"Garbled" text when opening PDF documents

Atomcrusher

New Member
Power User
Messages
196
Location
Western Cape, South Africa
I receive investment statements regularly from my Financial Advisor. They are sent to me in PDF format, and for years I have had no problem reading the documents using Foxit PDF reader

For a month or so now I have been unable to read the PDFs sent to me, as the text is "garbled" ... here is an extract of one such PDF document I opened using Foxit PDF reader
________________________________________________________

garbled PDF.JPG

_______________________________________________________

I have uninstalled Foxit Reader, and reinstalled it, but the issue remains. Any ideas what may be causing the problem? Thanks in advance for any input that may resolve this.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS X54C
    CPU
    Intel Pentium B940 2.00GHz Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology
    Motherboard
    OEM - ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Model K54C (CPU 1) Version 1.0 Chipset Vendor Intel Chipset Model
    Memory
    6.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    OEM - Intel Model HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    OEM
    Monitor(s) Displays
    OEM
    Hard Drives
    Manufacturer Hitachi
    Product Family Travelstar
    Series Prefix Standard
    Model Capacity For This Specific Drive 500GB
    PSU
    OEM
    Case
    OEM
    Cooling
    OEM
    Keyboard
    OEM
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    4 Mbps ADSL
    Browser
    Chrome 64bit
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Billion 400G Wi-fi router
I use SumatraPDF.
Free and easy to use.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    Intel i7 4th Gen
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia Geforce GTX 950m
    Monitor(s) Displays
    27in Asus display
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    240GB SSD, x2 2TB My Passport, x2 6TB My Book
    Browser
    Chrome
It is because of the way that Adobe has changed their software, along with what software they are using to print the forms to an electronic document.

The whole protection thing is getting a little overboard with pdf documents lately.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Linux Mint 17.2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba Satellite C850D-st3nx1
    CPU
    AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon (tm) HD Graphics 1.40 GHZ
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon™ HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1366 x 768
    Hard Drives
    Crucial M500 240GB SSD
    Mouse
    Logitech M525
    Internet Speed
    45/6 - ATT U-Verse
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    None needed. It is Linux.
    Other Info
    Arris NVG589 Gateway; Router - Cisco RV320; Switch - Netgear GS108 8-Port Switch & Trendnet TEG-S50g 5-Port Switch; Access Points - Engenius ECB350, Trendnet TEW-638APB; NAS - Lenovo ix2-4; Printer - Brother HL-2280DW; Air Print Server - Lantronix XPrintServer

    A/V UPS - Tripp-Lite Smart 1500LCD 1500 Va/900 W.
Have you tried the Modern app Reader to open the file?

Is it only PDFs from your Financial Advisor.
See if they can tell you about the way they create the PDF. Is it on a Mac, is it compressed?

This turned up in a Google search using Foxit Reader AND garbled text as the search criteria
(AND is capitalized to indicate that it is a Boolean operator, not the word 'and')

https://jurnsearch.wordpress.com/20...eader-to-always-launch-pdfs-in-magazine-mode/

I didn't see anything on the page re: garbled text. The page did make me think that Foxit might have a setting that might correct this. Putting all of the pieces together, look for a setting about compressed source. Try different seetings that present the document differently (magazine mode probably isn't it - there might be others though)

I use NitroPDF, but there are plenty out there.

Bill
.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 Pro | Win10TP Pro - boot to VHD
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion dv6-c610us
    CPU
    AMD VISION A6-3420M Quad-Core (2.4GHz/1.5GHz)
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    6GB DDR3 SDRAM (2 DIMM)
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon HD 6520G Discrete-Class Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP 2072a (20" LED)
    Screen Resolution
    1600 x 900
    Hard Drives
    Hitachi 640GB (5400 RPM)
    Seagate 2 TB external
    WD 500 GB external
    Keyboard
    Logitech K520 (wireless bundle)
    Mouse
    Logitech M310 (wireless bundle)
    Browser
    IE 11 (default) & Pale Moon
    Other Info
    HP product specs:

    http://support.hp.com/us-en/product/HP-Pavilion-dv6-6c00-Entertainment-Notebook-PC-series/5191856/model/5218495/document/c03138553/
Have you tried the Modern app Reader to open the file?

Is it only PDFs from your Financial Advisor.
See if they can tell you about the way they create the PDF. Is it on a Mac, is it compressed?

This turned up in a Google search using Foxit Reader AND garbled text as the search criteria
(AND is capitalized to indicate that it is a Boolean operator, not the word 'and')

https://jurnsearch.wordpress.com/20...eader-to-always-launch-pdfs-in-magazine-mode/

I didn't see anything on the page re: garbled text. The page did make me think that Foxit might have a setting that might correct this. Putting all of the pieces together, look for a setting about compressed source. Try different seetings that present the document differently (magazine mode probably isn't it - there might be others though)

I use NitroPDF, but there are plenty out there.

Bill
.

setting

Thanks for the suggestions. It is only PDFs I received from that on person, so I guess the problem is most likely to be her side. I do know she uses Adobe. I'll check my Foxit settings again, although I'm pretty much certain it's not my settings
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS X54C
    CPU
    Intel Pentium B940 2.00GHz Sandy Bridge 32nm Technology
    Motherboard
    OEM - ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Model K54C (CPU 1) Version 1.0 Chipset Vendor Intel Chipset Model
    Memory
    6.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 665MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    OEM - Intel Model HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    OEM
    Monitor(s) Displays
    OEM
    Hard Drives
    Manufacturer Hitachi
    Product Family Travelstar
    Series Prefix Standard
    Model Capacity For This Specific Drive 500GB
    PSU
    OEM
    Case
    OEM
    Cooling
    OEM
    Keyboard
    OEM
    Mouse
    Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    4 Mbps ADSL
    Browser
    Chrome 64bit
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Billion 400G Wi-fi router
Discovery Life probably have their own font's embedded and havent rolled it out to her - I agree the problem is most likely on their side.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    PC-DOS v1.0
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    IBM
    CPU
    Intel 8088, 4.77MHz
    Memory
    16K, 640K max
    Graphics Card(s)
    What's that?
    Sound Card
    Not quite
    Screen Resolution
    80 X 24 text
    Hard Drives
    dual 160KB 5.25-inch disk drives
Back
Top