ANS-0308 · PRINTING, PDF & EMAIL TEMPLATES
How to Resolve Character Display Issues in NetSuite PDF Templates for Multi-Language Support
Optimize Advanced PDF/HTML Templates and user language settings to correctly display Chinese, Japanese, and other international characters in NetSuite printed documents.
Short answer
To ensure correct display of Chinese and other international characters in NetSuite PDFs, adjust the font-family order within Advanced PDF/HTML Templates, prioritizing alphabet fonts before specific language fonts. Additionally, verify the main 'Language' setting in User Preferences controls the language for printed reports.
Scenario
Users may encounter issues where specific international characters, such as Simplified Chinese or Japanese, do not display correctly when printing documents from NetSuite. This often manifests as missing or garbled text in generated PDF files, particularly when using custom templates.
Solution
Advanced PDF/HTML Templates:
When utilizing Advanced PDF/HTML Templates, character display issues for languages like Chinese or Japanese can often be resolved by adjusting the font-family order. NetSuite natively supports a wide range of languages, including Chinese and Japanese, through Google Noto fonts and enhanced multi-language features. However, for specific display requirements, modify the font-family declaration to prioritize alphabet fonts before the specific language font.For example:Standard (may cause issues):
font-family: heiseimin, sans-serif ;Custom (corrected order):
font-family: sans-serif, heiseimin ;User Preferences for Standard PDFs:
For standard NetSuite PDFs, the language for printed reports is controlled by the main 'Language' field within User Preferences.
Navigate to Home > Set Preferences.
Select the General tab.
Locate the 'Language' field. This setting dictates the language for printed reports and forms.
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