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thaj integra
thaj integra
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Finding ligature text in PDF when produced from InDesign CS5

Apr 16, 2012 5:31 AM

Hi everybody,

 

Can you please any one help me on the below issue.

 

When searching the PDF, some words are not found. If I search the word "final", I find 19 occurences of the word "finally", but none whatsoever of "final". The word "final" is only found if I search for "fi nal" with a space between the "i" and "n". I previously suspected a ligature problem. Please provide me a solution and it will be greatly appreciated.

 

Regards,

Sathishkumar K

910 Views   6 Replies   Latest reply: Tom Usrey, Apr 18, 2012 11:33 AM
 
Replies
  • David W. Goodrich
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    1. David W. Goodrich,
    Apr 16, 2012 7:31 AM   in reply to thaj integra
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    I remember this problem from years ago when generating PDFs with Distiller instead of by direct export from ID.  If direct export doesn't cure it then I'd wonder about the fonts and the foibles of glyph names -- which shouldn't be a problem with modern fonts.

     

    David

     
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  • lilia@
    196 posts
    Jan 31, 2012
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    2. lilia@,
    Apr 16, 2012 12:13 PM   in reply to thaj integra
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    ligatures....ewww.

     

    Years ago I learnt a hard lesson about ligatures. They don't alway print as you see on your screen... funny characters can appear.

    What I I do is... always turn off ligatures... as a matter of fact, I unselect it as a preference so I don't ever have to worry about it.

     

    How about trying this... convert your PDF to postscript and run it through distiller again.

     
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  • Peter Spier
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    3. Peter Spier,
    Apr 17, 2012 12:18 AM   in reply to lilia@
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    In the last ten years the only time I can recall seeing ligatures substitute or drop out in print is when the font is not properly embedded in a PDF or downloaded to the RIP when printing direct from the application. Used to be more of a problem when working cross-platform with non-unicode fonts, though.

     

    I'm surprised that the ligature in final would be a problem, but not in finally, so I don't think it's a ligature issue, per se, but I don't know what the problem really is. Seems sort of like how type is sometimes broken up when you open a PDF in Illustrator...

     
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  • lilia@
    196 posts
    Jan 31, 2012
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    4. lilia@,
    Apr 17, 2012 2:47 PM   in reply to Peter Spier
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    I must admit Peter... its been OVER 10 years since I came across the liguature issue... I've avoided them ever since.

     
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  • John Hawkinson
    5,515 posts
    Jun 25, 2009
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    5. John Hawkinson,
    Apr 17, 2012 8:51 PM   in reply to thaj integra
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    These problems are difficult, and details matter a lot.

     

    EXACTLY how are you generating the PDF, and exactly what tools are you using to view and search it?

    What versions of the tools, and what version numbers of the operating systems?

     

    Can you share the files with us?

     

    Lilia, I don't think it's fair to spread Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) about ligatures. They're an important typographical element that works well for many people. If there's a problem with it, we should figure it out and get it fixed rather than ignoring it and pushing it on to the next generation.

     
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  • Tom Usrey
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    6. Tom Usrey,
    Apr 18, 2012 11:33 AM   in reply to thaj integra
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    thaj,

     

    Is the type formatted in InDesign such that there is a consistent difference between the instances of "final" and "finally"?

     

    If type is tracked out more than positive 20 or tracked in more than 60 units, the ligatures are broken (the letters are converted back to single letters).

     
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