InDesign Problem

Software
1

Every time I open a file in InDesign, the whole program freezes after a single click. Even moving the smallest object causes it to lock up again. At this rate I won’t get anything done, and I have a couple of projects I really need to finish. I’ve already tried reinstalling it, leaving it open for a while, and a few other things, but nothing helps. Illustrator and Photoshop run perfectly - it’s only InDesign that keeps freezing.

Any ideas on how to fix it? The only thing I can think of is that I updated it right before opening an InDesign file - but Illustrator updated at the same time and it’s running smoothly.

2

Have you rebuilt the preferences and cache files? Sometimes they become corrupted, and a reinstall doesn’t necessarily fix it.

3

What version of InDesign and what operating system, exact versions please :slight_smile:

slight edit - when was the last time you rebooted the computer, sometimes a reboot clears temporary issues.

Any plugins? Any 3rd party software, like VPNs, firewalls, Anti-Virus running? Do you use WebRoot?
Any new fonts recently installed?

A quick way to check is to start your computer in Safe Mode, open only InDesign and if it’s behaving normally you know it’s an external factor - you can then reboot in normal mode and then try eliminate the external factor.

As @Just-B says, resetting preferences and clearing caches are good steps.

Close InDesign. Relaunch while holding Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Cmd+Ctrl+Option+Shift (Mac) and confirm deletion of preferences.

Instrusctions below and a nuclear option.

Manually delete the InDesign cache and recovery folders and restart InDesign

Windows
Delete the contents of:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Adobe\InDesign\Version 21.0\

Mac
Go to:
~/Library/Caches/Adobe InDesign/

and
~/Library/Preferences/Adobe InDesign/

Delete the relevant InDesign version folders.

Remove Recovery Data
If documents are crashing or opening strangely, also delete the contents of:

Windows
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Adobe\InDesign\Version 21.0\en_US\Caches\InDesign Recovery

Mac
~/Library/Caches/Adobe InDesign/Version 21.0/InDesign Recovery

Nuclear option
https://helpx.adobe.com/ie/creative-cloud/apps/troubleshoot/diagnostics-repair-tools/run-creative-cloud-cleaner-tool.html

2 Likes
4

This didn’t work.

This almost worked.

I actually just installed a couple of new fonts right before this started happening. I don’t use any third-party antivirus software like WebRoot, and I don’t have any VPNs or extra plugins running.

To answer your questions: I’m actually not sure what my exact operating system version is. I do know that my version of InDesign was 21.4, but I just installed version 21.3 to see what would happen… and drumroll… it still didn’t work! Same freezing issue as before.

5

Windows or Mac?

Windows:
Press Windows Key + R
Type winver
Press Enter
A window will appear showing your Windows version and build number

Mac:
Click the Apple menu in the top left
Choose “About This Mac”
It will show the macOS version number

windows
Close InDesign
Right-click the InDesign icon
Select “Run as administrator”

You can also check Windows Security:
Open Windows Security
Go to Virus & Threat Protection
Click Ransomware Protection
If “Controlled Folder Access” is enabled, make sure InDesign and Creative Cloud are allowed through it

Mac
macOS - Full Disk Access

Close InDesign
Open System Settings
Privacy & Security
Full Disk Access
Ensure Adobe InDesign and Adobe Creative Cloud are enabled

If they are already enabled, turn them off, reboot, then re-enable them

Restart the Mac and test again

Does InDesign itself open normally and only freeze when a document is opened, or does it become unresponsive immediately after launch?

If it’s not able to work with any document then there’s certainly more at play than just the document(s) themselves.

A few things to try:
Hold Shift while launching InDesign to temporarily disable third-party plugins.

I said this before but worth trying -
Start the computer in Safe Mode and test InDesign there. If it behaves normally then you know it’s something else.

6

I haven’t had to use everything in this thread but it has some options not discussed above.

7

I’ve never had to use anything, I have never even reset my preferences. Dunno why it’s problematic for some. But in all the years, I’ve never had to use anything like what I’ve found and tell people on common enough basis.

Weird.

8

The most I’ve ever had to do was trash preferences. Crap used to happen a lot more in Extension-loading days. Can’t say CC has been much of a problem beyond the usual “I’m not talking to that print device today.” Most problems usually stem from letting the OS get ahead of Adobe (or your drivers.) That’s just asking for crap to happen.

9

True - does seem to be trending around the updated the OS and now Adobe is not working. I’m on Sonoma and InDesign 2026 updated and seems to be working ok. But I’m on 2025 for now for production work, only recently moved up from 2023.

10

My Mac recently updated to 26.5.1 (I think it was over the weekend or maybe late last night), and I had to go to Adobe’s website to update InDesign this morning to get it to run. Everything has been stable since the ID update.

11

Auto-updates

My machines only update when I tell them to. After a full backup and a bit of crosschecking.

1 Like
12

Samez

13

Are your work files on an external drive? I had a similar problem with an external that was failing.

14

I’ve already manually updated InDesign through Creative Cloud, so that part is done. I also don’t use an external drive, so that suggestion doesn’t apply. The issue is still happening though, so I’m not sure what else could be causing it.

15

We require additional information to effectively assist you. Specifically, details regarding your operating system are crucial.

Without this information, and an understanding of the troubleshooting steps you have already undertaken, our ability to provide targeted support is limited.

Could you please confirm the requested details, including your operating system (e.g., macOS or Windows)?

Additionally, we recommend attempting to create a new user profile on your computer and performing a fresh installation within that environment.

16

I’m on Windows, but I don’t have the admin permissions needed to create a new user profile on this computer. I can try other troubleshooting steps if needed.

17

Who has the admin rights?
Seems like it could be something blocking it.

Hard to know.

18

I’m not really sure about the setup. This is just the way the system was configured when I started using it, and I haven’t changed anything on it.

19

Since we now know you’re on Windows, can you answer just these two questions:

  1. Does InDesign freeze in a brand-new blank document, or only when opening existing files?
  2. What exact InDesign version are you running (Help > About InDesign)?

If it also freezes in a brand-new blank document, try:

  • Edit > Preferences > GPU Performance and disable GPU Performance (if you can get that far before it freezes).
  • Or launch InDesign while holding Ctrl+Alt+Shift to reset preferences.

The fact that Photoshop and Illustrator are working, and that the problem started immediately after an update, makes me suspect either an InDesign-specific preference corruption or an update-related GPU/display issue rather than a Windows problem.

1 Like
20

I had the latest version of InDesign installed (21.4) when the freezing started, so I uninstalled it and went back to 21.3, but nothing changed. It freezes with every document - brand‑new or existing.

1. InDesign freezes even on a brand‑new blank document, so it’s not file‑related.

2. GPU Performance is already disabled, and resetting preferences with Ctrl+Alt+Shift doesn’t work - the reset dialog never appears.

3. I checked the preference folders manually, but InDesign isn’t creating anything under AppData → Roaming → Adobe or AppData → Local → Adobe. Both locations are completely empty.

Since Photoshop and Illustrator work normally, and InDesign isn’t generating any preference folders at all, it looks like InDesign doesn’t have permission to write to AppData after the update. So this may be a Windows permissions issue rather than a GPU or preference corruption problem.