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Font problems after 10.6.7

I'm getting lots of strange behaviour relating to fonts since updating to 10.6.7. This is all in things that used to work perfectly.
PostScript output causes errors in Distiller (problems in font definitions); and manipulating PDF objects can cause embedded fonts to become .... unembedded.

As I understand it, there were lots of security fixes to font handling in the update, but it seems to have caused loads of trouble.

The developers for an app I use, Imposition Wizard, have confirmed that things aren't working as they are supposed to and have filed bug reports with Apple.

However, as I do a lot of work with PostScript and PDFs, I will have to reinstall the OS to 10.6.6.

iMac 2006 2Ghz, Mac OS X (10.6.7), MacBook 2008

Posted on Mar 22, 2011 3:07 PM

Reply
424 replies

Apr 26, 2011 1:41 PM in response to josephleebrown

And...


Please do not update/upgrade "mission critical! Will kill my business!" machines without,


A. having a recent full backup (preferably just performed prior to applying updates/upgrades) and,

B. waiting a week or 3 and researching the updates you are thinking about, for possible impact to your livelihood.


If you can't/won't do A, then you certainly should do B.

Apr 26, 2011 3:07 PM in response to iamevilbear

I am so glad to see this fix appear. What great news!


I am certain that everyone who sent a message to support was part of making Apple aware that this was a real issue. Let's hope that the next system update is tested a bit more thoroughly.


Thanks to ALL of the great people here who have helped me personally understand the issue, and what NOT to do next time an update comes out.


Feels good - my faith in Apple has been restored.

Apr 27, 2011 5:23 AM in response to Nick Hobart

@Nick Hobart: Forgive me if I'm pointing out the obvious, but any PDFs created through the Apple PDF engine on 10.6.7 prior to the update still contain the invalid font data.


Apple Preview on 10.6.7 can display these invalid PDFs, both before and after installing the update. However, even after the update has been installed, Adobe Acrobat crashes when attempting to open them.


Opening the invalid PDFs in Preview and re-saving them via Print -> Save as PDF does not correct the problem.


Are you attempting to print invalid PDFs as created on 10.6.7, or does the error also occur with PDFs generated post-update, or when printing directly from the original application?

Apr 27, 2011 5:28 AM in response to British31

"I feel sorry for those that swore they would dump their mac because of this issue, wonder if they know it got fixed?"


I wonder why there are so many who mock about those persons who's workflow was utterly disturbed by that font fault made by Apple. Actual I still think Apple should apologize. More over it took one month to fix the problem and Apple has not even stated that they are working on it and that they are going to release an update. This customer unfriendly attitude — is it arrogance or insensibility? — is what I learn now from Apple, and actual I find this really ugly not nice. Though I am grateful for the update — which seems to work so far — there are some things Apple should change in their customer policies. I think it is this attitude of Apple which annoys others, including me.

Apr 27, 2011 5:30 AM in response to C42D

First, there's an update from Apple that may resolve the issue.


Second, you shouldn't install any software update, whether from Apple, Adobe, or anyone else, on production systems without testing it first, or at least waiting a couple of weeks to see whether any problems are reported that would affect your workflow. If you've never had a problem with an update before, you've been lucky.

Apr 27, 2011 6:14 AM in response to josephleebrown

...and who ever said that Apple do not listen. Shame on you.

Shame on Apple for being incapable to communicate that problem with their customers. I wonder how people can defend such a lack of sensibility and accuse the people who are annoyed by Apple's behaviour. This criticism does not exlcde the fact that I am grateful that finally Apple has released a functioning update and that faults can happen. IT IS THE WAY HOW Apple dealt with this issue which I criticise. I hope Apple finds a better way in the future. Communication and customer friendly behaviour seems to be a weakness of Apple, I wish this is going to be improved in the future.


(This point does also not ecxlude the fact, that I am a grateful user of a MacBook Pro and its operating system which is really an excellent product. With respect to this I wish to express my gratefulness und respect for all the hard workers, designers and engeneers of Apple. )


<Edited by Host>

Font problems after 10.6.7

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