[Solved-Workaround] Export to pdf no longer embedding fonts

[RoryOF]

In that case, perhaps the quickest workaround is to make a new account and use it.

[Vreejack]

There was a problem a couple of years ago with a "DUKU" virus manipulating the pdf object embedder "tcembed.dll". I wonder if Microsoft pushed out a fix that broke some existing user accounts.

[RoryOF]

A quick search shows tcembed.dll is "Tiny Chat embed maker" and it ought not be on a computer; I cannot remember if you have already tried antivirus and malware scans, with latest updates?

[Vreejack]

Sorry, typo. It's "t2embed.dll"
My memory was off a bit. Back in 2010 this started causing problems. One solution was to give "Everyone" read access to t2embed.dll. This popped up a few times right into 2014 but I haven't seen it since then.

[Vreejack]

Installing the program for everyone and then using it from different account is a viable work-around. A very silly one, but fortunately this is only an occasional thing.

[John_Ha]

So, to summarise this thread:

1 Fonts do not get embedded into the PDF when the PDF is created by AOO; but do get embedded into the PDF when the PDF is created by other applications

Conclusion: the fonts are OK and embeddable, but AOO is not embedding them. We don't know if it is an AOO problem (unlikely - it works for most people); or a Windows problem (with a Windows routine which AOO calls which could be t2embed.dll).

2 It used to work before and it doesn't work now.

3 There was a bug in C:\Windows\System32\t2embed.dll, which Microsoft fixed in 2011. See Microsoft Security Advisory 2639658 Vulnerability in TrueType Font Parsing Could Allow Elevation of Privilege.

Fonts embed OK for me and my Windows 7 64-bit Home Edition C:\Windows\System32\t2embed.dll file is shown below.

Windows 7 C:\Windows\System32\t2embed.dll - fonts embed OK for me

Note it is dated July 2017 meaning it has been installed recently. Checking shows it was included in August 8, 2017—KB4034664 (Monthly Rollup)

t2embed.dll included in the W7 update

Clipboard.png (7.11 KiB) Viewed 9718 times

4 It is not a corrupted AOO profile problem

5 Creating a new user on the PC and installing AOO for them fixes the problem and AOO now embeds the fonts.

6 Most reports have been W10 users.

I am guessing but it does suggest a file permissions and/or file ownership problem somewhere. Check what version of t2embed.dll you have installed.

[John_Ha]

See also Font embedding in XPS and PDF files that are generated from Microsoft Office which says:

Summary

The 2007 Microsoft Office system and Microsoft Office 2010 applications allow for creating XPS and PDF files that support font embedding. Office uses the Font Embedding Service APIs that Windows provides to embed fonts in XPS and PDF files. Only fonts that are compatible with that service can be embedded in the XPS and PDF documents that Office generates.

More Information

The built-in XPS and PDF exporters that the 2007 Microsoft Office system and Office 2010 use can embed certain TrueType fonts in the file. To do this, the 2007 Microsoft Office system and Office 2010 use the Font Embedding Service Library (T2embed.dll) that the Windows operating system provides. T2embed is used to manage and embed TrueType fonts or a subset of these fonts in such documents. This can limit the types of fonts that can be successfully embedded in XPS and PDF files that Office generates because the service only works with TrueType fonts or with OpenType fonts that are based on the TrueType format.

For more information about the Font Embedding Service Library API, visit the following Microsoft website: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library ... S.85).aspx

The font must support font embedding and be licensed appropriately. If a font cannot be embedded, the font is rasterized so that it can be displayed as expected on the target computer if the font does not exist. Rasterization can increase the file size considerably. You can disable rasterization and avoid the file size increase. However, in this case, it is not guaranteed that the document can be viewed the same if the document is transported to a computer on which the font is not installed.

OpenType fonts are supported as long as they use the TrueType file format. Type 1 fonts that contain or do not contain OpenType tables are not supported.

Some common fonts that are shared on all Windows versions are excluded from embedding even though the font supports it. Font vendors may explicitly add or remove fonts from the list, or the font vendors may use API commands to alter the status of the font's embeddability. You can find the list of fonts that are explicitly granted or denied permissions to be embedded under the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\t2embed

For more information about this registry subkey and about the API call that is used to toggle the permissions status to embed a specific font, visit the following Microsoft website: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library ... S.85).aspx

To check whether a font supports embedding, you can download and install the Font Properties Shell Extension (version 2.30) that Microsoft Typography provides. To do this, visit following website, and notice that the download link is at the bottom of the page in the "Download instructions " section: http://www.microsoft.com/typography/Tru ... rty21.mspx

As soon as the extension is installed, you should be able to right-click any standard font file and review its properties. The extension contains an Embedding tab that you can use to review the embeddability permissions that are granted for that font. The font also must be in a TrueType file format.

[Vreejack]

"I am guessing but it does suggest a file permissions and/or file ownership problem somewhere."

I concur, but it is not t2embed.dll itself. Must be something subtle.

And to repeat: NO fonts are embedding. But they used to embed, and they embed on new accounts on the same machine. Something has changed and it most likely has to do with the way permissions are set on old accounts.

[John_Ha]

I think it is most probably a Windows 10 problem where an update has made some subtle change.

1. It used to work before and it doesn't work now.
2. No changes have been made to AOO, apart from any made to the profile, and you re-built a new profile and that did not fix it.
3. I think all posts about it have been by W10 users.

So, the only thing which can have changed is Windows, and especially W10.

Remember the haiku:

Yesterday it worked
Today it is not working
Windows is like that

[John_Ha]

It would be interesting to check the ownership and permissions for font files (unlikely to be the problem as they work in other apps) and t2embed.dll (if this is what AOO uses to put font files into PDF files). See How to reclaim file permissions and ownership in Windows.

[Vreejack]

Well, for some reason it all started working properly. I tried a few PDF's over the past day or two and all are normal.

[John_Ha]

Check your list of installed Windows updates - I bet the PC has just been updated. View Windows Update History in Windows 10

If you want to prove it, back out the recent updates or revert to a previous Restore point and see the PDF problem it comes back.

[John_Ha]

I have seen reports of problems with Windows 10 Anniversary edition where W10 takes ages to find fonts. This could be, and probably is, the cause.

[John_Ha]

See Font embedding in XPS and PDF files that are generated from Microsoft Office which says:

Some common fonts that are shared on all Windows versions are excluded from embedding even though the font supports it. Font vendors may explicitly add or remove fonts from the list, or the font vendors may use API commands to alter the status of the font's embeddability.

You can find the list of fonts that are explicitly granted or denied permissions to be embedded under the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\t2embed

For more information about this registry subkey and about the API call that is used to toggle the permissions status to embed a specific font, visit the following Microsoft website:

I strongly suspect that a Windows update has changed something to do with t2embed.dll or with the registry key. My Windows 7 does not have a HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\t2embed key and there is no mention of t2embed[.dll] anywhere in the registry.

[Bill]

See Font embedding in XPS and PDF files that are generated from Microsoft Office which says:

Some common fonts that are shared on all Windows versions are excluded from embedding even though the font supports it. Font vendors may explicitly add or remove fonts from the list, or the font vendors may use API commands to alter the status of the font's embeddability.

You can find the list of fonts that are explicitly granted or denied permissions to be embedded under the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\t2embed

For more information about this registry subkey and about the API call that is used to toggle the permissions status to embed a specific font, visit the following Microsoft website:

I strongly suspect that a Windows update has changed something to do with t2embed.dll or with the registry key. My Windows 7 does not have a HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\t2embed key and there is no mention of t2embed[.dll] anywhere in the registry.

If no fonts have been installed that are explicitly excluded or included from embedding, then there is no reason for the t2embed key to exist. That key doesn't exist on my machine and there is no problem embedding fonts in PDF files.

The OP reported that embedding worked in a different user account, so the problem is a corrupt Windows user account, not a general problem with the machine. AFAIK, when a Windows user account becomes corrupt, the only solution is to open a new account, then transfer all data files to the new account before deleting the corrupt account.

[Vreejack]

It's screwing up again. Things that worked last week are now broken. Yay.

[Bill]

Things that worked last week are now broken.

"Things that worked" could be anything. Do you mean that the font embedding in the PDF Export is not working now on the new Windows user account which you earlier referred to as the "test account"?

Have you tried exporting a PDF file while running Windows in Safe Mode?

Does the prevously mentionied registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\t2embed exist on your system?

I still haven't been able to duplicate the problem. I've even used Sysinternals Process Monitor while saving a PDF file using Writer's "Export to PDF" command and did not find the previously mentioned suspect t2embed.dll being used during the export.

[Vreejack]

t2embed.dll is probably not the problem. It was only mentioned because a few years ago it actually was a problem. Actually, if I understand it correctly that dll is not even used in this process, but might be used when I print to pdf, which works just fine.

My user account went back to not exporting pdf's properly. The test account still works.

Edit: Is this actually a font problem? Or is it more of a "deranged pdf renderer" problem?
Edit2: "An error exists on this page...etc. Acrobat may not display the page correctly. Etc." Nothing specific, just "an error"