A client has created a PDF using an embedded OpenType OTF font, generated from InDesign CS4 (PDF compatibility version 1.4). It displays OK in Reader 9.0 but not in earlier versions of Acrobat such as 7.0 Pro and 5.0; in these earlier versions of Acrobat the font displays as a series of checked rectangular boxes.
Has something changed in CS4 which affects OTF embedding/compatibility with older versions of Acrobat? The font is fine when embedded in PDFs generated from CS2 & CS3 and viewed in older Acrobat versions.
Detail from ISO 32K (standard):
A Type 1 font’s built-in encoding shall be defined by an Encoding array that is part of the font program, not to be confused with the Encoding entry in the PDF font dictionary.
The encoding array in the problematic font has only ONE ENTRY (the ‘A’, which is why it displays correctly).
Lori Kassuba is an AUC Expert and Community Manager for AcrobatUsers.com.