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iT63
Known Participant
May 8, 2017
Answered

Simplified Chinese font - Displaying spaces in Chrome/IE

  • May 8, 2017
  • 1 reply
  • 6932 views

Hi,

Trying to create a PDF/JPG with Simplified Chinese font using InDesign Server CS5.5 and  InDesign Template

When I generate a PDF/JPG, empty spaces are being displayed instead on Chinese font characters in Chrome and IE, looks good in Firefox. But we use only IE/Chrome.

The same PDF looks different in Firefox and IE/Chrome.

The InDesign template is using the following fonts:

1) Futura Std Light Condensed

2) DFPHeiGB5Hk W9

3) DFPHeiGB5Hk W5

These fonts are already installed in my InDesign server.

Even it looks odd in Acrobat Reader DC (spaces) - Version: 2017.009.20044

I have observed that Traditional Chinese font is looks good in all browsers. However Simplified Chinese font is not visible.

I believe the InDesign server is exporting Chinese font to the PDF (otherwise Firefox could not display it), but they are not visible in remaining browsers and Acrobat reader.

Am I missing something here.

Can you please suggest what needs to be done to correct this behavior.

Thanks in advance for the help.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Joel Cherney

Hi Joel,

Few lines to add..

Apart from PDF, I also generate a JPG file from the InDesign template with Chinese text.

Even the JPG file does not have these Chinese characters. The same empty spaces just like PDF.


I am not really a user of ID Server. However, you are correct: what you need to do is open up the template and change the Chinese font there, but not to MingLiu, which is another Trad font. (It does look look like It should have all the glyphs necessary, though.) I didn't see that Firefox has substituted the same glyph every time-that must be an error. Your sample generated from Word demonstrates this.

And the estimable Jongware is of course correct - MS Word willhappily substitute fonts without informing you.

1 reply

Steve Werner
Community Expert
Steve WernerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 8, 2017

There is no control over how a web browser PDF reader displays anything but the simplest of PDF files. You should complain to the developer of the browser.

What does the PDF look like in Adobe Acrobat or Reader which follows a much higher standard for PDF rendering?

I
iT63Author
Known Participant
May 8, 2017

Hi Steve Werner,

Thank for the reply.

Is there  anything that  I can do from InDesign server  side to render these fonts in all browsers?

Jongware
Community Expert
JongwareCommunity Expert
Community Expert
May 9, 2017

Hi Joel,

Few lines to add..

Apart from PDF, I also generate a JPG file from the InDesign template with Chinese text.

Even the JPG file does not have these Chinese characters. The same empty spaces just like PDF.


Aren't those missing characters also missing in the InDesign document itself?

The "space" may just be because those specific characters are not available in your font of choice. I can't test because I don't have your font, and the Chinese fonts I tried all contain the correct characters. But it is substantiated by your MS Word screenshot: you can clearly see that some characters are (silently!) taken from another font. That is Word's default behavior; InDesign does not do this.

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