Q: Font problems after 10.6.7

Thanks for the feedback.

Sorry, I meant to type *.otf. (Example: Hiragino Sans GB W3.otf) However, all the Asian fonts are listed as "Open Type font" under the Kind heading. These are Apple fonts. Can I assume they're PS fonts? Also, how will this affect the update to 10.6.7 and printing, if at all, since I do not use these fonts?

Yes. Those particular fonts are OpenType PostScript. Since you don't use these fonts for anything, you won't have any issues.

It is unfortunate that the programs indicated have had problems but the original manufactures don't exactly let apple have access to their software so if they choose not to release a patch to update and make their software compatible with the new OS update it isn't necessarily up to Apple to fix the other software.  If you can't or choose not to take advantage of the work arounds then an archive and install of your OS from your snow leopard disk and by running a manual combo update (not software update) to 10.6.6 you can bring yourself back to the previous version of the OS.  You should definitely backup before running the archive and install.  In my opinion the problem isn't Apple's it would be nice if everyone updated software so that everything remained compatible, but it is unfair to point a finger at apple without pointing a finger at the other companies who programs are simply not working effectively with the latest OS version.  I think it is great so many people have come together to help find work arounds, but there are work arounds a plenty now . . . so maybe the issue can be put to rest.

It isn't just the indicated programs, it's any program using OpenType PostScript fonts. And it affects files created in 10.6.7 sent to a Windows user, not just OS X.

Acrobat didn't change. The fonts didn't change. The other noted applications didn't change. The OS is the only thing that changed between no problems in 10.6.6 to what we're seeing in 10.6.7. Where else would be the logical place to point one's finger?

I am getting a sour feeling that Apple is not planning to do anything about this. In my 3 calls directed at this problem, I have not heard an AppleCare support person even say that they are aware of this issue. After all of these posts and all of this time since it has cropped up, one might expect someone to at least say it is being "worked on."

Feeling very disappointed in what has been, up to this, excellent support and attention by Apple to updater issues. This issue has directly affected my workflow, and has forced me to revert to 10.6.6 in order to produce applications for my clients. I am certainly hoping that this is not the beginning of a downward trend, or some kind of attitude toward users of Adobe software. Just sayin....

"It is unfortunate that the programs indicated have had problems but the original manufactures

don't exactly let apple have access to their software so if they choose not to release a patch to

update and make their software compatible with the new OS update it isn't necessarily up to

Apple to fix the other software."

If Apple controlled 90% of the Computer market, that would be a cinch, but in reality, it is

the other way around. This thing breaks not only Mac related print programs, it also breaks

reproduction in windows and probably numerous other platforms, not to mention previous

Mac software versions that are no longer supported and have quit functioning.

Anyway, I might be wrong, but I'm betting that Adobe is not going to budge on this one.

Kj

I am getting a sour feeling that Apple is not planning to do anything about this.

They are working on it. I got a response to my bug report:

After further investigation it has been determined that this is a known issue, which is currently being investigated by engineering.

So engineering does know about it and I would have to believe, working on a fix. What they don't do is give you progress reports or any type of time table for completion.

Thanks for the update Kurt, as well as your many helpful posts here. I hope we see a resolution sooner than much later.

Thank you so much KJk555, your bug fix works excellently and it saves a lot of time and stress for me! Well done, well done!

"It isn't just the indicated programs, it's any program using OpenType PostScript fonts. And it affects files created in 10.6.7 sent to a Windows user, not just OS X.

Acrobat didn't change. The fonts didn't change. The other noted applications didn't change. The OS is the only thing that changed between no problems in 10.6.6 to what we're seeing in 10.6.7. Where else would be the logical place to point one's finger?"

Exactly Kurt. I am really disappointed how Apple treats this issue and their customers. Happily the solution by KJK555 works well on my MBP.

I'd like to add my experience to this thread...

In a MS Word document (Word:Mac 2011) I've used the Cronos Pro font family, comes with complete CS5.

When the Word document is saved as or printed to any of the PDF options for creating a pdf file on the Desktop some of the individual fonts in the font family get smeared (for lack of a better word) into long, vertical lines that over write what is properly rendered ...the properly rendered fonts are visible between the vertical lines.

The font in particular that produces this effect on my machine today is Cronos Pro Regular. For a while yesterday I was having the same issue with Cronos Pro Display but that is rendering correctly today. Yesterday Cronos Pro Regular was rendering properly. Very strange behavior!

I have tested various combinations using a new Word document of only one page and only text, no images and still receive the same results. Today it is always the Regular font, yesterday it was always the Display font.

Here is a fix.

http://azlist.info/kj/download

s/

Install. Reboot. Create your documents again.

FontFix 10.6.7

Good Luck!

Seconded: this worked for me - see the thread around https://discussions.apple.com/message/13372652#13372652 .

Narrowing the search for the bug…

I shut my Mac Pro down each night and restart in the AM.

In the past 3 days the corrupted rendering of fonts from the Cronos Pro family when exported form any MS Word document have been different ones each day, but within each day the same font produces a corrupted pdf rendering from any MS Word document when Word's option to Save as or Print as a pdf file is used.

Adobe Acrobat (9.4.3) did raise an error message today (but not on previous days)…

---

Cannot extract the embedded font 'DACHJA+CronosPro-BoldDisplt'. Some characters many not display or print correctly. [   OK   ]

---

…and where I have specified Cronos Pro Bold Display only one letter is displayed and in 2 of the 4 instances that letter is not among the letters in any of the words that did not display. Yesterday this same Word file converted to a pdf without any errors and the pdf file created yesterday opens without any problems, displaying the Bold Display font correctly.

So, clearly this is not a font-specific issue but rather an issue that has to do with some service that is being used by MS Word (and other applications as indicted by other posts here) to embed the fonts in the pdf file.

Since the font caches need to be recreated when I boot up each morning (at least I assume that is how it works) perhaps the error happens when the font cache is created. That would make sense from my experience. Note that within each day the same font is affected but after a complete shutdown and restart a different font (or fonts) is affected.

What is curious is that only some fonts are affected. Perhaps the previous poster that suggested this is a buffer-overflow issue was correct, or maybe in mapping out the memory for each font to be cached the OS service is not using the correct length in the header and stepping on the tail end of one font when writing out the next one.

I'm not inclined to swap out part of an Apple update so I won't try the fix noted here …which may work perfectly. I have had problems in the past with this sort of thing working with the MS Windows OS so it is a once burned twice shy thing with me. I'd rather wait for an Apply update or restore to the previous OS version completely.

KJK555 wrote:

 

I have created a standard installation package to fix the Adobe font issue.

It replaces only the affected ATS.framework binaries with the 10.6.6 versions.

You can get it here:
Kj's Download Page
(Bottom of the green section: "FontFix10.6.7" link.)

Kj

I started having a strange issue when printing a specific pdf file after upgrading to 10.6.7 . The document opened absolutely correctly in Preview and in Adobe Reader, but printing it (on a Brother HL1430) the typesetting was ok but the single characters were wrongly rendered, with some letters barely visible and others with too thick bars. Reader reports that it contains "Frutiger" and "Symbolfaro" fonts, both apparently TrueType. I can't verify it cos i don't see them in Font Book and know nothing about fonts.

Anyway the patch worked for me... thank you man!