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Font characters are not rendered in PDF report files when exported or printed from BIRT

Troubleshooting


Problem

In IBM Maximo Manage within IBM Maximo Application Suite, custom fonts are not rendering correctly in BIRT reports when exported to PDF or printed by using the Export to Print functionality.
 
Note: This does not apply to barcode fonts.  If you are using barcodes in reports you do not need to modify the MaximoSystemLibrary.rtplibrary as described below. In fact, by adding your barcode font you may cause other issues. In Manage 9.0 and 9.2, if you use an IDAutomation barcode font in your reports the barcode should work with no further customization.  
 

Symptom

Even if the custom font file is placed in a directory readable by BIRT (for example, /usr/share/fonts/truetype), the exported or printed PDF does not display all or few characters in the required font.

Cause

Merely adding the custom font to the default BIRT fonts directory (for example, /usr/share/fonts/truetype) is not sufficient. For the font to be recognized and used in reports, it must also be referenced  in the report. In Maximo reports, the font is specified in MaximoSystemLibrary.rptlibrary file, specifically in the font-family property. 

Diagnosing The Problem

To confirm the issue:

  1. Verify font installation
    Ensure the custom font is correctly installed and accessible in the BIRT font directory, such as:
    /usr/share/fonts/truetype

  2. Check font-family reference
    Export the MaximoSystemLibrary.rptlibrary file. Open it and verify whether the font-family is defined (usually around line 15). If the custom font is not present, it must be added manually.

Resolving The Problem

Keep in mind that the following steps are for Maximo reports only. The resolution is applicable to Maximo Manage.

  • Export the MaximoSystemLibrary.rptlibrary File
    1. Go to Report Administration.
    2. Select Export library from the left-hand side menu.
    3. Export the MaximoSystemLibrary.rptlibrary file.
    4. Extract the file contents (if it is in a compressed format like ZIP).
  • Edit the font-family property
    1. Open the .rptlibrary file using a text editor.
    2. Locate the font-family property (typically around line 15).
    3. Modify it to include the desired custom font. For example:
<property name="fontFamily">"Verdana", "Noto Sans Arabic", "Arial", sans-serif</property>
  • Import the Updated Library File

    1.  Save the changes.
    2.  Import the updated .rptlibrary file back into Maximo Manage.
    3.  Run the report again and verify that the custom font renders correctly in the exported or printed PDF.

Document Location

Worldwide

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Product Synonym

Manage;Maximo;Maximo Application Suite - Manage

Document Information

Modified date:
31 March 2026

UID

ibm17239968

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