Support: PDF Fonts to Outlines

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Common questions

How do I convert fonts to outlines in a PDF?

Open the PDF here. Every character is replaced by its shape, in the same place, and the fonts are removed from the file. You get a report of what was converted and a before and after view of the first page, then download the outlined copy. It takes a few seconds and nothing is uploaded.

Why do printers ask for fonts converted to outlines?

Because a font is the one part of a file that can behave differently on someone else's machine. If it is missing, damaged or handled differently, letters change shape, lines reflow or characters vanish, and the mistake is only seen after printing. Shapes carry no such risk. Sign makers, engravers and cutting machines often require outlines for the same reason.

Is converting to outlines the same as converting to curves?

Yes. Create outlines, convert to curves and convert text to paths are different programs' names for the same thing: replacing live text with the shapes of its letters.

Will my PDF look different afterwards?

In print, no. Each character is drawn with the very shape its font would have drawn, at the same size and in the same place, and the tool compares the first page before and after to confirm it. On screen, very small text can look slightly heavier, because programs sharpen real text in ways they do not sharpen shapes.

What happens to fonts that are not embedded?

They are converted too. A font that was never embedded has no letter shapes in the file, so a similar font stands in: a sans-serif for Arial or Helvetica, a serif for Times, a fixed-width design for Courier, in the right weight and slant, with each letter fitted to the space the page gives it. This is what any PDF program does to show such a file; the difference is that afterwards the words are shapes and cannot change again. The report lists every font this was done for.

Will a stand-in font look the same as my original font?

Close, not identical. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman and Courier have stand-ins cut to exactly the same widths, so the difference is hard to see. For other fonts the letters are a similar style rather than the same design. If the exact typeface matters, export the PDF again from the program that made it with fonts embedded, then convert that file.

Is any text left unconverted?

Rarely. Text is left as it is when it uses a symbol or non-Latin font that is not embedded, because nothing similar can stand in for it, when it uses a Type 3 font, which already carries its letters as drawings, or when it is set vertically. The report names any such font and says why.

Can I still edit or search the text?

No. Outlined text is shapes, so it cannot be selected, copied, searched or edited, and a screen reader cannot read it. That is why you should keep your original and send the outlined copy only to the printer.

Does the file get bigger?

A little, usually. The fonts are removed, which saves space, and the letter shapes are added. Each shape is stored once and reused wherever that letter appears, so a long document grows far less than it would if every letter were drawn separately.

Does it change my pictures, colours or layout?

No. Only the text is rewritten. Every other drawing instruction on the page is copied across exactly as it was, in the same order, so pictures, colours, vector artwork and anything layered over or under the text stay as they were.

Is my PDF uploaded?

No. The PDF is opened and rewritten by your browser on your own device. It is never sent to us or to anyone else, and closing the tab clears it.