PDF Conversion Issues

Fix Adobe Export PDF to XLSX Missing Characters and Small Squares

Steve K Oct 19, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to resolve an issue where converting a PDF to Excel results in unreadable characters.

How to Fix Missing Characters and Squares When Converting PDF to XLSX

Product: Adobe Export PDF
Device & OS: Windows 8.1
Scenario: Using a web browser (Chrome or Internet Explorer 11) to upload and convert a PDF file into an XLSX spreadsheet via Adobe Export PDF.
Observed behavior: The file uploads and converts successfully, but the downloaded XLSX file displays small squares instead of readable text, indicating a character encoding or font conversion failure.

Before you start

Ensure that your web browser is fully updated and try clearing your browser cache, as temporary internet files can sometimes interfere with web-based conversion services.

Solution 1Recommended

Verify and Adjust Font Settings in Excel

Sometimes the text is converted correctly, but Excel attempts to display it using a font that is not installed on your system.

When Adobe Export PDF maps custom fonts from the PDF into Excel, it may assign a font that your Windows 8.1 operating system does not recognize. This causes Excel to render the text as small squares (missing glyphs). Changing the font to a universally supported system font can instantly reveal the hidden text.

Open the downloaded XLSX file

Launch Microsoft Excel or your preferred spreadsheet program and open the problematic converted file.

Select all cells

Click the small triangle in the top-left corner of the spreadsheet (between column A and row 1) or press Ctrl+A to select all data in the worksheet.

Change the default font

Navigate to the 'Home' tab on the ribbon, locate the Font dropdown menu, and select a standard Windows font such as 'Arial', 'Calibri', or 'Times New Roman'.

Verify and Adjust Font Settings in Excel

Quick Check: If the squares immediately change into readable text, the problem was purely cosmetic and related to local font availability.

Solution 2

Request Assistance in the Adobe Official Forum

If changing the font does not work, the issue likely lies deep within the PDF's internal character encoding, requiring specific troubleshooting from Adobe.

Convert PDF to Excel seamlessly

Use WPS Office to Convert PDF to Excel Without Missing Characters

Bypass Adobe Export PDF encoding errors entirely by using WPS Office. Its built-in PDF to Excel converter utilizes advanced formatting recognition and OCR technology to ensure every character, table, and layout is translated perfectly into your spreadsheet.

1. Open the PDF in WPS Office: Launch WPS Office and open the PDF document you wish to convert.
2. Select PDF to Excel: Navigate to the 'Tools' tab on the top ribbon and click the 'PDF to Excel' button.
3. Configure conversion settings: Choose your desired page range and select the appropriate language if the document contains non-English characters to ensure high accuracy.
4. Convert and save: Click 'Convert'. The file will instantly be transformed into an XLSX spreadsheet and opened automatically for your review.

Flawless PDF to Excel conversion with zero missing charactersAdvanced OCR technology extracts text from scanned documents accuratelyFully compatible with Microsoft Excel XLSX and XLS formatsLightweight, fast, and completely free to download

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do squares appear instead of text in my converted Excel file?

Squares appear when the software cannot map the original PDF's character encoding to standard text, or when the spreadsheet assigns a font that is not installed on your operating system. This is a common issue with highly stylized or improperly embedded PDF fonts.

Does my choice of web browser affect the Adobe Export PDF conversion?

While the core conversion happens on Adobe's servers, utilizing an outdated browser like Internet Explorer 11 can sometimes cause upload corruption or caching errors. Switching to a modern, updated browser like Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge may resolve unexpected glitches.

How can I tell if my original PDF is causing the encoding issue?

Open the original PDF and try copying a sentence, then paste it into a plain text editor like Notepad. If the pasted text shows up as squares or gibberish, the PDF lacks proper text encoding layers, and standard conversion tools will fail without OCR.

PDF Troubleshooting