Non-breaking hyphens disappear from PDF

[Ponty]

Using Word 2008 (OS X 10.5.6), I received a Word .doc that I then
edited, creating some text that included non-breaking hyphens (Command +
Shift + hyphen).

Someone else, perhaps using Windows, created a PDF of the document. The
non-breaking hyphens were gone and the space they had occupied was
closed up. In other words, "all-inclusive" was now "allinclusive."

I tried creating a PDF myself from within Word and didn't have this
problem.

Anything I can tell the people on the other end to do differently next
time? Anything I should do differently?

Thank you,

Ponty

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Ponty:

That sounds a bit like the bug in Word 2008 that closed up spaces when the
document was sent to a PC.

Go to the Word>About Word menu item and check that you are at version
12.1.5. If not, run Help>Check for Updates in Word to bring it up-to-date.
That might fix it.

Otherwise, the issue is that one of you is using Unicode and the other is
not. Since you are using Word 2008, you definitely ARE using Unicode, so we
need to know a bit more about the "other" person and what they're using.

To avoid these problems, try to use the fonts Microsoft gives you: they are
specifically built to match the same-named fonts on the PC, so you won't get
these problems.

Sadly, anyone using Adobe Acrobat to create PDF is likely to have specified
"Use my fonts". If they then do not have a font containing the Unicode
characters you are sending, missing characters is the result.

You "could" suggest that THEY use the Microsoft fonts too, then at least you
will know that you are both on the same playing field. It may be a greater
challenge to persuade them to update to a copy of the font made "this
century" so that the playing field is actually "level"

Hope this helps

Using Word 2008 (OS X 10.5.6), I received a Word .doc that I then
edited, creating some text that included non-breaking hyphens (Command +
Shift + hyphen).

Someone else, perhaps using Windows, created a PDF of the document. The
non-breaking hyphens were gone and the space they had occupied was
closed up. In other words, "all-inclusive" was now "allinclusive."

I tried creating a PDF myself from within Word and didn't have this
problem.

Anything I can tell the people on the other end to do differently next
time? Anything I should do differently?

Thank you,

Ponty

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John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Sydney, Australia. mailto:[email protected]