KB3152596 - FIX: Unicode characters are displayed as square blocks after you paste them from an SSRS report

Applies To
SQL Server 2016 Developer - duplicate (do not use) SQL Server 2016 Enterprise - duplicate (do not use) SQL Server 2016 Enterprise Core - duplicate (do not use)

Symptoms

Assume that you install Cumulative Update 2 for Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services (SSRS) Service Pack 2 (SP2). When you export a Reporting Services report that contains Unicode characters, such as an accented letter ó, to a PDF file, the Unicode characters are displayed correctly in the PDF file. However, when you copy those Unicode characters from the PDF file and then paste them into a text editor such as Notepad, the Unicode characters may be displayed as square blocks. For example, the square blocks may resemble ◻ or ◼.

Resolution

The issue was first fixed in the following cumulative updates of SQL Server:

Recommendation: Install the latest cumulative update for SQL Server

Each new cumulative update for SQL Server contains all the hotfixes and all the security fixes that were included with the previous cumulative update. We recommend that you download and install the latest cumulative updates for SQL Server:

      

Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.

References

Learn about the terminology that Microsoft uses to describe software updates.