Every run of text in a PDF names a font. The file can carry that font’s program, the outlines of its characters, or only its name. With the program inside, the font is embedded and the text draws the same way in any viewer, on any computer. With only the name, each viewer must find the font itself or substitute a similar one. Adobe’s definition: “Font embedding is the process of including font data within a PDF file so that the exact font used in the original document is available when the PDF is viewed or printed.”

An embedded font is either whole, with every character of the typeface, or an embedded subset with only the characters the document uses.

Where do you see whether a font is embedded?

  • Acrobat and Reader. Adobe gives the path: “Select Menu > Document Properties > Fonts (Windows) or File > Document Properties > Fonts (macOS).” Embedded fonts are labeled Embedded or Embedded Subset.
  • pdffonts. The free tool from Poppler (brew install poppler) prints yes or no in its emb column. The demo invoice made for PDF Textfix’s screenshots embeds all three of its fonts:
name                                 type              encoding         emb sub uni object ID
------------------------------------ ----------------- ---------------- --- --- --- ---------
AAAAAB+IBMPlexSans-SmBld             TrueType          MacRoman         yes yes no       9  0
AAAAAC+IBMPlexSans                   TrueType          MacRoman         yes yes no      10  0
AAAAAD+IBMPlexMono                   TrueType          MacRoman         yes yes no      11  0

A font that is only named says no. A form we filled and flattened in a test drew its field in Helvetica, named but not carried:

Helvetica                            Type 1            WinAnsi          no  no  no       7  0
  • Preflight reports from print shops, archives and paper checkers flag fonts that are not embedded.
  • PDF Textfix. The editor bar names the line’s font with “(embedded)”, “(embedded subset)” or “(not embedded)”, and the Issues pane (⌥⌘I) lists the fonts the file does not embed.

What does an embedded font mean for an edit?

It is the material new text is made from. PDF Textfix types your edit with the font inside the document wherever it has the characters, so the line keeps its look. A character a subset lacks comes from a fallback font, marked while you edit. A font that is not embedded is matched to the same font on your Mac or a standard font, and other viewers may draw it differently.

An embedded font also carries its licence settings. When an embedded font is marked Restricted or Preview & Print, PDF Textfix still edits its text with the characters the file already has for it, but never derives a new font from it; a missing character then comes from another font, or the edit is refused with the licence as the reason. Whether the font’s licence allows your edit is yours to check: font embedding permissions explains the settings, and the manual’s section on fonts shows how the app marks them.

What can you do when a font is not embedded?

Export the PDF again with font embedding turned on, or embed an installed, licensed font with a preflight tool. Font not embedded in PDF has the steps, and How to find which fonts a PDF uses covers the checks on a Mac. An embedded font is never something to download: it is already in the file.

Questions about embedded fonts

What is a non-embedded font?

A font the PDF names without carrying its program. Each viewer then draws the text with the same font if the computer has it installed, or with a substitute. Adobe describes the substitution: when a font cannot be embedded and someone who opens or prints the PDF does not have it, “Acrobat Distiller substitutes the original font”. pdffonts says no in its emb column for such a font.

Is a font embedded if the PDF displays correctly?

Not necessarily. If your computer has the font installed, a PDF that only names it looks right on your screen and may look different on someone else’s. Check the emb column of pdffonts, or Document Properties > Fonts, before you send a file that must look the same everywhere.

Can every font be embedded?

No. A font’s maker can forbid it, and Adobe’s page states the rule: “A font can be embedded only if it contains a setting by the font vendor that permits it to be embedded.” A PDF made with such a font can only name it, and readers who lack it see a substitute. The settings are explained under font embedding permissions.