TechNote (Archived)

Why are font names being renamed to Gen_[fontname] in EPS files exported from FreeHand?

Issue

When exporting EPS files from Macromedia FreeHand with the "Include fonts in EPS" option selected, the embedded fonts will be renamed. For example, the AvantGarde font will be renamed to Gen_AvantGarde. This will cause some applications to ask for these fonts when importing the FreeHand EPS file.

Reason

On Windows, when the Include fonts in EPS option is checked, FreeHand generates a font to be embedded in the EPS. FreeHand creates this font with a different reference name to keep these embedded fonts from conflicting with other fonts that might be resident on the printer with the same name.

Solution

This behavior is intended to avoid other problems (such as those you might encounter if the printer has a different font with the same name). In spite of this issue, you should still use PostScript fonts when generating EPS files.

If you know the target printer has the correct font, set FreeHand to not include fonts in EPS.
If you do not know whether the target printer has the correct font, or if the EPS file needs to be sent to another computer, then include fonts in the EPS.

Additional Information

If you use a TrueType font instead of a PostScript font, you may encounter other issues with an exported EPS.

If Include fonts in EPS option is checked, FreeHand uses the PostScript driver to create the font name.
If Include fonts in EPS is not checked, FreeHand adds a "document needed font" comment in the EPS header, and it is possible the driver will return a garbage name. While this works for printing directly to the printer, it can cause problems when generating the EPS.