The fonts look wrong after conversion
You convert a .pub file, open the result, and the headline is in a typeface you didn't choose. The body text looks a little wider or narrower than it was. A line that used to fit now wraps onto a second line.
This is font substitution. It happens with every converter and every program, Publisher included. Here is why, and what you can do about it.
Why a different font shows up
A .pub file records the name of every font it uses. When Publisher opened the file on the computer it was made on, it found those fonts installed and used them.
Open the same file, or a converted copy, on another computer, and the program looks for the same names. If a font isn't installed there, the program has to draw the text with something else. Publisher did this too, quietly, without telling you. We wrote about that in when you don't have the font.
A replacement font changes more than the look. Every typeface has its own letter widths. Wider letters push words onto the next line, which pushes the next paragraph down, which can push the last lines out of the text box. That is why a font problem often looks like a layout problem. More on that in why lines break where they do.
Word and IDML files keep your original font names
When you convert to Word (.docx), IDML or ODG, the file carries the font names your Publisher document asked for. We don't swap them for something else.
So if the text in Word looks wrong, click into it and read the font box at the top of the screen. You will see the original name. Word, InDesign or LibreOffice is showing a stand-in because that font isn't installed on your computer.
That is good news. It means the fix is on your side and it is permanent. Install the font, reopen the file, and the program uses the real face. The text reflows with the right letter widths and lines break where the designer meant them to break.
PDF files use a stand-in with matching widths
A PDF is different. It is a finished page, and it has to look the same on every screen and every printer. So for a PDF we have to decide on a face at conversion time.
Our converter first identifies the faces the document asks for. When a face is available, that face is used. When it isn't, the converter uses a stand-in with matching letter widths, so lines break in the same places and the page keeps its shape. You may notice that the letters themselves look a little different. The layout should not move. We describe how recognition got better in when you do have the font.
If the exact typeface matters in the PDF, for a logo line or a wedding invitation, convert to Word or IDML instead. Install the font, open the file, check it, and then save it as PDF from Word or InDesign. That PDF uses the real font.
Which fonts travel well
Most Publisher files ask for the fonts that come with Windows and Microsoft Office. That is what the people who made them had on their computers. If you open the converted file on a Windows PC with Office, most of those names are already there.
The trouble usually comes from three places. Decorative fonts someone downloaded or bought years ago for one flyer. Fonts that came with an older version of Office or with another program and are not on newer computers. And Mac computers, which have a different set of fonts installed.
How to get the real font back
- Open the converted Word or IDML file and click into the text that looks wrong.
- Read the font name in the font box. That is the font your Publisher document asked for.
- Check whether that font is installed. On Windows, open Settings, then Personalization, then Fonts. On a Mac, open Font Book.
- If you own the font but it isn't installed, install it. If it came from a font vendor, download it again from your account there.
- Close the document and open it again. Word and InDesign now use the real face, and the text reflows.
- If you don't own the font and can't get it, pick a replacement yourself in Word or InDesign, and check each page for text that no longer fits its box.
Keep the original .pub file next to the converted files. If you find the font later, you can convert again.
Preview a file free to see how the type comes out.