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PDF export rasterises fonts in VW2016


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We are having a similar problem what is mentioned here - it has only occurred since the upgrade to 2016 though.

On files we exported before the upgrade, everything looks fine. On ones exported since, the fonts are rasterised.

We use the export to PDF command, as generally it has given more reliable results in the past. Using Print to PDF works fine with the fonts, but we would prefer it if we could use export.

Having investigated a bit further, not all fonts are affected.

Based on a quick test, Benton Sans and Arial export fine, but News Gothic and Eurostile do not.

Like I said, this was never an issue when we used 2015.

It happens even on a newly created file and on every computer in the office.

I've attached an example file that illustrates the issue.

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Thanks for the reply.

Just had a look.

From the original example (2 working, 2 not working), both those that worked were a .ttf file. Both those that didn't were a FOnt Suitcase.

I'm not particularly familiar with how Font Suitcases work on Macs - my understanding was that they are generally just a package containing a range of different font weights, to make them more manageable?

As I mentioned before, we never had a problem with using these same fonts in VW2015.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Yep that just means its a bundle, I think there is a way to determine what type, I'll look into it further.

I ask because Tech Support is currently tracking similar issues suddenly, where the font appears rasterized in exports (it isn't actually the same as regular Rasterize, but it appears that way or very close to it) and so far, many of the fonts have been PostScript/Type 1, but a few have been OTF or older TTF. They're trying to find an accurate pattern and get it submitted to engineering.

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It seems that this could somehow be the cause of the problem.

I took one of the problem fonts (Eurostile) and used the method described here:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7412462/using-os-9-resource-fork-fonts-in-css-with-font-face/7418915#7418915

to extract the .ttf files from the Font Suitcase.

I then had to move the Font Suitcase out of the Fonts Folder before adding the .ttf files as it otherwise assumed they were duplicates.

After re-starting Vectorworks, I exported a PDF of one document using that fond and it came out fine. So I seem to have identified the cause of the problem?

I don't understand why this never used to be a problem though and it affects a lot of the other fonts on our systems (61 suitcases within the Microsoft folder within the fonts folder - presumably installed by Office).

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Its a regression, they DID change the way fonts are handled in 2016 but it should NOT have adversely affected font compatibility. However thank you very much, i'm going to try that with a few test cases we have here and if thats the solution, its relatively painless and possibly something that can be automated on our end.

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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Congratulations! You just cracked this issue single handedly. This is being submitted to engineering now, very likely it is possible for Vectorworks to be set to look for that particular contained font within the suitcase and use that automatically.

However I will be posting the full workaround steps for this problem in the meantime.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Is this an issue with (older) Mac TTF fonts only or can this happen on Windows as well? It's been a long time since I had a Mac but that the time Mac and Windows TTF fonts were different, unlike OpenType TTF fonts.

That being said, I've had occasions in the past where rotated text was rasterized in PDF and non-rotated text was not thought it seems it is no longer happening since v2015.

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