# Font rendering issue with PDF viewer **URL:** \ **Category:** Ignition\ **Tags:** vision\ **Created:** [November 6, 2020, 12:06pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399 "2020-11-06T12:06:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flavien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@flavien](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/flavien)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 12:06pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/1 "2020-11-06T12:06:11Z")
I store pdf BLOB in my DB. PDF is generatd in my report module with : ```auto bytes = system.report.executeReport(path="WeekReportV4", project="home", parameters=reportParameters, fileType="pdf") ``` Then I put it in a PDF Viewer with : ```auto event.source.parent.getComponent('PDF Viewer').loadPDFBytes(bytes, title) ``` The viewer show me this : ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/original/3X/8/3/8338771ef721cfaa79fcce74601534dcc662f4b1.png) Do you know this issue ? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2020, 3:36pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/2 "2020-11-06T15:36:03Z")
The boxes indicate a problem rendering a font - specifically, that the font being used does not have representations for the characters it’s attempting to display. What font are those components in the report set to use? ---
**Author:** ![flavien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@flavien](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/flavien)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2020, 9:09am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/3 "2020-11-09T09:09:05Z")
Hi, Ttile’s fonts are Segoe UI Semibold and Segoe UI Black. Footer’s font is Arial. Fonts in tables and charts are Dialog. ---
**Author:** ![flavien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@flavien](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/flavien)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2020, 9:44am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/4 "2020-11-09T09:44:56Z")
When I use Arial for all report. It works perfectly. For example Arial Black is not works. It reduces a lot the font’s choice. ---
**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2020, 4:32pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/5 "2020-11-09T16:32:31Z")
It’s a limitation of the way we generate reports - the backing library does not support font embedding inside generated PDFs, so it relies on the fonts already in the system. There’s no real workaround, other than installing all required fonts at all locations these report PDFs might be viewed. ---
**Author:** ![flavien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@flavien](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/flavien)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 8:16am UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/6 "2020-11-10T08:16:57Z")
OK. Is there an other way to generate PDF in python ? ---
**Author:** ![paul-griffith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/paul-griffith/32/37249_2.png) [@paul-griffith](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/paul-griffith)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2020, 3:57pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/7 "2020-11-10T15:57:29Z")
No, not really, unfortunately. You’d have to create a module that includes your own PDF generation code. ---
**Author:** ![Porter\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Porter\_Ellis](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Porter_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 6:39pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/8 "2026-02-25T18:39:18Z")
Does this require a gateway or client restart to implement? Tried installing the font on both the client and gateway server without success. In my case I am pulling a byte blob from the database and displaying it via PDF Viewer component. ---
**Author:** ![Porter\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Porter\_Ellis](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Porter_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 7:13pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/9 "2026-02-25T19:13:04Z")
Another key detail is that this happens to a specific server. When the same project is used on a different server, the PDF defaults to a different font instead of failing to render. Both servers are on Ignition 8.1.xx ---
**Author:** ![bkarabinchak.psi](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/bkarabinchak.psi/32/83567_2.png) [@bkarabinchak.psi](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/bkarabinchak.psi)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/10 "2026-02-25T19:41:50Z")
I too have run into PDF Viewer issues as well. Find a font that does render correct on all machines and manually make all the components use that font is the most straight foward way. If you are able to show it via report viewer instead (ie your situation allows for creating on the fly instad of fetching a blob from the db/file) it will look right. If you have the web dev module use the web browser to display a pdf file it will render correct. If you save it and open it in adobe or pdf viewer application via shelling out, it will also look right. ---
**Author:** ![Porter\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Porter\_Ellis](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Porter_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 5:34pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/11 "2026-03-05T17:34:25Z")
Unfortunately I must use the PDF Viewer to render my specific PDFs. Recreating the PDFs is also not an option, leaving me with trying to force the gateway/Ignition server to recognize my fonts. All imports and restarts have not worked so far. After diving into the PDFs themselves I notice that most fonts are noted as ‘embedded’. Seeing @paul-griffith post about embedding not being supported for report generation has me questioning. Does this same rule apply to full PDFs being loaded from a blob on the database? What about PDF files being loaded directly from disk? ---
**Author:** ![michael.flagler](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/michael.flagler/32/26272_2.png) [@michael.flagler](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/michael.flagler)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/12 "2026-03-05T17:53:25Z")
Check what fonts you're using in your report for the text that's not showing correctly. If I recall I had a problem when someone tried using like Arial as the font or something like that (don't remember the exact font, but do remember changing the font and it fixed it). ---
**Author:** ![pturmel](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/inductiveautomation/user_avatar/forum.inductiveautomation.com/pturmel/32/3295_2.png) [@pturmel](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/pturmel)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/13 "2026-03-05T18:13:15Z")
You should make a new topic. This old topic is about PDFs made with the reporting module, not about PDF Viewer problems. ---
**Author:** ![Porter\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Porter\_Ellis](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/u/Porter_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://forum.inductiveautomation.com/t/font-rendering-issue-with-pdf-viewer/40399/14 "2026-03-05T18:19:55Z")
Can do.