Different fonts being used for JA source EN target, and missing glyphs

I have been forced to build a new PC and reinstall most of my software. I translate JA to EN-US, and have reinstalled Studio 2019 on the new machine.

Although I don't often use Studio these days, it seems to mostly work okay. However, I do have a problem with the fonts, in that the font for the source is clear and readable, but the font for the target is quite strange. It looks more like a Chinese font then a Japanese font, but there are boxes for some glyphs. Even more oddly, the boxes only appear if I edit the target, and not always then.

It is the kind of thing you would expect from a font that was designed for English or European text. I have made the usual changes to the options but without any obvious result. My apologies for the limited screenshots (the text is confidential).

Can anybody think what might be causing this?
TIA

Regards,
Dan

Basic language setup seems fine:

Toolbar showing character count as 104 with Japanese flag pointing to US flag.

Strange character (the first one) in font looking more like Chinese than Japanese, should look like 判 but doesn't:

Text in Japanese font with red underlines, showing clear and readable characters.

Box in font showing missing glyph:

Text with a box symbol replacing a character, followed by Japanese text with red underlines.

Options for JP:

Options menu showing font adaptation settings for Japanese language with MS PGothic font selected.

Options for EN-US

Options menu showing font adaptation settings for English (United States) language with MS PGothic font selected.



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[edited by: RWS Community AI at 6:52 AM (GMT 1) on 22 Jul 2025]
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Parents
  • Probability score: 0.6  

    Question improvement suggestion: Provide specific details about the font settings you have tried adjusting and any error messages you may have encountered.  

    In the meantime, based on the information you have provided, here is a suggested answer to your question:  

    Hello Dan,  

    It sounds like you're experiencing some font rendering issues in Trados Studio after reinstalling on your new PC. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the problem:  

    **Step 1:** **Install the Correct Fonts**  

    Make sure you have the appropriate Japanese fonts installed on your system. A commonly recommended font is Ming Liu. You can download it from a reliable source and install it. After installation, restart Trados Studio to see if the issue persists.  

    **Step 2:** **Check Font Settings in Trados Studio**  

    Go to the Options dialog in Trados Studio:  

    - Navigate to **Editor > Font Adaptation**.  

    - Under **Custom Language Fonts**, ensure that for Japanese, you have selected a specific Japanese font like MS Gothic instead of a default or European font.  

    **Step 3:** **Adjust Encoding Settings**  

    Sometimes, encoding issues can lead to missing glyphs. You can try the following:  

    - When opening your source file, specify the encoding. Click **File > Translate Single Document**, select the correct encoding, and then open the file.  

    - If you are working with multiple files, consider adding a byte order mark (BOM) to your source file using Notepad++ or a similar tool.  

    **Step 4:** **Check for Hidden Characters**  

    Ensure there are no hidden characters in your text that might be causing display issues. You can remove these characters and reprocess the file.  

    **Step 5:** **Review Formatting Tags**  

    In the Editor view, ensure that all formatting tags are correctly placed. Go to **View > Options** and enable **Toggle formatting tag display** and **Full Tag Text**. This will help you see if any tags are missing or misplaced.  

    If the problem continues after trying these steps, please provide more details about any specific error messages or settings you've adjusted. This will help in diagnosing the issue further.  

    I hope this answer addressed your question. If not, please reject the answer, add the question improvement suggestion information, and click the RWS Community AI checkbox on the right to try again.  

    RWS Community AI

    emoji
Reply
  • Probability score: 0.6  

    Question improvement suggestion: Provide specific details about the font settings you have tried adjusting and any error messages you may have encountered.  

    In the meantime, based on the information you have provided, here is a suggested answer to your question:  

    Hello Dan,  

    It sounds like you're experiencing some font rendering issues in Trados Studio after reinstalling on your new PC. Here are some steps you can take to troubleshoot and potentially resolve the problem:  

    **Step 1:** **Install the Correct Fonts**  

    Make sure you have the appropriate Japanese fonts installed on your system. A commonly recommended font is Ming Liu. You can download it from a reliable source and install it. After installation, restart Trados Studio to see if the issue persists.  

    **Step 2:** **Check Font Settings in Trados Studio**  

    Go to the Options dialog in Trados Studio:  

    - Navigate to **Editor > Font Adaptation**.  

    - Under **Custom Language Fonts**, ensure that for Japanese, you have selected a specific Japanese font like MS Gothic instead of a default or European font.  

    **Step 3:** **Adjust Encoding Settings**  

    Sometimes, encoding issues can lead to missing glyphs. You can try the following:  

    - When opening your source file, specify the encoding. Click **File > Translate Single Document**, select the correct encoding, and then open the file.  

    - If you are working with multiple files, consider adding a byte order mark (BOM) to your source file using Notepad++ or a similar tool.  

    **Step 4:** **Check for Hidden Characters**  

    Ensure there are no hidden characters in your text that might be causing display issues. You can remove these characters and reprocess the file.  

    **Step 5:** **Review Formatting Tags**  

    In the Editor view, ensure that all formatting tags are correctly placed. Go to **View > Options** and enable **Toggle formatting tag display** and **Full Tag Text**. This will help you see if any tags are missing or misplaced.  

    If the problem continues after trying these steps, please provide more details about any specific error messages or settings you've adjusted. This will help in diagnosing the issue further.  

    I hope this answer addressed your question. If not, please reject the answer, add the question improvement suggestion information, and click the RWS Community AI checkbox on the right to try again.  

    RWS Community AI

    emoji
Children
  • Just to clarify, I don't believe the above suggestions contain anything that I have not already tried. I have valid Japanese fonts. I have checked the font settings, and so on.

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  •  

    I'm not really well enough versed enough in fonts to answer this one but I had a go.  So I created a text file, UTF-8 with BOM and using the MS PGothic font.  Then I configured Trados Studio 2019 and also 2024, with the same font for Japanese.  I opened the files:

    2019:

    Screenshot showing Japanese text transliterated as 'Hantei o Kanou' in MS PGothic font with a light blue background.

    2024:

    Screenshot showing Japanese text transliterated as 'Hantei o Kanou' in a slightly different font style with a light blue background.

    So initially I don't get your results, but given I have a default install of W10 and Trados Studio with no additional fonts perhaps you can check the following things?

    1. Install / reinstall Japanese Supplemental Fonts
      Settings → Apps → Optional features → Add a feature → Japanese Supplemental Fonts → Install.
      Screenshot of Windows Optional Features menu with 'Japanese Supplemental Fonts' selected and a size of 50.7 MB displayed.

    2. Try restoring damaged font files on your system maybe?  Need to run a command prompt as admin then run this command:
      sfc /scannow

    3. As a temporary workaround try switching the Editor font to Meiryo (if you have it installed) or Yu Gothic (Options → Editor → Font Adaptation).  Both cover the full JIS X 0213 repertoire and apparently rarely fall back to Chinese fonts.

    Maybe something there will help or give you a better idea?

    Paul Filkin | RWS Group

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    [edited by: RWS Community AI at 1:56 PM (GMT 1) on 22 Jul 2025]