View Full Version : Corrupted PDF fonts fixed by reload
peterh337
7th Dec 2011, 10:11
Very strange...
I download a PDF (created by myself, using Adobe Acrobat v5) from a website.
Some of the fonts are corrupted. They are the right chars but appear way too big.
If I reload the file using the browser reload button, the fonts are fixed.
It happens in both IE and FF.
WinXP. One machine does it but another one doesn't.
Google doesn't illuminate it.
green granite
7th Dec 2011, 10:57
It's Adobes way of getting you to spend lots of cash to update the program. :E
Seriously, what happens if you download Foxit reader and set it to be the default reader with FireFox, that will at least sort out if its an Adobe problem or not.
peterh337
7th Dec 2011, 13:58
I don't think it can be a PDF generation issue because, once created, the PDF is static. There should not be any links to outside objects e.g. fonts because I check the option to embed ALL fonts.
Merely re-loading the PDF from the website URL fixes the fonts.
mixture
7th Dec 2011, 14:03
It's Adobes way of getting you to spend lots of cash to update the program.
Adobe Reader is free, has always been free, and will always be free. :ugh:
green granite
7th Dec 2011, 14:20
mixture,
I download a PDF (created by myself, using Adobe Acrobat v5) from a website.
the reason for my tongue in cheek comment. :ugh:
Mike-Bracknell
7th Dec 2011, 15:19
There are a LOT of hooky copies of early versions of full-blown Acrobat floating around.
If you don't need the PDF editing functionality of that, uninstall it and use CutePDF to create PDFs from documents instead. It's likely to be slightly more up to date than Acrobat v5!!
peterh337
7th Dec 2011, 15:29
Come on guys...
I paid for the original Acrobat v5. I don't see why I should pay for their latest bloatware to generate PDFs, when v5 makes PDFs which everybody in the world can read.
The reader is free, of course.
I use the old version because some old apps I have don't work with CutePDF etc. Also most of the "free" writers leave a trailer on the bottom of each page, which is removed when you give them some money.
I was hoping to get an intelligent suggestion as to why re-downloading a PDF from a website fixes a font size issue.
Mike-Bracknell
7th Dec 2011, 17:15
CutePDF is free and works with everything (as it's installed as a printer). It also doesn't put any banners on the PDF.
Acrobat v5 is ANCIENT, and time/software/OSs have moved on. This leaves troubleshooting this issue akin to hitting a moving target. You might fix it one day and it breaks with an update the next.
FYI, there ARE a lot of Acrobat v5 copies on client machines I see.
mixture
7th Dec 2011, 17:57
Well it remains a poor tongue in cheeck comment nonetheless. No need for Adobe bashing.
Remember, you have Adobe to thank for creating the PDF format in the first place and then making it an ISO standard so that people like CutePDF could make competitive file creation software you consider better.
If you think "who cares, I wouldn't miss PDF if it disappeared tomorrow", you've obviously never prepared and sent off documents to printing presses (amongst other examples I could quote).
Life is so much easier now you can just preflight and send off a PDF to press instead of the olden days method of having to gather up all the font files you used etc. etc. etc.
So, Adobe are not all bad.
Anyhow.... lets' not digress off topic.... :cool:
Acrobat v5 is ANCIENT, and time/software/OSs have moved on. This leaves troubleshooting this issue akin to hitting a moving target. You might fix it one day and it breaks with an update the next.
What he said... although I wasn't aware they still made updates for v5 :E
Microsoft Office has had its own free PDF generator for a few years now - though you may have to download it from them. I like it, has never given me any trouble. Though I also like to use LyX to produce LaTeX documents, which can look much better especially when using formulas etc.
peterh337
8th Dec 2011, 08:54
Regardless of how the PDF was generated (it could have been done on a VAX 11/780 for all I care) I still don't see a mechanism for fonts being the wrong size on the first download, and being magically fixed on a second download.
The PDF file is the same :ugh:
It has to be a client side issue.
green granite
8th Dec 2011, 09:46
Which is why I suggested trying foxit reader, it would at least confirm whether it was an Adobe problem or a browser problem. If it's ok with foxit then the problem must lie with the browser/adobe interfacing.
Mike-Bracknell
8th Dec 2011, 10:48
Regardless of how the PDF was generated (it could have been done on a VAX 11/780 for all I care) I still don't see a mechanism for fonts being the wrong size on the first download, and being magically fixed on a second download.
The PDF file is the same :ugh:
It has to be a client side issue.
...or a download corruption issue.
mixture
8th Dec 2011, 17:19
Regardless of how the PDF was generated (it could have been done on a VAX 11/780 for all I care) I still don't see a mechanism for fonts being the wrong size on the first download, and being magically fixed on a second download.
The PDF file is the same
It has to be a client side issue.
Ever wonder why some websites show a crypto hash and/or signature next to the file they make available for download ?
Two words....file corruption....
If you don't have a hash or sig available to check against, then you've no way of knowing your download was good. Hence, if you suspect something's up, best thing to do is to try downloading it again (perhaps on another day on another internet connection).