PDF and Word to InDesign 2022, and the bug of its own to watch for
Our files open in InDesign 2022 like the others, with one exception that is the version's own: four Noto fonts it will not use.
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Versions we open the files in
The same 233 files, 1,115 pages in all, opened by script in real InDesign: documents in more than 80 languages, two long documents translated into 24 languages, and our sample scans. In each we look for errors, missing fonts, missing glyphs and text hidden in overset, and what a run turns up is what we work on next. In this set all 233 came out with the same number of pages on each version. Your own file can differ, so check it in the Preflight panel before hand-off.
| Version | Build | System | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| InDesign 2021 | 16.3 | Windows | Right-to-left and Indian text can stand elsewhere than on the newer versions. |
| InDesign 2022 | 17.2 | Windows | Sets four Noto faces in Myriad Pro: 15 files in Armenian, Georgian, Ethiopic script or Canadian syllabics. |
| InDesign 2024 | 19.5 | Windows | Reports Cambria Bold and Italic as unavailable in any document, and prints them. |
| InDesign 2025 | 20.3 | Windows | Reports Cambria Bold and Italic as unavailable in any document, and prints them. May close while setting some Chakma lines, a bug in InDesign itself. |
| InDesign 2026 | 21.6 | Windows | May close while setting some Chakma lines, a bug in InDesign itself. |
| InDesign 2026 | 21.6 | Mac | May close while setting some Chakma lines, a bug in InDesign itself. |
The bug: Noto fonts set in Myriad Pro
InDesign 2022 sets text in Noto Sans Armenian, Noto Sans Georgian, Noto Sans Ethiopic and Noto Sans Canadian Aboriginal in Myriad Pro. We tried them in the Document Fonts folder and, for Ethiopic, installed in Windows. The result is the same.
We ruled out the obvious causes. It is not the font's name: a Gurmukhi file renamed to one of these still loads, and an Ethiopic file does not. It is not the font file either, since InDesign 2026 sets the same fonts correctly. It is this version's own behaviour with these faces.
How many files it hit
In our last run, build 17.2 on Windows, this bug hit 15 of the 233 files, all in these four scripts.
| Script | Languages in those files | Font it will not use |
|---|---|---|
| Armenian | Armenian | Noto Sans Armenian |
| Georgian | Georgian | Noto Sans Georgian |
| Ethiopic | Amharic, Tigrinya | Noto Sans Ethiopic |
| Canadian syllabics | Inuktitut, Oji-Cree | Noto Sans Canadian Aboriginal |
It is not a few letters: one Armenian charter had more than 14,000 characters set in Myriad Pro. Every other script in that run was set in its own font.
What it looks like
- The file opens with no error, and these fonts may not appear as missing in the way you would expect.
- The text shows Myriad Pro's Latin shapes or boxes rather than the script.
- Type > Find Font is where to look, because it lists what the document really uses.
Line breaks on 2022
Apart from that bug, 2022 keeps every East Asian line where InDesign 2026 sets it, and all but 0.04% of Latin, Cyrillic and Greek lines. Thai, Lao, Myanmar and Khmer differ in 0.8% of lines. Right-to-left and Indian scripts differ more, in about 12% and 6% of lines, so read those pages again if a file moves between 2022 and a newer version.
What to do
- If your document has Armenian, Georgian, Ethiopic or Canadian syllabic text, open it in another version.
- If you must stay on 2022, replace the font by hand with another that has those letters and that this version accepts. Lines will then break differently from the layout we measured, so check each page.
- Our font list after the download warns you when a document uses one of these faces, so you hear about it before you open the file.
Questions
How do I know this happened to my file?
The text shows in Myriad Pro's shapes or as boxes instead of the script's own. Type > Find Font lists what the document really uses.
Does this affect other scripts on 2022?
Not in our run: the 15 extra files are all in these four. Chakma, which we test apart from the 233 files, does not close 2022 as it can the newest versions, but part of the text can stay overset, so check Chakma pages in the Preflight panel and by eye.
Is it fixed in later versions?
InDesign 2026 sets these fonts correctly in our runs.
Try it on a file you would otherwise rebuild
Upload the PDF, the Word file or the scan. Download the copy for InDesign, and the translation too if you ordered one, and open them in your version.
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