However, the mapping is not standardized. The only guarantee is that each of /F1 , /F2 , etc., points to a full CID font dictionary in the PDF’s section.
If the error occurs frequently across multiple files, your printer driver is likely processing fonts incorrectly. Open your computer's or Control Panel . Go to Devices and Printers and right-click your printer. Select Printing Preferences or Device Settings .
: Ensure that any required CMap files are embedded or referenced in a way that downstream systems can access them.
The suffixes (and sometimes beyond) are arbitrary internal names assigned during the PDF generation process. In many cases, these numbers correspond to different weights or styles of the same font family used in the document: Impossible fonts to be found / Fontes impossíveis de achar cid font f1 f2 f3 f4
Note: The exact mapping depends entirely on the software that created the PDF. For instance, some users found F1 to be Arial and F2 to be Arial Bold. Troubleshooting and Fixes
Standard Western fonts rely on a simple 8-bit encoding structure allowing for up to 256 characters. This works perfectly for English or German but fails for ideographic writing systems like Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK).
Each issue requires different troubleshooting approaches. However, the mapping is not standardized
| Registry | Ordering | Writing System | Typical Supplement | |----------|----------|----------------|--------------------| | Adobe | Japan1 | Japanese | 6 (latest) | | Adobe | GB1 | Simplified Chinese | 5 (latest) | | Adobe | CNS1 | Traditional Chinese | 7 (latest) | | Adobe | Korea1 | Korean | 2 (latest) |
Use the Flattener Preview tool to convert text to outlines across the entire document before sending it to clients.
Note: These roles vary by generator; always inspect the PDF’s /Font and /Encoding dictionaries to see actual mappings. Open your computer's or Control Panel
: A separate character map (CMap) translates those numbers into the correct visual symbols on your screen. Why Do Names Like "F1, F2, F3, F4" Appear?
When a program creates a PDF, it assigns a shorthand label to every font used.
If you are a graphic designer, developer, or office administrator creating documents, you can prevent your clients or users from ever seeing this error by optimizing your export settings.
Last updated: October 2025 – Compatible with PDF 2.0 and ISO 32000-2.