| If you see... | Install this... | | :--- | :--- | | F1, F2 (Sans-serif) | Noto Sans CJK / Source Han Sans | | F3, F4 (Serif) | Noto Serif CJK / Source Han Serif | | F5, F6, F7 (Mixed) | IPAmj Font or Noto Sans CJK (Full pack) |
A CID (Character Identifier) font is a format developed by Adobe to handle complex languages that feature thousands of characters, such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean (CJK). Instead of mapping characters to a standard 256-slot encoding table, it references a massive database of shapes using unique index numbers.
Best for: Users seeing F1-F4 errors in Japanese documents. IPAex and IPAmj fonts are high-quality, free Mincho and Gothic style fonts. They are fully CID-keyed. | If you see
This guide explains what CID fonts are, why these errors happen, and how to fix your document display issues safely without risking malware from sketchy download sites. Understanding CID Fonts: What Do F1 Through F7 Mean?
If you visit a website promising a "free high-quality download" of an F1-F7 CID font pack, exercise extreme caution. These sites are often misleading or malicious. Downloading these files is impossible and unnecessary for three reasons: 1. They Are Subset Fonts Instead of mapping characters to a standard 256-slot
To help you get this sorted out right away, what are you experiencing with these fonts? Are you seeing error messages while printing , or is the text displaying as garbled characters on your screen?
Look at the list. It will show the placeholder (e.g., F1 ) alongside its actual name (e.g., Helvetica-Bold or MS-Gothic ). They are fully CID-keyed
If you want, tell me which operating system and output tool (Word, LaTeX, InDesign, PDF generator) you’ll use and I’ll give step-by-step commands and exact font-file choices.
This is one of the most respected free collections of CID-keyed fonts. The Munhwa collection is provided by Adobe and contains multiple high-quality Korean fonts for use.
Behind the "F1" tag, there is a real font, such as Arial, Times New Roman, SimSun, or Adobe Song.