I am experiencing two recurring problems while using Adobe InDesign on my iMac. The most disruptive is that modal dialog boxes are appearing behind the main InDesign window instead of in front of it.

Problem 1 – Dialog boxes appearing behind the InDesign workspace

When InDesign opens a dialog box, the dialog sometimes appears behind the main InDesign document/workspace window.

Because the dialog is modal, InDesign will not allow me to continue working normally until I respond to it. However, I cannot see the dialog because it is hidden behind the main InDesign window.

Initially this made it appear as though InDesign had frozen. If I try to quit InDesign, I receive a message telling me that there is an active dialog box, but there is no visible dialog box for me to respond to.

I have now discovered a way to reproduce/reveal the problem: if I switch to another macOS Desktop/Space and then return to the Desktop/Space where InDesign is running, the hidden dialog box suddenly appears correctly in front of the InDesign workspace. I can then respond to the dialog and continue working.

This is happening frequently and is significantly disrupting my workflow.

Expected behaviour

When InDesign opens a modal dialog box, the dialog should always appear in front of the InDesign workspace so that I can see it and respond to it.

Actual behaviour

The modal dialog sometimes appears behind the main InDesign window. InDesign then becomes effectively unusable because it is waiting for a response to a dialog that I cannot see.

Switching to another macOS Desktop/Space and then returning to InDesign causes the dialog to display correctly in front of the workspace.

I have found older Adobe UserVoice reports describing similar behaviour. I am submitting this report because the problem is still occurring on current Apple hardware and my current InDesign/macOS installation, so it does not appear to have been fully resolved.

Problem 2 – Excessive resource usage and computer becoming very hot

I am also experiencing unusually high system resource usage while working in InDesign.

My iMac becomes noticeably hot and appears to be working extremely hard while I am using InDesign. At times this has become significant enough that I have stopped working, closed all of my applications and restarted the computer. On some occasions I have shut the computer down completely because of how hot it has become.

This is occurring during my normal InDesign work and is becoming frequent enough that it is affecting my ability to work reliably.

I do not know whether the excessive resource usage is related to the hidden modal-dialog problem, but I wanted to report both behaviours because they are occurring on the same system while using InDesign.

System information

Computer: Apple iMac, 24-inch (2024)
Processor: Apple M4
Memory: 16 GB
Operating system: macOS Sequoia 15.6.1
Adobe InDesign version: 2026

Additional information

This is not a conventional InDesign crash. InDesign remains open.

The main problem is that a modal dialog can become hidden behind the InDesign workspace. Because InDesign is waiting for a response to that hidden dialog, the program can appear frozen or unresponsive and cannot be quit normally.

Switching macOS Desktops/Spaces and then returning to InDesign causes the dialog to appear correctly in front of the workspace.

Because this is happening repeatedly, rather than as an isolated incident, I would appreciate Adobe investigating whether this is a known issue with InDesign's window/dialog handling on macOS, particularly on Apple Silicon Macs, and whether the unusually high resource usage I am experiencing could be related.