openjdk/jdk · warning · CannotDrawException

ERROR: Cannot print with the current font size. Use smaller

Error message

ERROR: Cannot print with the current font size. Use smaller font size.

What it means

CannotDrawException (CANT_FIT_PRINT variant) from the same grid-fitting check as [18], but on the printing path: the printable page area cannot fit a single glyph cell at the current font size, so printing the range is impossible. Selected by the isPrinting ? CANT_FIT_PRINT : CANT_FIT_DRAW ternary.

Source

Thrown at src/demo/share/jfc/Font2DTest/FontPanel.java:784

            maxDescent = fm.getMaxDescent();
            if (maxAscent == 0) maxAscent = 10;
            if (maxDescent == 0) maxDescent = 5;
            if ( textToUse == RANGE_TEXT || textToUse == ALL_GLYPHS ) {
                /// Give slight extra room for each character
                maxAscent += 3;
                maxDescent += 3;
                gridWidth = fm.getMaxAdvance() + 6;
                gridHeight = maxAscent + maxDescent;
                if ( force16Cols )
                  numCharAcross = 16;
                else
                  numCharAcross = ( w - 10 ) / gridWidth;
                numCharDown = ( h - 10 ) / gridHeight;

                canvasInset_X = ( w - numCharAcross * gridWidth ) / 2;
                canvasInset_Y = ( h - numCharDown * gridHeight ) / 2;
                if ( numCharDown == 0 || numCharAcross == 0 )
                  throw new CannotDrawException( isPrinting ? CANT_FIT_PRINT : CANT_FIT_DRAW );

                if ( !isPrinting )
                  resetScrollbar( verticalBar.getValue() * numCharAcross );
            }
            else {
                maxDescent += fm.getLeading();
                canvasInset_X = 5;
                canvasInset_Y = 5;
                /// gridWidth and numCharAcross will not be used in this mode...
                gridHeight = maxAscent + maxDescent;
                numCharDown = ( h - canvasInset_Y * 2 ) / gridHeight;

                if ( numCharDown == 0 )
                  throw new CannotDrawException( isPrinting ? CANT_FIT_PRINT : CANT_FIT_DRAW );
                /// If this is text loaded from file, prepares the LineBreak'ed
                /// text layout at this point
                if ( textToUse == FILE_TEXT ) {
                    if ( !isPrinting )

View on GitHub (pinned to 88dfb74bbe)

Solutions

1. Reduce the font size before printing.
2. In the print/page setup dialog, choose larger paper or the orientation that maximizes usable area.
3. Print in a mode other than the full grid (e.g. the one-glyph view) if the range must stay large.

// before printing: check the page fits at least one glyph cell
PrinterJob job = PrinterJob.getPrinterJob();
PageFormat pf = job.defaultPage();
int usableW = (int) pf.getImageableWidth();
int usableH = (int) pf.getImageableHeight();
int cellW = fm.getMaxAdvance() + 6, cellH = fm.getMaxAscent() + fm.getMaxDescent() + 3;
if (usableW < cellW || usableH < cellH)
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(frame, "Font size too large for the page; reduce it before printing.");

try {
    fontPanel.print();
} catch (CannotDrawException e) {
    // printing path: abort the print job cleanly with a user-facing message
    job.cancel();
    JOptionPane.showMessageDialog(frame, e.getMessage());
} catch (PrinterException e) {
    logger.error("print failed", e);
}

When it happens

Trigger: Printing from Font2DTest while the font size is too large for the page dimensions, or the printer/page setup (small paper, landscape/portrait mismatch) yields a page too narrow for one column or too short for one row.

Common situations: Printing a test range at 72pt+ font sizes; page setup changed to a small paper size; printer margins consuming nearly the whole page.

Related errors

• ERROR: Cannot fit text with the current font size. Resize th
• ERROR: drawBytes cannot handle characters beyond 0x00FF. Sel
• Directory 'New folder' exists
• Cannot create directory

AI-assisted analysis of openjdk/jdk@88dfb74bbe (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/3e04d75bf5c385c8. Report an issue: GitHub.