Using Windows fonts in PDF generation with AEM Forms on Linux
In Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms, organizations that design templates in AEM Forms Designer on Windows may need to use and embed Windows fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana, Symbol, and Tahoma in PDFs generated on Linux servers. AEM Forms supports custom fonts for PDF generation, but the font files must be present and properly configured on the server. Licensing for non-Adobe fonts must be obtained separately because Adobe does not provide or license these fonts for server-side use. To fix this issue, install the required font files on the Linux server, configure the custom font directory, and ensure that your organization has the appropriate font licenses.
Description description
Environment
Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms 6.5 LTS SP1 on OSGi (Linux)
Issue/Symptoms
- PDFs generated on AEM Forms Linux servers need to use and embed Windows fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana, Symbol, and Tahoma.
- No error messages are reported.
- You need to verify support for using and embedding Windows fonts and ensure compliance with font licensing requirements.
Cause
AEM Forms supports the use of custom fonts for PDF generation, but the font files must be present and configured on the server. The right to use and embed non-Adobe fonts is governed by the respective font owner’s license, not by the Adobe software license.
Resolution resolution
Follow the steps below to resolve the issue:
- Obtain the required font files (
.ttfor.otf) for the Windows fonts that you need to use, such as Arial, Times New Roman, Verdana, Symbol, and Tahoma. - Review the license agreements for the fonts and ensure that your organization is permitted to use them on a server and embed them in PDFs. Adobe does not provide or license these fonts for server side use.
- Transfer the font files from your Windows environment to the Linux server where AEM Forms is installed.
- Place the font files in the directory configured for custom fonts in your AEM Forms installation. This directory is typically referred to as the Customer Fonts directory or the configured custom fonts directory for your environment.
- Configure the AEM Forms Font Manager service to recognize the directory that contains the custom fonts.
- Restart the AEM Forms instance to ensure that the new fonts are recognized and available for PDF generation.
- Generate a PDF by using AEM Forms and verify that the required fonts are embedded as expected.