Mastering Font Tracking & Spacing: Best Practices with ArcGIS Maps for Adobe
ArcGIS Maps for Adobe integrates Esri's ArcGIS mapping capabilities with Adobe Illustrator. It allows users to create maps in ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, or ArcGIS Enterprise and seamlessly open them in Adobe Illustrator, where they can utilize its advanced graphic design tools for editing. In rare instances, opening documents like PDFs or EPS files created in non-Illustrator programs may result in discrepancies between how the original software handles tracking and how Adobe Illustrator interprets it. Interestingly, this inconsistency can occur even within Adobe programs. For example, the tracking of certain fonts in a PDF created with Adobe Acrobat may appear differently when the same PDF is opened in Adobe Illustrator.
This rare font tracking issue is tied to specific font files. For instance, fonts from the same family, such as Proxima Nova, may come from different files—one file may work perfectly, while another could result in a tracking discrepancy. When an AIX file created in ArcGIS Pro includes one of these fonts, Adobe Illustrator’s labeling engine may interpret the font’s tracking inconsistently.
If you encounter this font tracking issue in AIX files that you open in Adobe Illustrator, here are two workflows for fixing your font tracking in Adobe Illustrator.
Workaround #1 to fix Adobe Illustrator font tracking interpretation
Export with "Embed Fonts" turned off.
Our recommended best practice when exporting an AIX file from ArcGIS Pro is to make sure the "embed fonts" option is enabled. However, for these rare problematic fonts, this setting can be what causes Adobe Illustrator to misinterpret font character spacing. Try exporting an AIX file with this setting checked off in the ArcGIS Pro export pane. If you still see the issue, use the solution below to retain your desired character spacing.
Workaround #2 to fix Adobe Illustrator font tracking interpretation
Use Adobe Illustrator's Character pane to readjust tracking
1. In Adobe Illustrator, if your font tracking looks off, select all labels in the layer. Do this layer-by-layer instead of attempting to do all labels in your entire map simultaneously. You can do that by clicking on the select area of the label’s layer:
2. With those labels selected, open the Character pane (Window -> Character). In the tracking settings, manually type "0" instead of selecting it from the dropdown, as the dropdown may not always apply the setting correctly. Manually entering "0" will ensure your labels have a tracking setting of zero. If you prefer a different tracking value, you can adjust it in the same pane. Once this is done, the dropdown will function properly for further changes:
A bonus best practices for working with fonts in AIX files
2. Consider adding your halos in Adobe Illustrator after opening the AIX file. The reason for this is that ArcGIS Pro's text halos are shapes of letters in an AIX. They aren't actual text. Waiting to add halos until after you’ve adjusted label positioning in Adobe Illustrator can save time and provide the advantage of working with editable text halos.
Results: Before & after the workaround
Before: The first image shows map labels using BellTopo Sans font. The map originated in ArcGIS Pro, and halos were added in ArcGIS Pro as well. Note the misalignment between the halos and the labels themselves. This is because — as shapes of letters rather than editable text — halos are placed correctly since shapes inherently do not have tracking (see above).
After: Once I performed the two simple steps described in the workaround above, the BellTopo Sans tracking has been resolved, and the labels align with the halos.
