Will a custom PDF font look the same on all computers?

[Dark_30]

Hello, All.

I would like to use a cursive font in my PDF, or some other font that looks like natural handwriting. But, if the user that I send it to doesn't have the same font installed, will s/he be able to see the custom font? Or, will the PDF default to Times New Roman, Arial, etc.?

I understand that fonts can be somehow "embedded" into a pdf, but I don't really understand what this means, and the advantage/disadvantage of doing it.

Thanks for your time to respond to my question!

[Guest]

That's exactly what font embedding does. It allows you to include fonts or, more economically, subsets containing only the characters actually used, so that the recipient will see exactly what you've produced.

Go to Acrobat Help, search for 'embed', and click on the section "embedding and unembedding fonts using the TouchUp Text too". It gives detailed instructions.

Note that SOME fonts do not allow themselves to be embedded. These have either been produced by an overprotective maker or the embedding flags were set wrong. If you encounter such a font, you can either use a different font or contact the the font producer to see if you can obtain an embeddable copy.

- Herb

[Dark_30]

Thanks very much for responding and clearing up a bit of the mystery for me!