Arial Narrow unavailable, incomplete | Windows

Issue

When you open a file that contains the Arial Narrow font, you see a warning that the font is missing or cannot be found. The font is not listed in the Type menu of Adobe Creative Suite applications.

You might see one or more of the following error messages when you open a file:

  • Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader: "Cannot find or create font [Arial Narrow]. Some characters may not display or print correctly."
  • Adobe InDesign: "The document [filename] uses one or more fonts which are not currently available on your system."
  • Adobe Illustrator: "Font not found on the system; missing font has been substituted." "[filename] uses fonts or characters which are not available or are in a different format than originally specified."

Reason

In revising Arial Narrow, Microsoft added new name fields for the "preferred" family and style, and introduced the behavior wherein all four Arial Narrow fonts are labeled as having the same style (e.g. "Narrow" instead of "Narrow Bold Italic").

Solution

Solution 1: Install an updated version from Microsoft.

  1. Close any Creative Suite application.

  2. Go to https://docs.microsoft.com/typography/font-list/arial-narrow and follow the installation instructions.

  3. Search your system for adobefnt*.lst and delete any of these files; example, adobefnt02.lst.
  4. Restart the application.

Solution 2: Replace Arial Narrow version 2.35 with previous version font files (version 2.30 or earlier).

  1. Quit all Adobe applications.

  2. Locate the Arial Narrow font files in the C:\windows\fonts folder and confirm the version of the font files:
    • ARIALN.TTF
    • ARIALNB.TTF
    • ARIALNBI.TTF
    • ARIALNI.TTF
  3. Double-click the font file to open the font preview and display the version number.

Additional Information

The issue has been addressed by Microsoft.

 Adobe

Get help faster and easier

New user?

Adobe MAX 2024

Adobe MAX
The Creativity Conference

Oct 14–16 Miami Beach and online

Adobe MAX

The Creativity Conference

Oct 14–16 Miami Beach and online

Adobe MAX 2024

Adobe MAX
The Creativity Conference

Oct 14–16 Miami Beach and online

Adobe MAX

The Creativity Conference

Oct 14–16 Miami Beach and online