How to Fix Missing Dollar Signs and Commas in Adobe Acrobat PDFs
Question details
The user is experiencing an issue where specific symbols like dollar signs and commas are missing or displaying incorrectly in a PDF document opened in Adobe Acrobat.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat
- Device & OS
- Windows (Dell)
- Scenario
- Viewing a PDF file generated from Microsoft Word or accounting software where financial formatting is required.
- Observed behavior
- Dollar signs and thousands separators (commas) show up as blanks or unexpected characters instead of the correct symbols.
Check if the original source file (such as the Microsoft Word document or accounting report) still displays the symbols correctly before attempting to modify the PDF.
Recreate the PDF with Fonts Embedded
The most reliable way to fix missing characters is to recreate the PDF from the source application, ensuring all fonts are fully embedded in the document.
When a PDF is created without embedding the fonts used in the document, Adobe Acrobat attempts to substitute them with available system fonts. If the substitute font lacks the specific glyphs for dollar signs or commas, those characters will appear blank or as errors.
Launch Microsoft Word or your accounting software and open the source document that contains the financial data.
Go to the 'File' menu and select 'Save As' or 'Export to PDF'.
Choose 'PDF' as the file format and click on 'Options' or 'More Options' before saving.
Look for a setting related to fonts, such as 'ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A)' or 'Embed fonts in the file', and ensure it is checked.
Save the new PDF and open it in Acrobat to verify that the dollar signs and commas now appear correctly.
Inspect and Install Missing Fonts
If you cannot recreate the PDF, use Acrobat's tools to identify the missing or substituted font and install it on your computer.
Create Flawless PDFs with WPS Office
Avoid font rendering and missing symbol issues by using WPS Office, an all-in-one suite that handles high-fidelity document conversion with built-in font embedding.
- 1. Install WPS Office: Download and install the free WPS Office suite on your Windows computer.
- 2. Open your source document: Open the original document (Word, Excel, or accounting export) using WPS Writer or WPS Spreadsheet.
- 3. Export to PDF: Click on 'Menu' in the top left corner and select 'Export to PDF'.
- 4. Verify advanced settings: Click 'Advanced Settings' and ensure that the font embedding options are selected.
- 5. Generate perfect PDFs: Click 'Export' to generate a flawless PDF with all dollar signs and commas intact.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do fonts change or disappear when opening a PDF?
This happens when the creator of the PDF did not embed the fonts into the document, and your computer does not have the exact same fonts installed. The PDF reader attempts to substitute the missing font, which often results in missing special characters like dollar signs or commas.
Can I fix missing dollar signs directly in the PDF without the original file?
Yes, but it requires installing the missing font on your local computer or using a premium PDF editor to manually select the affected text blocks and change their font to a standard system font like Arial or Times New Roman.
Does my accounting software version affect PDF exports?
Yes, older versions of some accounting software might use outdated PDF print drivers that do not fully embed system fonts. Upgrading the software or using a dedicated third-party 'Print to PDF' driver can resolve this.
Why are only numbers and letters visible, but not the symbols?
Many fallback fonts or default system fonts match standard alphanumeric characters perfectly but might lack specific glyphs for currency symbols or thousands separators, causing those specific spaces to appear blank or as square boxes.
