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Kwangle
Kwangle
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Can't Outline Missing Fonts in PDF When 'Illustrator Editing' Feature is On

Feb 3, 2012 5:42 AM

I've got an unusual problem with a supplied PDF File that uses fonts I don't have.

 

Normally I'd place the PDF into Illustrator and use 'Flatten Transparency' with the 'Convert Fonts To Outlines' option to create vectors for the missing fonts. However this particular PDF file seems to have been saved with the 'Preserve Illustrator Editing' setting, so when I place it into Illustrator the illustrator data is read and I get live artwork - with the fonts replaced - instead of something I can work with, meaning that I can't replicate the type I need.

 

I've tried importing the PDF into inDesign and resaving as a new PDF - but Illustrator is not fooled by this clumsy and desparate ruse, and again treats the file as editable artwork with the missing fonts replaced.

 

How can I force Illustrator to ignore the editable capabilities of the file and just convert the fonts to outlines?

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks,

 

K

2161 Views   12 Replies   Latest reply: Kwangle, Feb 3, 2012 10:28 AM
 
Replies
  • Kwangle
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    1. Kwangle,
    Feb 3, 2012 5:54 AM   in reply to Kwangle
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    UPDATE: I've imported the PDF into Quark XPress and resaved as new PDF - same result.

     
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  • Wade_Zimmerman
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    2. Wade_Zimmerman,
    Feb 3, 2012 6:08 AM   in reply to Kwangle
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    Open in Acrobat and see if the font has been embedded then you the transparency flatten feature to outlie the text.

     

    Screen Shot 2012-02-03 at 9.06.43 AM.png

     
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  • Kwangle
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    3. Kwangle,
    Feb 3, 2012 6:52 AM   in reply to Wade_Zimmerman
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    Thanks, for the help but I can't find that screen in Acrobat, can you give some more information please? I am using Acrobat 9 Pro.

     
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  • Monika Gause
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    4. Monika Gause,
    Feb 3, 2012 7:09 AM   in reply to Kwangle
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    When placing it into Illustrator, make sure you don't embed it. Use the place command, don't just drag and drop.

     
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  • Wade_Zimmerman
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    5. Wade_Zimmerman,
    Feb 3, 2012 7:30 AM   in reply to Kwangle
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    Should be under tools-production-flattener Preview-

     
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  • Kwangle
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    6. Kwangle,
    Feb 3, 2012 9:02 AM   in reply to Wade_Zimmerman
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    I don't have the Production Flattener feature available, so I expect it is a feature not yet available with Acrobat 9 Pro.

     

    The Place method doesn't work either - this was the first thing I tried, but the presence of 'Preserve Illustrator Editing' in the Acrobat file overrides the dialogue box that normally appears and allows me to choose the 'Convert Fonts to Outlines' option.

     

    Thanks for your help anyway. I have found another way to do this job, but it is far more fiddly and long-winded than it would be if I had vectors of the text, and involves rasterizing the PDF in Photoshop. As the text untimately needs to go into Flash, the file size is larger and without the resolution-independent benefits of Illustrator paths, so I would still like to know how to overcome this problem for future reference.

     

    Any more ideas?

     
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  • Larry G. Schneider
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    7. Larry G. Schneider,
    Feb 3, 2012 9:09 AM   in reply to Kwangle
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    Here it is in Acrobat 9

     

    Screen shot 2012-02-03 at 9.08.10 AM.png

     
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  • Wade_Zimmerman
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    8. Wade_Zimmerman,
    Feb 3, 2012 9:10 AM   in reply to Kwangle
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    Man are you lazy did you eve think about exploring the applications or reading up on how theyactually work?

     

    Screen Shot 2012-02-03 at 12.08.20 PM.png

     
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  • Kwangle
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    9. Kwangle,
    Feb 3, 2012 9:54 AM   in reply to Wade_Zimmerman
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    Wade_Zimmerman said:

     

    Man are you lazy did you eve think about exploring the applications or reading up on how theyactually work?

     

    I haven't read the forum rules but I'm guessing that once you have made over 8,000 posts you gain the right to be an obnoxious jerk to people who are asking for help and do not know something you do.

     

    What an incredibly and unnecessarily rude attitude you have. Your typing isn't exactly flawless either - perhaps you should concentrate on that before randomly insulting anyone else.

     
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  • Wade_Zimmerman
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    10. Wade_Zimmerman,
    Feb 3, 2012 10:05 AM   in reply to Kwangle
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    Interesting.

     

    No one evershowed me this fesature or what it does but I need to do the same thing once and looked around and red a little bit and put two and two together and figured it out.

     

    Maybe the attitude is on your part whn someone goes throough the trouble of responding to your questi and points out to you that if you did a little more work you might be able to find your way around much more easily and effeciently.

     

    You might even consider thanking them instead of making insulting remarksjust becaued you were criticized for a poor approach to injesting such help.

     

    I'll make certain I do not help you again.

     

    And if you wish tutorials on typing I suggest doing a search on google.

     
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  • Kwangle
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    11. Kwangle,
    Feb 3, 2012 10:06 AM   in reply to Kwangle
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    Thanks Larry, that looks like the answer, but for some reason it isn't working for me.

     

    I open the Flattener Preview, check the 'Convert all Fonts to Outlines' - strangely the preview screen goes totally blank - and click apply. A progress bar appears for an instant then I click OK and resave.

     

    When I place the file into Illustrator the fonts come in replaced with available as before. I've tried this a few times, restarted acrobat but it doesn't work. Very strange.

     

    Your advice does look correct so this is a bit baffling!

     

    Any more ideas, anyone?

     

    Thanks.

     
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  • Kwangle
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    12. Kwangle,
    Feb 3, 2012 10:28 AM   in reply to Kwangle
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    Thats quite garbled - but I think I've decoded your spasmodic keyboard mashing:

     

    evershowed = ever showed?

    fesature  = feature?

    red = read?

    whn = when?

    throough = through?

    questi = question?

    effeciently = efficiently?

    remarksjust = remarks just?

    becaued = because?

    injesting = suggesting? injecting? requesting??

     

    Now who looks 'lazy'? How old are you? I'm guessing that you are a child or a teenager?

     

    Wade_Zimmerman said: I'll make certain I do not help you again.

     

    I'm crushed. Inconsolable. I expect you'll probably have to look that last word up.

     

    Wade_Zimmerman said: And if you wish tutorials on typing I suggest doing a search on google.

     

    I know how to type and can spell reasonably well too - what's your excuse for sounding like a rude, idiotic, uneducated child? By the way, 'Google' is a special word - it is what's known as a proper noun - so it gets a big 'g' at the start. Cool eh?

     
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