Why is some or all text missing when I open a PDF file in XpdfViewer or print a PDF file with XpdfPrint?

Applies to: XpdfViewer, XpdfPrint, XpdfRasterizer

XpdfViewer, XpdfPrint, and XpdfRasterizer will use Windows system fonts for substitution (when PDF files reference non-embedded fonts). If text is missing, there may be a problem finding or accessing the system fonts. Make sure the user running XpdfViewer, etc. has permission to access c:\windows\fonts. If the system font directory is in a non-standard location (e.g., e:\windows\fonts), XpdfViewer should still be able to find it -- but will require read access to the registry. If you are still running into problems, contact us for assistance.

On Mac OS X, XpdfRasterizer 3.03.15 and later will use the system fonts, similarly to Windows. Earlier versions will need to explicitly set substitutes (see below).

On OS X (with older versions of XpdfRasterizer), Windows systems with unusual system font configurations, and Linux, it may be necessary to configure the base fonts for substitution. To do that, first create an xpdfrc file. Then add a 'fontFile' line for each font.

To use the Ghostscript fonts:

fontFile Times-Roman "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts/n021003l.pfb" fontFile Times-Italic "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts/n021023l.pfb" fontFile Times-Bold "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts/n021004l.pfb" fontFile Times-BoldItalic "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts/n021024l.pfb" fontFile Helvetica "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts/n019003l.pfb" fontFile Helvetica-Oblique "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts/n019023l.pfb" fontFile Helvetica-Bold "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts/n019004l.pfb" fontFile Helvetica-BoldOblique "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts/n019024l.pfb" fontFile Courier "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts/n022003l.pfb" fontFile Courier-Oblique "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts/n022023l.pfb" fontFile Courier-Bold "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts/n022004l.pfb" fontFile Courier-BoldOblique "/usr/share/ghostscript/fonts/n022024l.pfb"

To use the Windows system fonts:

fontFile Times-Roman "c:\windows\fonts\times.ttf" fontFile Times-Italic "c:\windows\fonts\timesi.ttf" fontFile Times-Bold "c:\windows\fonts\timesbd.ttf" fontFile Times-BoldItalic "c:\windows\fonts\timesbi.ttf" fontFile Helvetica "c:\windows\fonts\arial.ttf" fontFile Helvetica-Oblique "c:\windows\fonts\ariali.ttf" fontFile Helvetica-Bold "c:\windows\fonts\arialbd.ttf" fontFile Helvetica-BoldOblique "c:\windows\fonts\arialbi.ttf" fontFile Courier "c:\windows\fonts\cour.ttf" fontFile Courier-Oblique "c:\windows\fonts\couri.ttf" fontFile Courier-Bold "c:\windows\fonts\courbd.ttf" fontFile Courier-BoldOblique "c:\windows\fonts\courbi.ttf"

You will need to adjust the paths to match your system.