Convert text to outlines on open
If fonts are missing on open, give the option to expand/convert to outlines. I work in the sign industry, It is a huge hassle to contact customers to have them convert it and re-send it. They frequently don't know how/didn't make the artwork to begin with. I typically get around this using acrobat watermark trick, but it's very time consuming. We have over 6,000 fonts, and we still have missing fonts all the time.
Cameron
shared this idea
Happy to announce that we have introduced 'Preview Missing Fonts' functionality to improve your experience when working with files that contain unavailable fonts.
If you open a file with missing fonts, Illustrator will now render the text correctly on the artboard in Preview Mode, even if the fonts are not installed on your system. This ensures the files appear as intended without requiring immediate font installation.
How does it work?
1. When you open a file with missing fonts, the Missing Fonts Window will appear, listing fonts that are in Preview Only Mode.
2. Close the Missing Fonts Window to view the text rendered accurately on the artboard.
3. You can optionally select the text, go to Objects -> Expand… to convert the text to outlines.
4. The text in Preview Mode is not editable. If you attempt to edit the text in Preview Mode, a warning will appear, notifying you that continuing will replace the font with a system default font.
Important Note: This functionality will only work with files that are saved and opened in Illustrator Beta 29.3 20 and above, so make sure you are on the latest version of Illustrator Beta!
Support for files created with previous versions of Illustrator is under investigation.
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Bobby Henderson
commented
CorelDRAW does not have the ability to convert missing fonts in a CDR document to editable outlines. Recent versions of CorelDRAW have allowed users to embed fonts in CDR documents. But that is an option. And the font embedding feature may not always work. I think the feature is similar to how font data can be embedded in Adobe PDFs.
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Matt Schroeder
commented
Definitely agree. As a means of highlighting a competing product, CorelDraw does have this option. No Mac option for CDR, but if you're on a PC it might be a worthwhile investment.
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ryink
commented
Please add this crucial feature. Some points to remember:
-Open missing fonts as outlines using embedded display data.
-Keep layer structure intact. Do not flatten the whole file.
-Make it work with .ai files and PDF files. -
D
commented
I second that! Triple that, in fact. Desperately need this function now.
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Anonymous
commented
I would like this as well!
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Michael Walz commented
A very good and worthwhile idea for those of us in the sign industry. You have my vote.
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Anonymous
commented
how about selectable opening options. when opening a pdf, add checkboxes for flattening, outlining text and even unembedding images. Cant wait to see this
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Simon Lee
commented
I also would love to see this, until then have you tried linking the pdf in illustrator and then going to object - flatten transparency and tick Convert All Text to Outlines, can then save this as a preset from that point on.
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Jotham
commented
Totally agree with this considering you can force Acrobat to do it.
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CygnusRK727
commented
Sometimes if you don't have a font, a pdf opened in Illustrator will result in boxes with "x"s in them in place of all the fonts. I know how to go into Adobe Acrobat and fix this. But.... Would be nice if Illustrator had a dialogue box when opening a PDF that gave the option to outline all text open opening.