (https://adobe.ly/3MfXG5u)

Please let me know if this helps or if you need more assistance.

Thank you,
Abhishek Rao

Report · Oct 14, 2024

Our company also uses Plus Jakarta and I have trouble using it within Adobe products. The font is installed properly and it works in other applications fine but errors in Adobe. I'm wondering if this is a compatibility issue between this font and Adobe? Plus Jakarta is a Google font so I would think that it's widely used and should get along with Adobe products.

Report · Oct 14, 2024

"Plus Jakarta is a Google font so I would think that it's widely used and should get along with Adobe products"

Normaly, yes, but not necessarily. Most Google fonts are open source fonts and as such are constantly being tinkered with by the designer, so the font you downloaded originally might have been superseded by a newer version that has corrected some flaws.

I just took a look at the (TTF) font that Google is serving right now and it's v2.071, which was from May 2023. Check which version you have, and if it's any older, replace ALL with the latest.

Also, Google gives you both static versions and variable versions. DO NOT install both at the same time. Also, make sure you are using the same type throughout, either TTF-based or OTF-(PS)-based.

What errors are you experiencing?

Report · Aug 27, 2024

Hello @Jerad5E8A,

I hope you are doing well.

We wanted to follow up on the status of your issue. Were you able to resolve the issue? If so, please share the solution that worked for you, as it may help others in the community experiencing a similar issue.

Feel free to update the discussion if you need any further assistance.

Thank you,

Abhishek Rao