Some characters from End User Defined Character (EUDC) fonts do not appear correctly in Windows XP and in Windows Server 2003

Some characters from End User Defined Character (EUDC) fonts may not appear correctly in Microsoft Windows XP and in Microsoft Windows Server 2003. Characters from various other fonts that have code points in the Private Use Area (PUA) may appear instead of the EUDC font characters that you expect.

Fujitsu Japan first reported this problem. Fujitsu noted that some characters that have PUA code point assignments in some of the Windows core Latin fonts were displayed instead of the EUDC font characters. Additionally, some characters that have PUA code point assignments in some of the Windows default East Asian fonts were displayed instead of the EUDC font characters.

Note This problem is not specific to a particular language, locale, or EUDC font. This problem might occur with any language or locale when you use characters that you have defined in an EUDC font.

This problem occurs because many Latin fonts and some East Asian fonts that are included with Microsoft Office programs and with Windows contain characters that are mapped to the PUA. An Office program accesses a sequence of these fonts when a character is not contained in the current font before that Office program accesses EUDC fonts. Additionally, Windows currently accesses fonts in the operating system font-link chains before Windows accesses EUDC fonts.

Therefore, if any one or more of the following conditions are true, the character from the current font, the character from the Office program's font, or the character from the font in the operating system font-link chain is accessed first and then displayed:

• The current font has a character that is mapped to the PUA at the same code point as a character in your EUDC font.
• A font that an Office program accesses has a character that is mapped to the PUA at the same code point as a character in your EUDC font.
• A font in the operating system font-link chain has a character that is mapped to the PUA at the same code point as a character in your EUDC font.

Install the hotfix that is mentioned in the "Hotfix information" section. This hotfix works with the following operating systems:

• Windows XP
• Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1)
• Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2)
• Windows Server 2003
• Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
• Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2)

Service pack information

To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows XP. For more information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Windows XP hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

Windows XP, Windows XP with SP1, x86-based versions

Windows XP with SP2, x86-based versions

Windows XP, Itanium-based versions

Windows Server 2003 hotfix information

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, contact Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.

Prerequisites

No prerequisites are required.

Restart requirement

You must restart your computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information

This hotfix does not replace any other hotfixes.

File information

The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2003 x86-based versions

Windows Server 2003 SP1, x86-based versions

Windows Server 2003, x64-based versions

Windows Server 2003, Itanium-based versions

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section. This problem was first corrected in Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2.