# Bold and Italics with Unicode Fonts In PDF

Bold and italic text can stop rendering in PDF templates when Unicode fonts are enabled.

This usually happens when the template uses `Arial Unicode MS` for multibyte character support.

### Why it happens

When **Template contains international characters (Unicode fonts)** is enabled in template settings, the full document body uses `Arial Unicode MS`.

That font supports multibyte characters in Salesforce PDF output.

It does not reliably support bold or italic styling in that same output.

### Recommended workaround

Disable **Template contains international characters (Unicode fonts)** at the template level.

Then apply the multibyte font only to the content that needs it, such as:

* specific paragraphs
* individual merge fields
* short multilingual sections

This keeps the rest of the PDF on a standard supported font, where bold and italic styling can still render normally.

### Examples

Apply the font only where multibyte characters appear.

#### Apply the font to one merge field

Wrap the merge field in a `span` tag:

```html
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS';">{{!Contact.MailingStreet}}</span>
```

Use this pattern when only one field needs multibyte character support.

#### Apply the font to part of a sentence

Wrap only the multilingual section:

```html
Customer name: <span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS';">{{!Contact.Name}}</span>
```

This keeps the label text on the document's standard font.

#### Apply the font to a full paragraph

Wrap the full paragraph in a `span` tag:

```html
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS';">
    {{!Account.Description}}
</span>
```

If you need block-level spacing, use a paragraph tag instead:

```html
<p style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS';">
    {{!Account.Description}}
</p>
```

Use the paragraph approach when the full line or block needs the Unicode font.

### Important limitation

If text must use a multibyte font and also appear bold, PDF output cannot support both requirements together in this scenario.

Use one of these approaches:

* prioritize multilingual character support
* keep bold or italics only on text that does not require the multibyte font
* limit `Arial Unicode MS` to the smallest possible section

{% hint style="warning" %}
If a field or paragraph requires `Arial Unicode MS`, do not expect bold or italic formatting to render in the generated PDF.
{% endhint %}

### Best practice

Use Unicode support only when the full document needs it.

If only part of the document contains multibyte characters, apply the Unicode-capable font only to that content.

Test with real sample data before rollout, especially when the template mixes English text with multilingual fields.

### Related resources

* Review [How to Handle International Characters](/sdocs/template-architecture/template-settings/document-options-tab/how-to-handle-international-characters.md) for Unicode setup guidance.
* Review [Supported Fonts in PDF Format](/sdocs/template-architecture/document-formats/pdf-templates/supported-fonts-in-pdf-format.md) for Salesforce PDF font limits.
* Review [PDF Rendering Considerations](/sdocs/template-architecture/document-formats/pdf-templates/pdf-rendering-considerations.md) for broader PDF rendering behavior.


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