OmniDocHow to deal with the font change when converting Word to PDF
After converting Word to PDF, fonts are replaced and individual words are displayed as boxes or garbled characters. This is mostly because the original fonts are not installed, not embedded in the PDF, or are missing glyphs. This article explains how to identify the causes one by one and follow steps to repair and prevent them.
Key points of this article
- If the font is changed, first check whether the original font is installed on the converted computer. If it is missing, the system will automatically replace it with another font.
- Check and check the embed font option before conversion so that the PDF can maintain its original fonts on other computers.
- Boxes or question marks are usually missing characters in the font. Just replace the corresponding characters with a font with wider coverage.
- After exporting, use the reader to check the title, formula and symbols page by page, and confirm that they are correct before sending it to others or printing it.
After converting Word to PDF, the title is changed to another font, certain words in the text become boxes, or formulas and special symbols are misplaced. Many people subconsciously think that there is something wrong with the layout. They repeatedly adjust paragraphs and page margins, and the result becomes more and more messy. In fact, most of these problems are related to fonts. The reasons are different from ordinary typesetting offsets. The solution should also start with fonts.
This article is written for readers who need to convert Word documents to PDF before giving it to others, submitting or printing. After reading, you will be able to tell whether the font is missing, the font is not embedded, or the character itself is not supported, and you will know how to change it in each case.
What should I do if the font is changed or garbled? One sentence conclusion
In most cases, first confirm whether the original font can be used normally on the converted computer, and then decide whether to change the font or adjust the export settings. The table below can help you quickly choose a method.
| your situation | Recommended practices | reason |
|---|---|---|
| The manuscript uses a font unique to personal computers. | Switch to the common Chinese fonts in the system before conversion | When a font cannot be found, the converter can only replace it with another font |
| The display on this machine is normal, but when opened on other computers, the fonts change. | Check to embed fonts when exporting and then send | Unembedded PDFs rely on fonts on the recipient's computer |
| Most of the characters are normal, some rare characters are in boxes | Just replace these few parts with fonts with wider coverage. | The current font is missing a glyph for this character |
| Documents to be filed or sent for printing | Confirm that all fonts are embedded and export to PDF/A if necessary | Archiving and printing often require files to be self-contained and not rely on external fonts |
| Misplaced formulas or special symbols | Check whether symbol fonts have been replaced, such as Symbol, Wingdings | After the symbol font is replaced, the corresponding relationship between characters and graphics will change. |
First determine what kind of problem it is
Different symptoms have different causes. Please check the following table first to avoid blind modification.
| symptoms | Common causes | How to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| The whole title and text have been changed to another font. | The original font is not installed and replaced by the system | Check the font name in Word and open the original file comparison on another computer |
| Only a few words are boxes or question marks | The font lacks the glyph of the character, or the character encoding is not supported | Change these words into common fonts separately to see if they are displayed properly. |
| Overall change in line spacing, word width, or newline position | The width of the replacement font is different from that of the original font, which in turn affects typesetting. | Compare the same paragraph with several lines in Word and PDF. |
| Open the font on another computer and the font has changed. This machine is normal. | PDF does not have embedded fonts | Use a PDF reader to view document properties or font information to see if it is embedded |
| Copy garbled when PDF text is selected | The text mapping of fonts is incomplete, and scanned parts and special fonts are more common. | Select a paragraph and paste it into notepad to see if the content is correct. |
# item-by-item troubleshooting and repair
Check in the following order, and you can usually find the problem within a few attempts.
- Write down the name of the font you are using in the original Word document. Check the title, body, header, footer, table, and footnote to see if multiple fonts are mixed, paying special attention to what is pasted in from a web page or other document.
two. Copy the original Word file to another computer and open it. If the display of the two computers is different, the font is not on one of the machines and belongs to the missing font.
- Replace unusual fonts with common Chinese fonts, such as Song, boldface or sans-serif typefaces, and then convert them again to compare the results.
- Find the option for embedded fonts in the export settings, check it and re-export. If the software does not have this option, you can use a conversion that supports embedded fonts instead.
- For the words that appear in the box, change to the font that covers the character separately, only modify these points, and do not change the font as a whole, so as not to affect other content.
- After export, use a PDF reader to view the title, formula, and symbols page by page, and select a paragraph to copy the test.
- After confirming that the font of the full text is embedded and the font is correct, send it to others or send it to print.
reason 1: the original font is not installed
This is a common situation. Word documents record only font names and do not contain font files, so when a computer opens it, if the font name does not exist, the system will use other fonts instead. The solution is to try to use fonts that come with the system or are commonly used. If you have to use a special font, install the font file on the converted computer and re-export it.
reason 2: font is not embedded in PDF
PDF can choose to write the font file to the file, or you can record only the font name. When the latter is turned on on another computer, the font will change. Before sending it to others, you should make sure that the font is embedded at the time of export.
reason 3: missing words in fonts or unsupported encoding
Some fonts contain only commonly used Chinese characters and symbols, which will be displayed as boxes when encountered with rare characters, characters used in ancient books, or some foreign language symbols. At this time, it is not a conversion error, but the font itself does not have the glyph. Just switch to a more extensive font, only need to correct the mistakes.
If you already have the generated PDF, you only need to modify a few words, and you can use the PDF editor of the OmniDoc desktop client to change the paragraph text directly. But it can not replace the font of the entire document, the source problem still has to go back to Word to correct, and then re-convert. If the original still needs to be edited, you can also open the Word compatible document in the UniDoc Page Editor (app.unidoc.top) and adjust it before exporting.
# how to avoid the next occurrence
- uniform font : write with only one or two common fonts to avoid mixed fonts pasted from different sources. - check in advance : if you open the original file on another computer before conversion, you can detect the missing font as soon as possible. - check obscure words : when there are person names, place names or professional symbols in the document, check them one by one after conversion, not just look at the overall effect. - check after export : each export is opened by a reader to confirm the font, formula and page number are correct, and then send or print.
# frequently asked questions (FAQ)
1. The font has changed after the conversion, can you just install the font on the computer?
Installing a font can solve the display problem on your own computer, but the other person's computer may not have this font. If the PDF does not have an embedded font, it may still change when the other party opens it, so confirm the embedding when you export.
2. The display in Word is normal, why is PDF still wrong?
Word displays fonts on your computer, while PDF records glyph information at the time of export. When the two are inconsistent, it is likely that the font is not embedded at the time of export, or some characters are missing in the font.
3. Rare words are always in the box. What can we do?
Just replace the words with boxes and replace them with universal fonts with wider coverage. Don't change the font throughout the article, so as not to change the layout of other parts.
4. Will it be easier to garbled with a free online conversion tool?
The font problem has little to do with whether it is free or not, but whether the tool supports embedded fonts and retains typesetting. When choosing, you can see whether the file size is limited, whether it is watermarked, whether the privacy policy is clear, and whether the fonts and formulas are retained after conversion. After the conversion is completed, it should also be checked with a reader.
# Summary
Most of the font changes after Word to PDF come from the original font is not installed, PDF is not embedded font or font missing words. You can usually solve the problem by judging which situation it is, and then changing fonts, ticking embedded or replacing obscure words. After export, check page by page, confirm that it is correct and then send it, which can avoid repeated rework.
