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

[Vreejack]

I'm not sure when this happened but sometime since June of last year the "export to pdf" function stopped embedding fonts.

I remember having trouble with it last year until I got the settings right so I'll review them here:
General->PDF/A-1a... and I don't think anything else is important.

Using the latest version of Acrobat Reader DC. PDF's from last year seem fine, it's only trying to recreate them now that I am having trouble.

I can print to PDF and that will embed fonts as necessary but I want to keep the hypertext links.

lets attach a couple of demo files

[RoryOF]

Try deleting or renaming your OpenOffice User Profile.

As you are using Windows do this by:

Close OpenOffice and the Quickstarter. Open File Explorer. Copy and paste %appdata%\OpenOffice\4 in the File Explorer Address Bar and press Enter. Delete or Rename the "user" folder (user.old is a good name). Start OpenOffice.

This may cure the problem; it at least gives a known starting point for fault finding.

Edit: Would you also try an Export as PDF using Arial or Times New Roman. It may be that Sitka text (the font you used) has a glitch that stops Export as PDF embedding it.

[Vreejack]

That did not help. It asked me for my name and initials, etc., but it didn't help with the font embedding.
I had already tried other fonts: TNR, etc. Nothing is embedding. I reduced this example to one font for simplicity. Tried a new doc with the new profile and typed "This is a test." in TNR and tried to export it. No good.

Something has happened since last June 2016, either in Win10 or OO (or something specific to my system) that is preventing the pdf converter from embedding the fonts. Perhaps it cannot find them?

edit: earlier I tried repairing the OO install and I ran a system integrity check with no problems found.

more edit: The Pooh's birthday is August 21st, you heathen.

[MrProgrammer]

more edit: The Pooh's birthday is August 21st, you heathen.

The date depends on the interpretataion given to "The Pooh".
• 24 Aug 1914: In Winnepeg, Harry Colebourn finds an orphaned bear cub later taken to London zoo and named "Winnie"
• 21 Aug 1921: Milne gives Christopher Robin a stuffed bear from Harrods in London which was named based on the zoo's bear†
• 14 Oct 1926: Publication date of Milne's book "Winnie-the-Pooh"

†Christopher Robin originally called the toy Edward (proper form of Teddy) Bear. Teddy Bears (named for Theodore Roosevent) were popular in the early years of the 20th century.

25 years ago I met a woman here in Wisconsin named Cherie Milne. Jokingly I asked if she was related to A. A., and was surprised when she replied that she was his great-granddaughter. I purchased a set of A. A. Milne's books, had Cherie autograph them, and presented the set to my nieces.

[RoryOF]

Christopher Robin originally called the toy Edward (proper form of Teddy) Bear. Teddy Bears (named for Theodore Roosevelt) were popular in the early years of the 20th century.

My bear, known to his friends as "Bear", will be 100 on 27th February 2018. He was bought by my grandfather on his hearing of my father's birth in 1918. I'm planning a big bash to celebrate.

Teddy bears are still popular - everybody should have at least one.

I adhere to the BBC's assessment of Pooh's birthday, but when one is his age the actual count is a mere detail.

[Vreejack]

I assume that Christopher Robin celebrated Pooh's birthday on the same day that he celebrated his own, since it was a birthday gift.

edit: anyway... anyone have any more suggestions for my embedding problem?

[RoryOF]

I would remove OpenOffice completely using (say) Revo Uninstaller at its most aggressive. I would also rename the OO User profile (again!). Then I would reboot the computer and install OO once again. If that doesn't work I have no further suggestions (I only, and very rarely, use an old version of Windows for accessing legacy files with their generating applications).

Edit: If this is due to some Win10 upgrade, uninstalling the upgrade that occurred just before this problem manifested itself might be an option. It would need someone affected by this, with more knowledge of Wi10 than I have, to track down the file responsible.

[Vreejack]

I will try your desperate suggestion, but I noticed that a few people have posted about font embedding without seeming to solve this problem. Perhaps they gave up, which is not an option for me as I have thousands of heavily formatted pages to deal with. I will post either way.
edit: there have been a lot of win10 upgrades in the past year. Investigating which one would be very painful. And the number of people with similar problems would be large.

[RoryOF]

There were some reports (circa 2015) of Win10 upgrades affecting PDF functions. These were cured by various methods such as (re)installing various components. Google for "Win10 PDF dll".

[Vreejack]

None of that worked. I even tried LO, to no avail. Not sure where to look now.

[Vreejack]

Is it possible that it is not even a font problem? When I search for words that I know to be in these pdf's it does NOT find them. Although the overall layout looks correct.
edit: added "NOT"

[Zizi64]

The fonts are softwares. Maybe they are free, opencource or commercial products - with various licences.

From the License of the Sitka font family:

MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS
MICROSOFT FLUENT FONTS

...

4. INSTALLATION AND USE RIGHTS.
a. Installation and Use. You may install and use any number of copies of the software on your devices.
b. No Distribution Rights. This agreement does not grant you a license to distribute nor sublicense all or part of the software to any third party.

You will find the license in the zipped pack:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/downloa ... x?id=50721


It means (i think/maybe) you are not allowed to embed it into a pdf file. I know it, the Fluent Sitka Fonts are not same as Sitka Text and Sitka Small, but I can not found any working download page or license for your fonts. I found only the information: the Sitka Text _is_ a commercial font, too:
https://new.whatfontis.com/Sitka-Text.font



Have you tried to embed a really freely distributable font with your AOO suite as Rory wrote?

Edit: Would you also try an Export as PDF using Arial or Times New Roman. It may be that Sitka text (the font you used) has a glitch that stops Export as PDF embedding it.

[John_Ha]

See Re: Export to PDF shows no text only Square symbols

[Vreejack]

There is nothing wrong with the fonts, per se. I was able to embed these fonts last year and they are standard Windows fonts. Especially the Times New Roman. I can also embed them using "Print to PDF". It is only the export function that fails.

In any event if you find a font that cannot be embedded you should probably delete it; it is mostly useless.

[John_Ha]

I can also embed them using "Print to PDF". It is only the export function that fails.

What do you mean by "Print to PDF"?

Are you saying that you are using a PDF Virtual printer like PrimoPDF which is accessed by File > Print > choose the PDF printer > "print" ie create a PDF ..., and the PDF Virtual Printer embeds the font?

But that if you go File > Export as PDF ..., or click the PDF icon on the toolbar, AOO does not embed the font in the PDF file?

Don't forget that some applications (most older ones) come with fonts included, which they write in the Fonts folder when you install them. These fonts are not removed when you un-install the program so you can have more than one, say, TNR font. The link I pointed you to includes:

For example, Corel software such as Draw and WordPerfect used to install vast numbers of non-embeddable fonts on its host computer. Even if WordPerfect was later uninstalled the fonts remain, usable (but not embeddable) by any program. Corel does offer replacement embeddable versions free of charge.

[Vreejack]

Using the "Microsoft print to PDF" that I believe comes with Windows10. It embeds correct fonts but appears to obfuscate their names--all appear to be "CIDFont+F#". In any event it works.

Another oddity is that LibreOffice complains every time I open it that it crashed last run. Unless I open it in safe mode--then it shuts down correctly. I only just installed it and have not modified it at all.
edit: probably because I got the bleeding edge build.

edit: something else. When I search for text that is supposed to be there shouldn't it highlit in the pdf even if the characters do not render properly? The word "test" cannot be found in a document that is just "this is a test" written over and over.

[John_Ha]

Using the "Microsoft print to PDF" that I believe comes with Windows10. It embeds correct fonts but appears to obfuscate their names--all appear to be "CIDFont+F#". In any event it works.

That sounds like the requested font - presumably TNR - is not available, or is prevented from being embedded, so the Microsoft print to PDF application is substituting an alternative font. Try Googling CIDFont - it gets lots of hits.

Go to C:\Windows\. Copy the folder Fonts and paste it onto the desktop. Open it. My W7 Times New Roman fonts are as shown below. What are yours?

Clipboard02.png (4.18 KiB) Viewed 24664 times

See the attached files where the PDF was created by File > Export to PDF. Open the PDF and go File > Properties > Fonts ..., and all four fonts are embedded.

What happens when you create a PDF from test fonts.odt? You probably don't have Baskerville Old Face installed - use the Test Fonts add-on to check. Remember that the font showing in the Writer font drop down selection box is the font the document is asking for - it is NOT necessarily the font being used to create the display. This is because if the font being asked for is not installed on the PC, Windows (or other operating system) will silently substitute a different font which is available.

The [url=hhttp://extensions.openoffice.org/en/project/testfonts]TestFonts[/url] add-on is invaluable for finding missing fonts which the document is asking for, but which are not installed on the PC.

You can see which fonts are installed on the PC by Start > Control Panel > Fonts or by clicking C:\Windows\Fonts.

[RoryOF]

I tried your .odt, John, and it opened using Times New Roman, Courier New and Calibri, which are on my computer; Baskerville was substituted (as it should be in the case of a missing font). I was able to make a PDF. and also to open your PDF, which displayed the embedded Baskerville.

[John_Ha]

There is another point.

We have had several "font problems with PDF files" in the last few weeks and I'm pretty sure all have been W10 - search with PDF font embed. Methinks Microsoft has goofed (yet) again ...

[jrkrideau]

• 24 Aug 1914: In Winnepeg, Harry Colebourn finds an orphaned bear cub later taken to London zoo and named "Winnie".

I'd question Winnipeg. IIRC, he adopted the bear in White River, Ontario during a stop on the way east to Québec or Halifax for embarkation.

My uncle, when writing to my grandmother from Southampton, mentions the bear cub but I don't know if he meet her in person.

[Vreejack]

CIDFont+F# is a dynamicaly generated name that the PDF printer generates to obfuscates your fonts. Whatever fonts you use get listed as CIDFont+F1, CIDFont+F2, etc., in consecutive order.

I have four TNR fonts, the standard, bold, italic and bold-italic. Slightly larger that your Win7 versions and copyright 2016.

I loaded "font test" into LO. The missing font name showed up in italics in the font selection bar, so I knew I did not have it. Of course, when I exported it to PDF everthing went whack. The results are interesting, though. Perhaps someone can make something out what it shows.

[robleyd]

If you open that PDF file with a hex editor, you will find the following

Code: Select all

% CreateFontSubset failed for font "Times New Roman" weight=5
% CreateFontSubset failed for font "Courier New" weight=5
% CreateFontSubset failed for font "Calibri" weight=5

And of course no fonts are shown in the PDF document properties.

[RoryOF]

The V&A museum in London has just announced an exhibition exploring the collaboration between EH Shepard, illustrator of Pooh, and AA Milne. This will run 09 December 2017 to 08 April 2018, Fuller details are at
https://www.vam.ac.uk/info/museum-highlights-2018

[John_Ha]

1. Are you using AOO, as your signature says; or LO, as in your last comment?

2. Create a new user on your PC. Install AOO for that user only. Does it now work?

[Vreejack]

It works for a test account.

What does this mean? Can my account be fixed?

[RoryOF]

If it works for a test account, it almost certainly should be cured by deleting or renaming your existing OO user profile.

[John_Ha]

It works for a test account.

Very interesting. It means that it is not a problem with the AOO software, and not a problem with your fonts.

It is therefore almost certainly a problem with your profile. Get a new profile by:

1 Stop AOO and the quickstarter if you use it
2 Rename C:\Users\xxxxxx\AppData\Roaming\OpenOffice\4\user to C:\Users\xxxxxx\AppData\Roaming\OpenOffice\4\user_old
3 Start AOO

This builds a new C:\Users\xxxxxx\AppData\Roaming\OpenOffice\4\user.

Please confirm if creating a new profile fixes it so we can offer that as a solution to other users.

[Vreejack]

We tried deleting the profile before. It's still not working.

edit: Anything worth comparing in the two profiles? Otherwise the only thing that could be different is file permissions, I think.

[RoryOF]

To confirm: when you deleted the profile on next startup of OO were you prompted for your name and Initials?

[Vreejack]

Oh yes, every time.