Trouble converting embedded fonts to outlines when opening PDF

[Kevin_C_Gross@adobeforums.com]

Hi all,

I have a PDF file which I'd like to touch up using Illustrator CS.
<http://kc144.dyndns.org/~kevin/plot-FontIncl.pdf>
It contains several mathematical fonts with custom encodings. When opening it with Illustrator, I am told that some fonts will be converted to outlines to preserve appearance. I say "OK" and most of the math fonts appear just fine. However, the greek letter nu (v) with a tilde (~) on top comes through as a question mark. Can anyone tell me why? The nu with a tilde appears fine in the PDF using any PDF reader.

FWIW, the PDF was created by Distiller using the following EPS file created by Mathematica.
<http://kc144.dyndns.org/~kevin/plot-FontIncl.eps.gz>
The special fonts from Mathematica are properly installed and show up in Illustrator's Font menu. So I'm not even sure why it is necessary to convert to outlines. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Kevin

[Steve_Werner@adobeforums.com]

While many people have learned that they can open PDFs in Illustrator, there are absolutely no guarantees that it will successfully open all PDFs. It was simply not designed as a general PDF parser. In particular, font problems like you've encountered are almost guaranteed, at least some of the time.

You'll do much better to return to the application that produced the PDFs and make your edits there.

A pricier solution would be to use Pitstop Professional in Acrobat.

[Wade_Zimmerman@adobeforums.com]

We you can choose not to open as outline I was able to open with point type which will be broken into segments the way to fix it is to cut the text create a new insertion pint and then paste what you just cut now you have editable point type and you can manually correct any formatting or characters that have been lost. If you can't get the tilde or nu symbol then use the Glyph palette to insert them.

[Kevin_C_Gross@adobeforums.com]

Two comments:
First, I used Mathematica (a high-level programming language) to produce an EPS file which was then converted to PDF. I need the ability to draw arrows and label features in several plots. This is simply not feasible to programatically annotate such plots when you don't know what they'll look like ahead of time. Mathematica used to export to the illustrator, but unfortunately they recently dropped that functionality. Is there any other tool available that will allow me to add text and arrows to these plots without rasterizing?

Second, Adobe designed the PDF spec. If acrobat reader can display it properly, why can't Illustrator? (This is a very naive comment, and I don't pretend to understand the actual challenges involved in parsing PDF. But if anybody can get this to work, it would be Adobe.) Any insight into what causes this font problem? Is there anything I can do when creating the original EPS file that will make things work better when trying to edit the PDF in Illustrator?

Thanks,

Kevin

[Ross_Meridith@adobeforums.com]

Kevin,

This will only work if you have the mathematical font to use in Illustrator.

Instead of opening the PDF or EPS why don't you Place it either Linked or Embedded. You will not be able to edit the text directly but it will look the way it is suppose to while in Illustrator. Then you can block out the text you need to edit with a no stroke white fill object drawn with the pen tool or whatever. Then create a new layer (if you wish) and create the text that you need.

Then create another layer and draw your arrows and such. If you have Acrobat Pro then you should be able to print the file to the Adobe PDF printer driver to create a new PDF. That's if you need a new PDF file.

Hope this helps!

Have a great day!

Ross

[Unregistered]

Place the file in pdf form into Illustrator. File>Place Make sure that linked is clicked in the place dialog. Save as eps from illustrator. Open in Acrobat and resave PDF. Now all the fonts are no longer linked to the saved file and can then be converted to outlines.

Illustrator can actually discern the differences in any font there for if it is not an approved and properly embedded font you will always receive an error. PDF shows face value of linked artwork. also the reason PDF is not editable at anchor points.
Hope this helps solve the problem..