Preview font problems

Question

Level 1

127 points

Preview font problems

My utility company (EDF) now only provides energy bills online in pdf format. They show up on screen fine but if I try to print or save them, the signisficant (variable) parts are scrambled. This problem does not occur if I access them via Windows/IE: I can save, open and print fine. Saved Windows files can be opened in Adobe Acrobat Pro on the Mac and work fine, but although Preview can open them, I get the same problem with save or print.

So this seems to be a Mac OS X/Preview issue.

The pdf files are pdf v 1.4 generated by StreamServe Communication Server 5.3.0 GA Build 475. They contain 4 embedded, subsetted TrueType fonts: AA0101+FrutigerLTStd-Bold, AA0201-FrutigerLTStd-Roman, AA0301+FrutigerLTStd-Italic, and ArialMT. If I open a file saved by Preview into Acrobat Pro it complains that it cannot find or create the font 'MMDFNT+AA0101+FrutigerLTStd-Bold, so I guess this is the culprit. I imagine this is a font encoding issue?

Has anyone else encountered this or similar problem, or can suggest a workaround that doesn't involve firing up Windows/IE/Acrobat?

(I am using 10.6.7 on a MacPro)

Posted on Jun 29, 2011 1:10 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 29, 2011 2:58 AM in response to Chris Bunch

How do you go about saving them?

To save a pdf (or about anything from the web) I press command-p and the print menu comes up. In the bottom left hand corner click the "pdf" menu and click "Save as pdf".

Chris

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Answer 2

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

115,952 points

Jun 29, 2011 3:11 AM in response to Chris Bunch

Chris Bunch wrote:

Has anyone else encountered this or similar problem, or can suggest a workaround that doesn't involve firing up Windows/IE/Acrobat?

Have tried just using Adobe Reader for Mac?

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Answer 3

Chris Bunch Author

Level 1

127 points

Jun 29, 2011 5:40 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

Tom Gewecke wrote:

Have tried just using Adobe Reader for Mac?

A good question, thanks. I would expect it to work, and it does. However I would rather not have to use AR as my default pdf viewer. As my post title indicates, the problem is with how OS X/Preview handle certain pdf files.

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Answer 4

Chris Bunch Author

Level 1

127 points

Jun 29, 2011 5:41 AM in response to chrisfromhopewell

chrisfromhopewell wrote:

How do you go about saving them?

Chris

Exactly as you suggest: that is when the corruption occurs.

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Answer 5

Jun 29, 2011 5:54 AM in response to Chris Bunch

I would download AR and use that to open files that preview has trouble with. Instead of changing to open all of them control-click it and choose open with AR.

Chris

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Answer 6

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

115,952 points

Jun 29, 2011 6:09 AM in response to Chris Bunch

Chris Bunch wrote:

the problem is with how OS X/Preview handle certain pdf files.

Yes. But I don't think there is anything you can do to fix that. In my experience one has to have Reader if you want to be sure to be able to read every pdf file. Preview is just not a perfect clone of that.

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Answer 7

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Jun 29, 2011 6:08 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

I have to point out that I use preview under the same circumstances (different bank probably) with no problems at all, I have no copy of Reader installed and have yet to need it.

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Answer 8

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

115,952 points

Jun 29, 2011 6:11 AM in response to Csound1

Csound1 wrote:

I have to point out that I use preview under the same circumstances (different bank probably) with no problems at all, I have no copy of Reader installed and have yet to need it.

That's great! But there is no way to predict when you will wind up with a pdf that Preview cannot handle and Reader does it just fine. There are countless examples of that in these forums, so when someone does have a problem, the first advice is always to try Reader and see if that solves it.

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Answer 9

Csound1

Level 9

59,973 points

Jun 29, 2011 6:15 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

Well of course you have a point there, and when it happens to me I will need an alternative, as does the OP.

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Answer 10

Chris Bunch Author

Level 1

127 points

Jun 29, 2011 7:10 AM in response to chrisfromhopewell

chrisfromhopewell wrote:

I would download AR and use that to open files that preview has trouble with. Instead of changing to open all of them control-click it and choose open with AR.

Chris

Yes that would be a good plan except the site in question has a button rather than a link, and ctrl-clicking + saving the 'linked file' saves the web page .html file... I think clicking (not ctrl clicking) the download button fires a script that causes the utility bill to be generated as pdf on the fly. there seems to be no way of saving it as pdf before it has displayed in Preview or AR.

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Answer 11

May 2, 2014 1:41 PM in response to Chris Bunch

Hi,

hope you you did solve the problem already...

In 10.9 the problem still seems to exist - just wanted to print a bill from Vodafone Germany, and while fine in the Preview App, the printout contained only boxes.

I've tried to save it as another PDF file with the same result (only boxes).

So I saved it as Postscript, and converted it back to PDF (/usr/bin/pstopdf).

This worked at least for the Vodafone PDF.

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Answer 12

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

115,952 points

May 2, 2014 1:51 PM in response to DROP DATABASE users

Did you try using adobe reader instead of preview?

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Answer 13

May 3, 2014 12:22 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

Nope, I do not have AR installed. This was the first PDF I had problems with.

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Answer 14

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

115,952 points

May 3, 2014 1:46 PM in response to DROP DATABASE users

DROP DATABASE users wrote:

Nope, I do not have AR installed.

I'd recommend you give it a try. It often works when Preview does not (Adobe invented pdf). Also it can tell you which fonts are needed, in case that is a problem.

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Answer 15

Kurt Lang

Level 9

58,212 points

May 3, 2014 2:16 PM in response to DROP DATABASE users

The main issue is that Adobe keeps adding new features to Acrobat Pro, which changes, or adds to the complexity of the PDF files it creates. Apple has always had to play catch-up with Preview so that is also can read newer versions of the PDF format.

That is the basic problem. Apple will keep improving Preview in Mavericks, and maybe Mountain Lion, but anything older is stagnant. The further we get away from the older versions of Preview as the PDF format keeps changing, the more likely older versions of Preview will fail to properly open PDF files.

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