How to Fix Character Encoding Errors in Arabic and Hindi PDFs
Question details
Users experience character encoding issues with Arabic or Hindi fonts in Illustrator artwork embedded within PDFs exported from InDesign.
- Product
- Adobe InDesign / Acrobat
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Exporting an InDesign project containing embedded Illustrator artwork with Arabic or Hindi text to a PDF file.
- Observed behavior
- Accessibility reports flag character-encoding problems for the Arabic or Hindi text, despite the correct fonts being used throughout the project.
Ensure that you have the original InDesign project files and the specific Arabic or Hindi fonts installed on your computer before attempting to re-export the document.
Adjust Font Subsetting in InDesign Export Settings
Lowering the font subset percentage ensures the complete character map is embedded, preventing encoding errors for complex scripts like Arabic and Hindi.
By default, InDesign subsets fonts to save space, only embedding the characters used in the document. For complex scripts, this can sometimes cause encoding interpretation errors in accessibility software.
Open your project in InDesign, go to the top menu, click 'File' > 'Export', and choose 'Adobe PDF (Print)' as the format.
In the Export Adobe PDF dialog box, select the 'Advanced' tab from the left-hand panel.
Locate the 'Fonts' section and find the option labeled 'Subset fonts when percent of used characters is less than'. Change the default 100% to 0% to force the software to embed the entire font character map.
Click the 'Export' button to generate the new PDF and test it with your accessibility checking tool.
Export with a Current PDF Compatibility Preset
Using an updated PDF compatibility version rather than an older standard can resolve font encoding bugs during export.
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- 1. Download and Install: Visit the WPS Office website to download the free installation package for your operating system.
- 2. Open Your PDF Files: Launch WPS Office, click 'Open', and select your exported PDF file to view its contents and check text rendering.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do Arabic and Hindi fonts show encoding errors in exported PDFs?
Arabic and Hindi are complex script languages. If the PDF export settings do not embed the complete font character map, accessibility tools and PDF readers may fail to decode the embedded text correctly, leading to encoding errors.
What does setting font subsetting to 0% do in InDesign?
Setting the font subsetting value to 0% forces the software to embed the entire character set of the font into the PDF file. This ensures all characters display correctly but will increase the overall file size of the document.
Can updating Adobe Acrobat compatibility fix PDF font issues?
Yes. Exporting your PDF with a newer Acrobat compatibility level (such as Acrobat 8 or 9) supports newer font encoding standards and can often resolve issues present when exporting to older standards like Acrobat 5.
Do I need to change fonts to fix Arabic encoding errors in InDesign?
Not necessarily. If the font properly supports Arabic or Hindi characters, adjusting the PDF export subsetting settings and updating the compatibility version usually resolves the encoding errors without needing to switch to a different font.
