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  1. #1

    Question Xara PDFs with embedded fonts don't work everywhere

    See the attached PDFs:

    • Debug.pdf: exported with Xara Designer Pro 8 ("E-mail distribution or web download")
    • Debug_ai.pdf: Debug.pdf piped through Illustrator


    Both files have all fonts embedded as subset. But Debug.pdf doesn't show the fonts in Apple Preview or Google's online PDF viewer.

    Is this a bug in Xara?

    What can I do other than converting text to shapes or piping the exported PDF through Illustrator?
    Attached Files Attached Files
    Last edited by feklee; 07 June 2012 at 12:41 PM.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Xara PDFs with embedded fonts don't work everywhere

    for record they show in nitro PDF 2 reader
    -------------------------------
    Nothing lasts forever...

  3. #3

    Default Re: Xara PDFs with embedded fonts don't work everywhere

    If you are using Lion, Apple Preview has a known issue with PDFs and fonts (heck, and transparencies, and ...). What the heck was before Lion? Snow Leopard? In any case, it too had issues. I know that as late as early 2011, Apple Preview could only accurately and consistently handle PDFs made to Acrobat 4 standards...Pretty lame. The Adobe forums (AI and ID) have many threads about Apple Preview and Adobe products.

    Take care, Mike

  4. #4

    Default Re: Xara PDFs with embedded fonts don't work everywhere

    Mike, I think it's Snow Leopard, on the MacBook of a friend. But it also doesn't work in Gmail's preview. Curiously, things work fine when exporting from Illustrator. So, for the time being, I'll probably do that. This just needs to work. I cannot control which tools are used to watch the PDF.

  5. #5

    Default Re: Xara PDFs with embedded fonts don't work everywhere

    As regards the font encoding. If you look at the PDFs you made, the encoding is different in both the AI and XDP versions. While that may nail down the difference between those PDFs as regards GMail's Preview, it will not be consistent in Apple Preview.

    There are tons of threads about Apple Preview's inability to consistently display PDFs made from both InDesign and AI on the Adobe forums. The advice from Adobe directly and all the regulars on both forums is to tell a client to not use Apple Preview.

    Take care, Mike

  6. #6

    Default Re: Xara PDFs with embedded fonts don't work everywhere

    Quote Originally Posted by mwenz View Post
    If you look at the PDFs you made, the encoding is different in both the AI and XDP versions.
    Good catch! In the PDF export options of Xara I just unchecked "Use Unicode for text encoding". Now things work, at least with Google's PDF viewer.

    While that may nail down the difference between those PDFs as regards GMail's Preview, it will not be consistent in Apple Preview.
    Oh. In fact, I didn't test yet with Preview.

    The advice from Adobe directly and all the regulars on both forums is to tell a client to not use Apple Preview.
    I want to avoid that.
    Last edited by feklee; 07 June 2012 at 04:43 PM.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Xara PDFs with embedded fonts don't work everywhere

    Just verified: When exported with "Use Unicode for text encoding" unchecked, then the test PDF is correctly displayed in Apple's Preview!

  8. #8

    Default Re: Xara PDFs with embedded fonts don't work everywhere

    Perfect.

    Unicode encoding is/has been a source of "evil" for display in many viewers over the years and when it comes time to produce film or some digital presses.

    Glad it is sorted out!

    Take care, Mike

 

 

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