printing DWG to PDF "cannot find or create the font"

[Oakhillarchitects]

I've encountered a hiccup with Autocad 2019's DWG to PDF pc3 files output when there is a symbol in some text, dimension, or similar. Specifically, when I try to use the ± symbol (either by using the ribbon's pull down option or typing %%P). In the exact same file in AutocadLT 2013 (no changes at all), using the default DWG to PDF pc3, there were no issues, but using Autocad 2019's version (clean install) I get a message in Adobe Acrobat "Cannot find or create the font..." and instead of the proper symbol all I get are dots. 

I've looked through the forums here and on Adobe's website and found lots of information that has helped me narrow down the issue. Here's a list of things I've tried so far that have not worked:

• In the DWG to PDF - PDF Options I've tried capturing fonts used in the drawing (both checked and unchecked).
• Reinstalling the true type font itself.
• Plotting to all of the default Autocad PDF pc3 versions.
• Copying the symbol directly in from Window's Character Map.

I then tried copying the string of text directly into MS Word and then converting that to PDF, and there were no issues. I also created a new Adobe pc3 plotter from scratch and had no issues. So I know it's not an issue with the font and Adobe Acrobat (especially because we never used to have this issue).

The problem is really, we have a ton of current renovation projects where we need plus/minus symbols in dimension strings and the drawings are already set up for the DWG to PDF pc3 printer. Going through them all and finding all of the ± symbols to convert them to +/- is no small job (even with the find command), nor is changing the plotter in all the drawings. 

One last point, converting the text to geometry does display the symbol correctly, but the message "Cannot find or create the font..." still comes up when opening the file (which is not acceptable to send to a client). Also, changing the font to Times New Roman (and capturing the font) had no issues, but again changing fonts in so many drawings is unrealistic.

So, to me the issue is clearly somewhere in the font and Autocad's DWG to PDF conversion, but where? Anyone have any brilliant ideas?

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> the issue is clearly somewhere in the font and Autocad's

>> DWG to PDF conversion

...or a missing font.

Can you please upload the dwg-file (the original one from AutoCAD 2013) so we can play with that file and that characters. In case of a big file please erase most of the entities so we don't need to search first to see which text you are referring to.

>> Cannot find or create the font...

Why hiding the important information which font is the one that is missing?

Please send us also the PDF you get when you use plot via "DWG to PDF.pc3"

One additional question: when you first started AutoCAD 2019 ... did you migrate settings from AutoCAD 2013?

- alfred -

[Oakhillarchitects]

---

---

Sorry, not trying to hide anything, it's just that the font is purchased and so I don't want to distribute it freely to the world. The name of the font is Technicn.TTF. I've attached a stripped down file, the CTB we use, and a pdf version of what I'm getting.

Also, it's coming from Autocad LT 2013 and I didn't migrate anything (and I'm encountering this in full Autocad 2019 just to be clear).

[Oakhillarchitects]

not sure why the CTB didn't upload, but here it is.

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> The name of the font is Technicn.TTF

OK, that makes it difficult for us to test.

What happens when you change your textstyle "STANDARD" to use "Arial.TTF" instead and plot then to PDF.

I was able to plot to PDF and to display the resulting PDF in a PDF-Viewer and it shows the +/- sign well.

And even more interesting ... I opened your PDF, it showed up well, no reported error about fonts, also the +/- sign is visible (using PDF-XChange Viewer), was that PDF from AutoCAD 2013 or 2019?

- alfred -

[Oakhillarchitects]

---

@Alfred.NESWADBA wrote:

Hi,

>> The name of the font is Technicn.TTF

OK, that makes it difficult for us to test.

What happens when you change your textstyle "STANDARD" to use "Arial.TTF" instead and plot then to PDF.

I was able to plot to PDF and to display the resulting PDF in a PDF-Viewer and it shows the +/- sign well.

And even more interesting ... I opened your PDF, it showed up well, no reported error about fonts, also the +/- sign is visible (using PDF-XChange Viewer), was that PDF from AutoCAD 2013 or 2019?

- alfred -

---

As I said earlier, changing to a more common font (I happened to use Times New Roman) didn't create any problems.

The PDF was created in 2019.

Unfortunately, I can't tell my clients (or consultants or printshop) to download specific PDF software, so I need this to be compatible with basic Adobe Acrobat.

I'd love to be able to blame this on something other than the difference between Autocad LT 2013 and Autocad 2019, but so far, it's only been the 2019 that's having this issue (and specifically the DWG to PDF converter).

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

>> Unfortunately, I can't tell my clients (or consultants or printshop) to download

>> specific PDF software, so I need this to be compatible with basic Adobe Acrobat.

Well, also Adobe Acrobat is not installed that often, most times Adobe Reader is used for PDF viewing. I have seen a lot of tickets where Adobe Acrobat (the editor software) has issues with fonts while "normal" viewers do not have issues with the files.

Also I wanted to show that your statement "clearly somewhere in the font and Autocad's DWG to PDF conversion" should be  extended to "or the viewer that does not handle this font correctly".

Can you try Adobe Reader and let us know if that works (sorry, I don't have it installed)?

- alfred -

[Oakhillarchitects]

Thank you Alfred

---

@Alfred.NESWADBA wrote:

Hi,

>> Unfortunately, I can't tell my clients (or consultants or printshop) to download

>> specific PDF software, so I need this to be compatible with basic Adobe Acrobat.

Well, also Adobe Acrobat is not installed that often, most times Adobe Reader is used for PDF viewing. I have seen a lot of tickets where Adobe Acrobat (the editor software) has issues with fonts while "normal" viewers do not have issues with the files.

Also I wanted to show that your statement "clearly somewhere in the font and Autocad's DWG to PDF conversion" should be  extended to "or the viewer that does not handle this font correctly".

Can you try Adobe Reader and let us know if that works (sorry, I don't have it installed)?

- alfred -

---

Alfred,

Thank you for your condescending correction of my original post. My opinion of where the problem lies was obviously flawed from my 20+ years of experience with Autocad combined with hours of troubleshooting and research on this compared to your 5 minutes, not to mention the ONLY thing that has changed is Autocad, the pdf reader we use has not and Autocad LT 2013 still works. But, yes other software way not have this issue, I fully concede that point, even if it does nothing to help me.

For anyone else, if it helps, here are pictures of the message I receive from acrobat and what I (and others in my office) see when we try to open the PDF I attached earlier.

[s.borello]

Are you using a TTF?  Try Arial.

[Alfred.NESWADBA]

Hi,

thank you for your screenshots, especially the one showing the points instead of text.

I have seen that a few days ago and that happend

• for text with special characters (also some language specific characters), when the text contains standard ABCD and 0123... the text content is correct displayed (instead of the points)
• only with Adobe Acrobat (I have not seen these points ever with any of the PDF viewers on the market)

When you open your PDF with Adobe Acrobat and look to the document properties ==> fonts, you see the font listed twice (my screenshot shows the font "DIN-Regular" as the critical one)

You'll see the same font twice, one time as "TrueType" and a second time with "TrueType (CID)" ... but the second one is only listed whenever you have special characters in any of the text contents. In your case if you change all the +/- to an A and create again a PDF and open it in Adobe Acrobat you'll see that this text is not displayed as points and also the font is not listed a second time with "(CID)".

So yes, something changed between AutoCAD 2013 and AutoCAD 2019, but the special characters force Adobe Acrobat to understand the font not in the same way as all other viewers do (and doing it well).

I don't know how to solve this display issue in Adobe Acrobat, just want to transfer as much info's I have.

- alfred -

[natasha.l]

Hello @Oakhillarchitects, 

Sorry this is happening to you, we are all here to help you out. 

Please let me know how & where you extracted the .TTF font file? 

I understand you have troubleshooted quite a bit already, but is AutoCAD updated to the latest, AutoCAD 2019.1.2 Update Released Sep 18, 2018? 

Please "Accept Solution" if a reply or replies have helped resolve the issue or answered your question, to help others in the community.

Join the Autodesk Customer Council - Interact with developers, provide feedback on current and future software releases,

[m_latz]

Can you please also print the drawing from AutoCAD 2013 to pdf and upload here, that I can compare the pdf output from 2019 and 2013.

regards

Markus

[Oakhillarchitects]

Hi Markus,

here is a pdf from 2013

[Oakhillarchitects]

Hi Natasha,

I don't know when or where the font was download from, except that it was approximately 15 years ago.

I did need to update Autocad (thanks for the heads up) but unfortunately it didn't solve the issue.

One more bit of troubleshooting, I highlighted the little dots in the pdf and copied and pasted them into notepad and the text came in perfectly, so it seems that the issue is the DWG to PDF pc3 is somehow encoding the symbol into something Adobe Acrobat can't display. If Adobe wasn't so ubiquitous, I'd say it's a non issue. 

[natasha.l]

Hello @Oakhillarchitects, 

I have some suggestions...

Did you make sure to have "Capture Fonts" enabled for the plotter configuration file DWG to PDF.pc3? 

Also take a look at the Adobe Preferences make sure that the default Adobe fonts are not being used: Change default font for fallback in PDF editing and Add Text

Please "Accept Solution" if a reply or replies have helped resolve the issue or answered your question, to help others in the community.

[m_latz · Accepted solution]

Hi oakhillarchitects,

takes some time, because I have to verify my assumption.

It is a "legal" reason why the "technicn.ttf" is not embedded in the pdf file that was created with AutoCAD 2019.

This font is marked as "Font embeddability: Restricted".

You can check this if you open the properties on the file:

or navigate with windows explorer to the folder "C:\Windows\Fonts":

The core thesis for "restricted fonts" is:

Such fonts are not allowed to embed in documents that you distribute to users that do not own also a license for that font.

The conclusion is, that it is correct that AutoCAD 2019 does not embed the font into the pdf file.

To be sure that I'm right, I wrote a little C program to remove the "Restricted license" flag from the technicn.ttf file and installed that font again. Then AutoCAD 2019 embed the font in the pdf file !

The font is very old and things change. You could try to check at the Corel website, if there is a version from the font available which is "redistributable" (means it is allowed to embed the font).

Do not ask me why this worked in AutoCAD 2013.

regards

Markus

[m_latz · Accepted solution]

Hhm,

normally I have deactivated the tooltips, because it is annoying for me. But sometimes it could be very useful !

 regards

Markus

[Oakhillarchitects]

Hi Markus,

It sounds like you've hit on the issue and answer. I'm going to see if I can find an "unrestricted" version of the font, but in the meantime, at least I know why we're having the trouble. 

thank you very much.

[Oakhillarchitects]

After some messing around, that was exactly the problem, thank you so much! 

[m_latz]

You are welcome !

regards

Markus