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When creating a PDF with an OutJob configuration, Altium Designer (tested on version 22 and 23) displays an error dialog box saying "cannot receive data from font":

Altium error popup: cannot receive data from font

It then aborts the PDF generation without further information. How can is be solved?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Please post an image of the Altium error message. As it stands "cannot receive font data" doesn't appear to be a valid error. Of course this may be my incompetence so, to avoid confusion, please post the image. \$\endgroup\$
    – Andy aka
    Jan 23 at 14:06
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    \$\begingroup\$ Hey, it’s Altium, it’s not cheap. Why not open a support ticket with them? That’s what you’re paying for, after all. \$\endgroup\$ Jan 24 at 13:09
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Kubahasn'tforgottenMonica Indeed it would make sense to do it. I mainly published this here as a Q&A question to give a solution to people who might have the same issue. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ale
    Jan 24 at 19:09

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This issue was caused by a text string on the PCB that was containing a character not defined in the concerned font, specifically the "Ω" symbol, displayed as a ☒:

Image showing the missing character

For some reason, instead of displaying the same symbol in the output PDF, Altium simply fails with that error message. Changing the font to one containing the symbol, or removing the symbol altogether, will solve the issue.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ If you're using Altium's built-in PDF printer, it will only use a predefined font. The solution is to use a PDF printer driver for the operating system. I've also found that using a font other than the default font will cause random spaces to be inserted to fill the text box width if using Altium's built-in PDF printer (I use a mono-spaced font with non-ambiguous 1, l, I, O, 0 in schematics). Versions I have seen this in are 18 and 20. \$\endgroup\$
    – qrk
    Jan 23 at 17:31

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