Hi,
I've read several comments about this problem on various forums but there doesn't seem to be a definitive answer. I am using Mac OS 10.8 and Inkscape 0.48. Inkscape works well for me as I often need to combine vector and raster art and export to pdf/eps etc.

Often I have a PDF generated from another program (often MS Office) which I wish to add to/tidy up and export to eps or other formats. The preview in Inkscape is correct but when opening some pdfs I get text replaced by gibberish characters ("!@$()ISONK><). This has just happened and changing the font in MS Office from Calibri to Arial fixes the import. Opening the PDF in Adobe Reader or Preview works fine, so it appears that it is just Inkscape that cannot import Calibri. Also, Inkscape can use this font to create/edit text, it is just the import which causes problems.

I'd like to use only Inkscape, and while I don't have to use that particular font it would be nice to know why this happens and whether I can change it.

Thanks in advance, T