# Why is some text not showing up in my PDF? — DocFind Last reviewed: October 21, 2026. HTML version: https://docfindapp.com/answers/text-missing-from-a-pdf **Most often it is a font. If the person who made the PDF did not embed a font in it, your viewer has to borrow a substitute, and Adobe says that for some languages and encodings no substitute works: "the text appears as bullets in the file." The other usual causes are content the PDF itself keeps out of sight, such as a layer that is switched off, or notes and marks that some apps do not draw.** The quickest first test is to open the same file in a second app. If the missing words appear there, the file is fine and the first viewer is the problem; if they are missing everywhere, read on. ## A font that was not embedded

A PDF can carry its fonts inside it or rely on the reader having them. Adobe's overview explains why the first is safer: "When you embed fonts, you prevent font substitution, ensuring readers see the text in its original font." Embedding is not always allowed, because "A font can be embedded only if it contains a setting by the font vendor that permits it to be embedded" ([*Embedding fonts in PDFs overview*, Acrobat Desktop Help](https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/create-documents/explore-advanced-conversion-settings/font-handling-distiller.html), read 21 October 2026).

When the font is missing, Acrobat swaps in a stand-in, and the same page lists what that costs. "The substitution cannot always match the shape of the original characters, especially with unconventional typefaces like scripts." For Asian text it looks for an installed language kit or a similar font, and then comes the case that matches this question: "Fonts from some languages or with unknown encodings cannot be substituted. In such cases, the text appears as bullets in the file." Words that turn into dots, boxes or gaps, while the rest of the page looks normal, fit that description.

To check, open the file in Acrobat and look at its font list: Adobe's path is Menu > Document Properties > Fonts on Windows, or File > Document Properties > Fonts on a Mac ([*Find font names in PDFs*, Acrobat Desktop Help](https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/create-documents/explore-advanced-conversion-settings/find-ps-fonts.html), read 21 October 2026). For text in a language your computer lacks, Adobe offers downloadable packs for Reader: "Font and spelling packs allow you to view and interact with documents in languages that are not installed on your system and help you edit, comment, or fill out forms when fonts aren’t embedded in the document" ([*Download font and spelling packs*, Acrobat Desktop Help](https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/get-started/access-the-app/font-spelling-pack.html), read 21 October 2026). Our advice when the PDF came from someone else: ask them to export it again with fonts embedded. It fixes the file for every reader at once, phones included, which no setting on your side can do.

## A layer that is switched off

Drawings and design files often reach you with content stacked in layers. Adobe describes them as "optional content groups in a PDF that store elements such as artwork, text, and annotations at separate levels", says they are common in files from InDesign, AutoCAD and Visio, and notes that "Layers can have default visibility settings" ([*PDF layers overview*, Acrobat Desktop Help](https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/edit-documents/pdf-layers/pdf-layers.html), read 21 October 2026). So the author can ship a file where a layer of labels or notes starts out hidden.

In Acrobat, open the Layers panel from the right-hand side ("If Layers isn’t visible, select Menu > View > Show/Hide > Side panels > Layers"), then select the eye icon next to a layer to show or hide it. Adobe adds that "A lock means the layer is informational and cannot be hidden", and the Options menu has Reset To Initial Visibility to put things back ([*Manage PDF layers*, Acrobat Desktop Help](https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/desktop/edit-documents/pdf-layers/manage-layers.html), read 21 October 2026). Both Adobe pages describe Acrobat only; neither says how phone viewers or browsers treat a layer that starts out hidden, so if a drawing looks incomplete on a phone, check it in Acrobat on a computer.

## Notes and marks your app does not draw

Typed comments, highlights and drawn marks are usually annotations sitting on top of the page rather than part of it, and whether you see them depends on the app. Files by Google, for example, has "Show annotations" and "Hide annotations" controls in its PDF editor ([*Open, manage & edit PDFs in Files by Google*, Files by Google Help](https://support.google.com/files/answer/15949407?hl=en), read 21 October 2026). On a Mac, Apple's Preview saves marks as editable unless you flatten them: "To save a PDF and flatten annotations (so that they can’t be edited), choose File > Print, then select Save as PDF" ([*Annotate a PDF in Preview on Mac*, Preview User Guide](https://support.apple.com/guide/preview/prvw11580/mac), read 21 October 2026). A flattened mark becomes part of the page, so any viewer shows it. Which app shows which kind is set out on [our page about PDF annotations](https://docfindapp.com/answers/pdf-annotations).

## The opposite problem: you can see it, search cannot

Sometimes the words are on screen but a search or a copy behaves as if they were not. That is a different fault with a different fix: the page is usually a scanned picture with no stored text. [Testing for a text layer](https://docfindapp.com/answers/does-my-pdf-have-a-text-layer) settles it with one tap or drag, and [making a scanned PDF searchable](https://docfindapp.com/answers/make-a-scanned-pdf-searchable) covers what to do next. If the file will not show anything at all, not even a page, that is covered on [why a PDF will not preview](https://docfindapp.com/answers/pdf-will-not-preview).

Related: [PDF annotations](https://docfindapp.com/answers/pdf-annotations) · [Why won't my PDF preview?](https://docfindapp.com/answers/pdf-will-not-preview) · [Why can't I copy text from a PDF?](https://docfindapp.com/answers/why-cant-i-copy-text-from-a-pdf) · [Does my PDF have real text in it?](https://docfindapp.com/answers/does-my-pdf-have-a-text-layer)