Why is my font changing when I generate a document?

Question

I have a sheet that generates a document upon addition of a row. Occasionally the font in a field changes to a font that is different from what I set up in the editable PDF in Adobe.

Here's what I've done so far:

-used Adobe to "prepare a form" and set the font type and size for each field

-not used an unsupported font (it works in other fields)

-made the text a specific size instead of "auto"

-updated to allow Rich Text Formatting, which did not solve the problem.

Sometimes all fields return the data in the font I formatted it to be, and other times it just randomly changes the font (not when running out of space). It's not consistently the same field, and if it changes in Field A for one document, it might be the correct font in Field A for another document.

Everything I've found in a google search or Smartsheet Community forum has not been applicable to my situation or I have tried it already. Anyone have suggestions?

Melissa Yamada · Accepted Answer

This issue is almost always caused by fonts not being fully embedded in the PDF, not by Smartsheet. When Smartsheet generates a document, it relies on the PDF’s embedded fonts, and if a font isn’t embedded, Acrobat will substitute a default font inconsistently, which is why different fields change randomly. To resolve this, confirm in Acrobat that the font shows as Embedded (File → Properties → Fonts), use a standard font like Arial or Helvetica, and recreate the form fields after embedding the font. Also make sure Rich Text is turned off in the Smartsheet columns used in the document. If the issue persists after this, Smartsheet Support should review the PDF template directly.

Melissa Yamada · Accepted Answer

Embedded subsets can work, but they’re often the cause of this exact behavior with automated document generation. A subset only embeds the characters that existed at the time the PDF was saved, so when Smartsheet injects new text (especially different characters or lengths), Acrobat may not find what it needs and silently substitutes another font. For Smartsheet document generation, a fully embedded font (not subset) is the most reliable option. If possible, re-embed the font without sub setting or switch to a standard font like Arial or Helvetica, then recreate the form fields and re-save the PDF.