Writer: Export to PDF Not Working

[BobbyB]

Hello.

When I export a Write document, extension .odt, to PDF, I get the gibberish in the attached picture.
I am using Liberation Serif font.
LibreOffice Version: 7.4.7.2
Windows 8.1
I tried viewing the pdf in both Adobe and Sumatra and I get the same problem.

Update: I have added a sample .odt file and pdf output
Untitled 1.odt (32.3 KB)
Untitled 1.pdf (3.1 KB)

Update 2:
I have tried all three of EarnestAI’s suggestions

1. Tried twice, did not resolve problem
2. Did not resolve problem
3. Safe mode did not resolve problem, both manual and via Help Wizard.
   When I renamed the user file to user-old, then re-stared LibreOffice, no new user folder was created, which according to the page EarnestAI linked, is what should have happened.
   Also the command line prompt:
   soffice.com -env:UserInstallation=file:///c:/my-test-profile
   returned the error: ‘soffice.com’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

[Zizi64]

Please upload sample files here (ODF and PDF types).

[EarnestAl]

The document exports to pdf correctly on my computer with a size of 22 KB. The small size or your sample pdf, 3.1 KB, makes it look like the export was incomplete for some reason.
I would be inclined to try in order

1. Go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Programs and Features, right click LibreOffice 7.4.7.2 and select Repair and see if problem is solved.
2. Test with another font in case it is a font issue. Try Times New Roman, Arial, or Segoe as they are more likely to be up to date in your OS.
3. Test export to pdf using a temporary profile in LibreOffice and see if it exports correctly, LibreOffice user profile - The Document Foundation Wiki

[LeroyG]

This happens in whatever document? New or old?
Can you try Print to PDF?
If do you export a Calc document, what is the result?

Comparing your PDF file code with the result of mine export:

[ajlittoz]

Same conclusions as @EarnestAl but looking closer into the PDF with binary and text editor, your PDF is contains only one stream while the one I generate from your .odt contains 5 streams. These streams seem to correspond to paragraphs. Your PDF is then incomplete.

There are also error messages in your PDF.
After the first stream (your title), the PDF generator could not embed a font subset for Liberation Serif with weights 5 and 8. The generator apparently aborted its job and emitted the postamble.

My wild guess is you had a problem either with the PDF generator (was it the LO built-in one? a print-to-PDF driver? other?) or with the fonts which could not be found or were in a no longer supported format (I don’t remember when Win 8 was released).

[BobbyB]

Reply to LeroyG
-Yes, new and old documents don’t work.
-I don’t have a printer to try
-Doesn’t work in Math or Draw either

[BobbyB]

Reply to ajlittoz
-I tried other fonts that EarnestAI suggested
-It could be something related to the pdf generator because I tried to resolve the problem by updating Adobe, but I get a system incompatibility error which I don’t know how to resolve. It must be something related to pdfs I suppose.

[EarnestAl]

If Repair didn’t help and a new user profile didn’t help then it is an error in Windows.

I would guess the font entries in Windows registry are corrupted. Do you see funny symbols under icons on your desktop or in Windows Explorer?

@BobbyB

I get a system incompatibility error

Or something more fundamentally wrong in the operating system. I can’t help with that, sorry.

[Wanderer]

@BobbyB

updating Adobe, but I get a system incompatibility error which I don’t know how to resolve

According to their website, you need a certain update to operate the 32bit version with win8.1 but as Sumatra shows the same, this will not help.
.
(Generating the pdf will be done by LibreOffice, if you use File->Export. Changing the Viewer can’t help with your problem.)

System requirements | Adobe Acrobat Reader

[BobbyB]

Reply to Wanderer.
I tried the update but it says I have that already.

[BobbyB]

Reply to EarnestAI
“Do you see funny symbols under icons on your desktop or in Windows Explorer”
No.

“I would guess the font entries in Windows registry are corrupted.”
I tried to repair them using the scannow prompt:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/repair-the-registry-of-windows-81/67314996-f763-4d57-9428-75d158544f56
But the problem is still not resolved.

I guess whatever it is is unfixable.