The message “All or part of the selection has no available system font. You cannot add or delete text using the currently selected font.” means the text you selected is set in a font your Mac does not have installed, usually one embedded in the PDF. Adobe’s help states the rule behind it: “To edit text using a specific font, you must have that font installed on your computer. If the font isn’t installed but is embedded in the PDF, you can only change the text’s color or size.” You have three ways out: install the font if you have a licence for it, let Acrobat switch the text to a font you do have, or use a tool that edits with the font already embedded in the file.
What does “no available system font” mean?
Adobe’s support article gives the short cause: “The PDF file was not created on the machine on which it is being displayed.” It adds the longer one: “If the fonts in a PDF file aren’t available on the computer, or they are different versions, it’s likely that you can’t edit text in the PDF.”
Nothing is wrong with the file. Many PDFs carry their fonts inside, so they look the same on any computer, but they often carry only a subset: the characters the document actually uses. A subset is enough to draw the page and not enough to type new words, since the letters you need may not be in it. Acrobat therefore edits with an installed copy of the font, and when there is none, it stops. The glossary entry on embedded subset fonts explains subsets in more depth.
Step 1: How do I find which font the text uses?
In Acrobat on a Mac, Adobe’s help gives the path to the document’s properties: “Select File > Document properties.” Choose the Fonts tab there; Adobe’s overview describes it as “Fonts: Lists fonts used in the document”. Look at the name of the font your text uses. A subset has a six-letter prefix and a plus sign, such as AAAAAD+IBMPlexMono. The PDF standard sets the format: “The tag shall consist of exactly six uppercase letters; the choice of letters is arbitrary, but different subsets in the same PDF file shall have different tags.” The part after the plus sign is the font’s own name, the one to look for.
There are other ways to read the fonts of a PDF on a Mac, without Acrobat; how to find which fonts a PDF uses on a Mac lists them.
Step 2: Can I install the font?
If you own a licence for it, yes, and the edited text then stays in its own font. Install the font with Font Book, open the document again and retry the edit. Adobe’s article warns that a different version of the font can still block it. Install the same family and style as the one in the file: Regular is not SemiBold. Do not download a font from an unknown site just to clear the message: such a font may not be licensed for embedding, and Acrobat embeds it in the file you send. Install only a font you have a licence for.
Step 3: Can I let Acrobat use a font I have?
Yes, if you accept that the text will look different. Adobe’s article, written for the TouchUp and Edit Document Text tools of older Acrobat versions, describes it: “In the Font pop-up menu, select a Font consistent with the current font you are using. (The fonts listed are the fonts that are available on your system.)” and “You can choose to embed the font into the document by checking the Embed checkbox.” Adobe’s current help for the Edit pane lists a font menu among its FORMAT TEXT options, “Font: Select a different font from the dropdown.”, and does not describe an Embed option there.
The trade-off is visible. A substitute font has different letter shapes and widths, so the edited text no longer matches the rest of the line, and a longer or shorter line can collide with its neighbors. For a heading in a common font the difference may be small; for a word in the middle of a paragraph it usually shows.
Step 4: Can I edit with the font that is already in the PDF?
Yes, with a tool that writes new text with the embedded font instead of an installed one. PDF Textfix, a Mac app, works that way:
- Open the PDF, select the line and press Return, or double-click it.
- Read the bar under the pages. It names the line’s font as the file stores it, for example “Font: IBMPlexSerif-SemiBold (embedded subset), 20 pt”. The font does not need to be installed.
- Type the change and press Return; then ⌘S.
A subset can still lack a letter you type. PDF Textfix then looks for it in another copy of the same font in the file, the same font installed on your Mac if there is one, and finally the closest standard font, and it marks that character in orange so you can judge it. In the demo cover letter, a synthetic document, correcting the writer’s name in the heading from Renee Okafor to Renée Okafor keeps every letter in the embedded font except the é, which the subset never held.
PDF Textfix does not change fonts or sizes, add text boxes or reflow paragraphs. It changes the text of an existing line, which is exactly the job the message blocks. A font whose licence restricts edits stays editable with the characters the file already has; a missing character then comes from another font when one fits.
Step 5: What if the font is not embedded at all?
Then the PDF only names the font, and every viewer draws that text with whatever it has installed under that name or with a substitute. Adobe’s pages describe the two cases separately. With an embedded font that is not installed, its help says “you can only change the text’s color or size”; when the fonts in a PDF are not available on the computer, its support article says “it’s likely that you can’t edit text in the PDF.” In PDF Textfix, text in the standard 14 PDF fonts and the core TrueType fonts stays editable when they are not embedded, and the Issues pane (⌥⌘I) lists every font the file does not embed, since other viewers may draw that text differently. Font not embedded in PDF covers what that means for the file you send.
Step 6: Which option should I choose?
| Option | What it costs | What the text looks like afterward |
|---|---|---|
| Install the licensed font | A font licence, if you do not own one | The same font as before |
| Substitute a font in Acrobat | Nothing beyond Acrobat | A different font on the edited text |
| Edit with the embedded subset | A tool that does it | The same font, with any missing character marked |
If you already use Acrobat for other work, PDF Textfix and Adobe Acrobat sets out what each one does.
Questions about the “no available system font” message
Is my PDF damaged?
No. The message is about fonts on your Mac, not about the file. The same PDF opens and prints normally.
Why can I change the color and size but not the text?
Color and size do not need new letters. Changing the words does, and Acrobat takes new letters only from an installed font.
Does PDF Textfix need the font installed?
No. It writes your text with the font embedded in the document. Only a character the embedded font lacks comes from elsewhere, and it is marked.
Will installing the font change the PDF?
No. Installing a font changes your Mac, not the file. The PDF changes only when you edit and save it.
