Skip to content

Adobe InDesign: Bugs

When filing a new bug, please provide:

  1. Version of Adobe InDesign, InCopy or InDesign Server
  2. Steps to reproduce the issues
  3. Expected result
  4. Actual result
  5. Test file, screenshot, video or GIF capturing the issue (optional)
If you are facing a crash in InDesign, please submit the crash report as well. How to Submit Crash Report
Join the InDesign Prerelease Program to try out the new features and the bug fixes that are available in beta builds.

  • Hot ideas
  • Top ideas
  • New ideas
  • My feedback

484 results found

  1. "View PDF after exporting" previously opened acrobat, now my computer switches between opening Illustrator, Mircosoft Word, rarely Acrobat

    I've set my computer to use Acrobat as default, yet perhaps you could add an Application of choice to use when view exported PDF.

    Not sure if it's just a bug, but any fix would be welcome. Thank you!

    9 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    6 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  2. form field tag export

    Current version - InDesign CC 2018

    Form field tags are not created when exporting an interactive .pdf with tags.

    To recreate:
    1. Create a form with form fields.
    2. Add everything to Articles pane in order from top to bottom per page.
    3. Export to interactive .pdf, make sure to elect to create tags and set tabbing order by structure.

    Expected result - when the file runs through the Accessibility checker in Acrobat Pro - it passes.

    Actual result - all form fields are missing tags and does not pass the accessibility checker.

    Everything worked great before I updated InDesign…

    9 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    5 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    Fix of the issue is now available in InDesign’s latest November’17 update.
    Please upgrade to the latest version InDesign CC 13.0.1 for the fix.
    If you are unable to see the update, go to Creative Cloud application and click on the context menu on the top right and click on Check for App Updates.
    Thanks,
    InDesign Team

  3. styles don't export to pdf tags

    All my paragraph styles are set to automatic for export options. When I export to pdf 99.9% comes over as 'span' in the reading order structure, not what it is supposed to be.

    There is the occasional H3 for some reason on some versions exported. Appears totally random. None on attached sample.

    9 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    2 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  4. PAC 2021 Error for InDesign generated PDF : Object reference not set to an instance of an object

    I am still getting Object reference not set to an instance of an object when testing pdf files in PAC 21. This error apparently relates to 'PDF Export using ZIP compression for images shows an “Insufficient data for an image” error on opening in Acrobat.

    This was supposed to be fixed in ID 18.5 but its now happening with every PDF I check for accessibility, even a single page with simple text.

    Working for local government and its imperative our PDF files exported from ID are fully accessible and tested. Seek an urgent fix.

    8 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    6 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  5. InDesign and Acrobat conflict

    I just installed InDesign 2020 15.0. When I try to export a file to PDF I get an error message saying that file is already open, which it is not. Closing Adobe Acrobat and reopening doesn't solve issue, only restarting InDesign does. Hugely inconvenient. I have not been prompted to upgrade Acrobat and I never had that problem with earlier InDesign versions.

    8 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    0 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  6. PDF Export in InDesign CC 2020 (15.0) is broken

    As soon as I try to export a PDF (either with File > Export or File > Adobe PDF Presets), the background task starts but hangs at 32% and never completes. When cancelling the task, it never cancels and I need to Force Quit InDesign to cancel it.

    Running Catalina with the latest version of InDesign (15.0)

    8 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    2 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    Need More Info  ·  amaarora responded

    Hi,
    Can you please share a sample INDD file at rdubey@adobe.com with which issue is reproducible?

    We tried with some custom InDesign files, but export works fine

    Thanks

  7. pdf export crops images

    Indesign import this PDF and export PDF, result: images are cropped !!!

    Same result Acrobat Pro optimising this PDF !!!

    Acrobat Pro or Indesign print this PDF ok !!!

    8 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    3 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  8. InDesign opens destination folder when exporting.

    My InDesign opens the destination folder when exporting PDF-files. In my work I export files daily and I have to export them separately. So when I do this, after the export has completed successfully, the destination folder opens up automatically, which is very annoying. I can't seem to find any place, where I can turn this off. I can only turn it ON, if I don't export separately.

    1. brand new update CC 2019
    2. Create a document with more than 2 pages. Export all the pages separately.
    3. That it exports the pages separately into the destination folder without having the need…
    8 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    4 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
    Under Review  ·  amaarora responded

    Hi,
    Thanks for reporting the issue. We will look into this

    -Aman

  9. endnote

    There appears to be a bug in the endnote linking when exported to PDF from InDesign. I'm running InDesign 13.0.1 x64 (Windows).

    When I export an InDesign document as a PDF, endnote linking (from the reference to the text and v.v.) is incorrect.

    Please see https://forums.adobe.com/message/10048963 for the full discussion. In short:

    Create a document with multiple sections (e.g. 1st section with 9 pages, 2nd section with 125 pages). Endnotes in second section will link nine pages too early (e.g., if you have an endnote on page 122, clicking on the endnote in the PDF will link to page 113.

    8 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    4 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  10. PDF/X-1a:2001 rendering is broken as of v18.4

    Exporting using the PDF/X-1a:2001 preset no longer works properly as of versions 18.4. When rendering plate separations for printing using AFGA Apogee prepress software (which has NOT been updated, nor has the OS), the PDF crashes the render and spits out an error. I've checked and confirm that PDFs worked as expected forever until v18.4 and 18.5, which both produce an error. Saving the PDFs as a postscript within Acrobat and distilling back into PDF/X-1a:2001 fixes the problem, so something is broken in InDesign.
    Apogee usually provides better error reports than the single "." in that screenshot, which suggests that…

    7 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    1 comment  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  11. InDesign 18.2 crashes/fails during PDF export for documents containing placed indd containing Adobe Fonts

    Problem/Actual Result
    I have Indesign files that have .indd files linked as images. Each time I export an Indesign file that has an .indd links, I receive the attached messages saying that the file cannot be exported.

    Steps to reproduce the issue:
    - I have exported each page to find out which assets are causing Indesign not to export, it is always an .indd asset.
    - I have tried removing any transparency from each of the .indd linkages
    - I have removed any transparency or object style on any bounding box an .indd file sits in.
    - I have tried…

    7 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    2 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  12. indesign export to pdf unusable for Thai

    Please urgently resolve the bug descrbed below by Johan. Our users are affected for a very long time now.

    43525704

    indesign export to pdf unusable for Thai

    Basically all the diacritics are messed up, regardless of font used. The PDF looks fine but the text if copied from the PdF is garbled.
    This is in 16.2.1 (2021). It was working in 2019.

    Johan shared this idea · May 28, 2021 · Flag idea as inappropriate…

    7 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    1 comment  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  13. Table borders, strokes, artifacted in InDesign problem

    InDesign ver. 16.1 (2021): Table borders and strokes created on a separate layer and artifacted in InDesign are not tagged as artifacts when converted to PDF.
    Close to a hundred "Path Object" errors flagged by the PAC 3 Accessibility Checker which we are required to use. The problem is none of these borders and strokes can be accessed in Acrobat with the Reading Order tool and therefore cannot be marqueed as artifacts. They are simply “not available” in Acrobat, yet PAC 3 flags them as “Path Object Not Tagged” errors.
    ~ Replacing tables with paragraph borders (on single layer) in…

    7 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    3 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  14. table summary

    please make a way to attribute a table summary for export to PDF when tagging for accessibility

    7 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    2 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  15. Endnotes with links incorrect when exporting to an accessible PDF file.

    When exporting an InDesign file to an accessible PDF file (tagged PDF), if any endnotes contain hyperlinks, the tagging structure is messed up. Starting with the first hyperlink (not the links for the endnote references), all of the endnotes from that point on are in the link tag for that first hyperlink. I encountered a very similar bug a few years ago when exporting to the EPUB format with documents that contained endnotes that finally got resolved a year or so after the bug was reported.

    7 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    0 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  16. Placed vector graphics show as low-resolution previews on export of book to pdf

    In InDesign 14.0.2 on macOS 10.14.6, when an InDesign indd file containing placed vector graphics (PDF or Illustrator files) is part of an InDesign book, and the entire book is exported to PDF, some graphics in the PDF show as low-resolution previews.

    Steps to reproduce the issue:
    Create two or more InDesign files with placed vector PDFs, and save and close them.
    Add these InDesign files to an InDesign Book file.
    Export the Book as a PDF.

    Expected result:
    Placed vector PDFs show as vector graphics in the exported PDF.

    Actual result:
    Some placed vector PDFs show as low-resolution previews…

    7 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    6 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  17. Background Tasks panel

    I'm not trying to post an idea or add something.
    I merely want the Background Tasks panel to actually be useful!

    When a file fails to export... no reason is given! Just that it failed. WTH? How can that in any way be deemed to be a "reason" or much less... useful in finding the issue and fixing it?

    A fail reason... bad font, corrupt file.

    7 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    1 comment  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  18. Data Merge - Can't preview without errors

    The apparently long-running Data Merge previewing error!
    Occasionally previewing a data merge will permanently ruin exports. The only solution is to create a new document. Happened to me on almost every project I tried - wasted hours and hours.
    See this thread and video for more information:
    https://forums.adobe.com/message/10337647#10337647

    (Also colons in csv titles makes file unusable??)

    7 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    4 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  19. Critical Bug with Font embedding on PDF Export - InDesign 17.2 and up

    OS: Windows 10
    Version: InDesign 17.2 and 17.2.1

    After the update to 17.2 and 17.2.1 the font embedding is not working properly anymore on PDF Export. It does not matter if we export to PDF/X-3 or smallest file size.

    The font in question here is Roboto Slab.
    After a downgrade to 17.1 everything worked properly. An upgrade to 17.2.1 again produced the same error.

    Expected result: propper font integration
    Actual result: Missing embedded font, text is torn apart, missing characters

    Please see attached images for export result and error message

    6 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    0 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  20. Buttons/interactivity not working

    Buttons and interactivity not working. I'm working on a MAC, latest MacOS, latest versions of all things Adobe. On export of my document to PDF, hover states no longer show for buttons, there's a huge lag on the response from buttons, and I'm also having a bizarre issue with clicks of buttons creating a box the shape of the button that is a preview of the page its supposed to jump to. All of this worked fine for me until a few weeks ago and all of a sudden, it no longer functions. Can anybody suggest ways to troubleshoot and…

    6 votes

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)

    We’ll send you updates on this idea

    0 comments  ·  PDF Export  ·  Admin →
    How important is this to you?

    We're glad you're here

    Please sign in to leave feedback

    Signed in as (Sign out)
  • Don't see your idea?

Feedback and Knowledge Base