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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.

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598 results found

  1. InDesign 2017 file on file server with High Sierra

    We have Panzura file servers here and anytime we try to open an InDesign file with CC 2017 it completely crashes any mac that tries to open it, immediate kernel panic with both InDesign and Finder being the cause. So we tried to copy the files to the desktop and open them from there, no dice.

    How on earth did Adobe not catch this bug? You guys had 3 months access at least to the dev prereleases like the rest of the software vendors, this is pretty unacceptable.

    3 votes

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    CLOSED  ·  amaarora responded

    To identify the cause of this issue, we had started our investigation with the aim to resolve it. You might have also received email from us seeking more details to help in our investigation.

    We’ve concluded our investigation and came up with the finding : Either the issue is fixed in the latest release of InDesign or the issue was intermittent in nature at the time of its reporting and is not reproducible now.

    We recommend you to upgrade to the latest version of InDesign 2020.0.1 (if you’re not already on it). It contains a lot of stability fixes.

    If you still face this issue even after updating to the latest version of InDesign, please submit the crash report to us. (The guidelines to submit crash are available at (https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/submit-crash-reports.html)

    We seek your support in our continual effort to improve InDesign.


    Adobe InDesign Team

  2. Cell Style override crash

    Crashes when applying and overriding a cell style to a table that has previous overrides. Tried it multiple times on multiple files, all with the same crash result.

    3 votes

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    CLOSED  ·  amaarora responded

    To identify the cause of this issue, we had started our investigation with the aim to resolve it. You might have also received email from us seeking more details to help in our investigation.

    We’ve concluded our investigation and came up with the finding : Either the issue is fixed in the latest release of InDesign or the issue was intermittent in nature at the time of its reporting and is not reproducible now.

    We recommend you to upgrade to the latest version of InDesign 2020.0.1 (if you’re not already on it). It contains a lot of stability fixes.

    If you still face this issue even after updating to the latest version of InDesign, please submit the crash report to us. (The guidelines to submit crash are available at (https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/submit-crash-reports.html)

    We seek your support in our continual effort to improve InDesign.


    Adobe InDesign Team

  3. Data Merge causes crash/lock-up when displaying panels on second screen

    When displaying my panels on a second monitor using InDesign and then trying to begin a data merge the application crashes and becomes unresponsive.

    If I change the layout of the panels to one screen (the default layout) it works fine.

    I've uninstalled InDesign and reinstalled, also deleting my preferences folders/files.

    I can select the data source and insert one field, but then clicking on anything else after the first field has been inserted causes the application to stop responding.

    I've attached a screenshot of the panels on the second screen for your reference - there are no panels on…

    3 votes

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    CLOSED  ·  amaarora responded

    To identify the cause of this issue, we had started our investigation with the aim to resolve it. You might have also received email from us seeking more details to help in our investigation.

    We’ve concluded our investigation and came up with the finding : Either the issue is fixed in the latest release of InDesign or the issue was intermittent in nature at the time of its reporting and is not reproducible now.

    We recommend you to upgrade to the latest version of InDesign 2020 (if you’re not already on it). It contains a lot of stability fixes.

    If you still face this issue even after updating to the latest version of InDesign, please submit the crash report to us. (The guidelines to submit crash are available at (https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/submit-crash-reports.html)
    We seek your support in our continual effort to improve InDesign.


    Adobe InDesign Team

  4. Drag/Drop Link Causes Loading (Spinny) Wheel - Must Force Quit InDesign and Restart on Windows

    Occasionally, mostly when placing photos of PDF's via drag/drop, and at other random times, InDesign will be stuck, and the mouse cursor will be stuck on the loading/spinning wheel. I will have to open the Task Manager, force quit InDesign, and re-open. When I re-open, it will typically load the document exactly where I left off. Sometimes it's saved my work and other times it had not.

    2 votes

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  5. close

    Freezes when I try to close the program. It will either not close at all, no matter how many force stops/close buttons I hit, or it will completely crash instead of closing safely.

    2 votes

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  6. Continuous issues with 21.1 on Windows 11 - Won't Open/Crashing

    Since updating to 21.1 (2026), I have to repair the Visual C++ Redistributables, restart, and then reset preferences with Shift+Ctrl+Alt just to get InDesign to open. Error OXC0000142. I have done this numerous times, and each week, I have to do it again.

    It also has crashed my (and others on our team) computers which makes them boot into the BIOS to a Support Repair screen.

    21.1 is near unusable at this point.

    2 votes

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  7. Batch HTML Export Crashes InDesign 21.1

    Here is a (Gemini 3-assisted) report of an HTML export problem that is crashing InDesign consistently. It's somewhat urgent because crashing InDesign is not good for the nerves. Reverting to 21.0.1 permits the script to run to completion.

    Bug Report: Regression in HTML Export Automation (dvacore::xml / AXE8)
    Subject: InDesign 21.1 (and Prerelease) crashes with EXCEPTIONACCESSVIOLATION in dvacore::xml during iterative HTML Export scripting.
    Summary: Automated workflows that iterate through documents to export HTML (ExportFormat.HTML) fail consistently after processing 2–5 files. The crash occurs during the document closure or immediate post-processing phase of the export. This is a regression.…

    2 votes

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  8. CC Libraries freeze when closing and opening InDesign again

    The CC Libraries windows works fine, until you close the project & the InDesign app with the red X in the left top corner. (MacOS) It doesn't fully close and that is okay. But when you try to open any project again or create a new one, the CC Libraries freeze. You can still take out things from the window, but cannot scroll. The only option to fix that is to restart the whole app.

    Version of Adobe InDesign: 21.1

    Steps to reproduce the issues:
    1. Create new file
    2. Use CC Libraries
    3. Close the window with red X…

    2 votes

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  9. InDesign process dies after 3 minutes

    I'm facing the following problem. I'm on a new Windows 11 (24H2) and have Creative Cloud and various apps like Photoshop (26,11), Illustrator (29.8.2) or InDesign (20.5) installed. Every app works fine except InDesign. No matter what INDD file I work on, what menu I'm in or if I just leave the app open showing the start page, after 3 minutes the InDesign.exe dies. I've checked that I have the latest updates, reinstalled it, removed all presettings of previous versions, tried to run as admin and in compatibilty mode. Nothing changes. It runs 3 minutes and then suddenly dies. In…

    2 votes

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  10. InDesign hangs constantly during normal editing with no CPU spike, on very fast win. 11 laptop with plenty of memory and drive space.

    When using InDesign normally (editing text, copying, pasting, rearranging objects, etc.). I am not saving, exporting, or anything, CPU does not spike, there is plenty of memory and disk space, it is a new high end laptop, it is plugged in, there are no power save features on.

    This didn't happen on my older win 10 machine and in older versions of InDesign.

    This SEVERELY interrupts workflows as it happens at least once every 15 min or so if not more.

    2 votes

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  11. [ID-4265787]InDesign 20.4.0 and above freezes when connected with Enterprise VPN

    Impossible to work with the latest version of InDesign 20.5. The screen freezes after a few second work. Only "end task" on Task manager is closing the program. (Working on PC under Windows 11 Enterprise)
    Only solution in the meantime is to switch to Version 19.5.5.

    2 votes

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    The fix of the issue is now available in the latest InDesign 2026(v21.0.0.192). We recommend you upgrade to the latest version for the fix.

    If you are unable to see the update, go to the Creative Cloud application, click on the context menu on the top right, and click on Check for App Updates.

    Adobe InDesign Team

  12. Window Explorer made unusable by opening InDesign

    Windows 11
    InDesign Ver. 20.5

    Here's an odd one. InDesign doesn't appear to be crashing or freezing, itself, but it is instead making my Windows explorer taskbar unusable. I can't select any icon pinned to it--they won't even highlight when I cursor over them--and only opening and closing the task manager will make them selectable again. I've tried to replicate this happening with other programs, but it's only happening when InDesign is made active.

    Can't seem to figure out what's triggering it, but it tends to happen on start-up of the program and at random intervals while using InDesign. Suddenly…

    2 votes

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  13. Adobe InDesign 2024 and 2025 crash when pasting certain string into text box with particular font

    Hi, I’m a type designer and font delveloper (for more than 20 years) and have made a custom font (Latin) that makes extensive use of the Contextual Alternates feature (calt). Let's call the font FontXyz, it’s an OpenType CFF font (.otf).

    These are the steps that always cause InDesign to crash
    1: Text cursor is in an empty text box where my FontXyz is already set
    2: Pasting the string “1234,-”
    3: Crash

    I can prevent the crash by:
    a: Putting my cursor in between two spaces and then pasting the string “1234,-”
    b: Pasting the string without the “-”,…

    2 votes

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  14. [ID-4261684] Hang when "How likely are you to recommend INDESIGN" dialog appears at startup

    Twice now, I have started InDesign, opened a book, opened a file from the book, and pressed command-F to open the Find dialog. The Find dialog opens, and I begin to type. Then, the "How likely are you to recommend INDESIGN" dialog appears over it, and the cursor (and my typing) goes to that dialog instead. The spinning beach-ball appears, and InDesign is unresponsive; to recover, I have to force-quit the application.
    InDesign 20.2
    macOS Sonoma 14.7.1 (23H222)
    Apple M1 Ultra

    2 votes

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  15. InDesign 2025 Crashing Constantly

    Indesign 2025 has been crashing consistently since I updated it. The main trigger seems to be when you Option-drag any element. Text, image, shape. It immediately crashes. Any designer knows option-drag is a standard move for design work. This is very problematic. I have restarted, reinstalled, updated OS but still the same thing happens. Sometimes it now crashes when you PDF anything. Update has some serious glitches. Needs fixing asap.

    2 votes

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    We have released InDesign 2025(v20.2.0.036) with many stability fixes. We recommend you upgrade to the latest version (if you’re not already on it) as it is more robust.

    If you still face this issue even after updating, please submit the crash report to us. (Guidelines to submit crash are available at (https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/submit-crash-reports.html )

    Also, please send the following information to santalwa@adobe.com :

    • Reproducible Steps – What were you doing when InDesign crashed?
    • Video recording of the crash
    • Is(Are) the issue related to a specific document(s)/asset(s)? If yes, could you provide us with the document(s)/asset(s)? Please package the entire document (To package the document, choose File → Package…)

    Adobe InDesign Team

  16. Shift option drag crashes InDesign

    I have used Shift Option Drag for a million years. Roughly a month ago it started crashing InDesign. I removed Plug-Ins, I uninstalled and reinstalled InDesign. I ran maleware, all good. App was up to date. How does that happen out of nowhere???????

    2 votes

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    We have released InDesign 2025(v20.2.0.036) with many stability fixes. We recommend you upgrade to the latest version (if you’re not already on it) as it is more robust.

    If you still face this issue even after updating, please submit the crash report to us. (Guidelines to submit crash are available at (https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/submit-crash-reports.html )

    Also, please send the following information to santalwa@adobe.com :

    • Reproducible Steps – What were you doing when InDesign crashed?
    • Video recording of the crash
    • Is(Are) the issue related to a specific document(s)/asset(s)? If yes, could you provide us with the document(s)/asset(s)? Please package the entire document (To package the document, choose File → Package…)

    Adobe InDesign Team

  17. [ID-4256174]InDesign crashes while searching any font/word, etc., which is in overset text.

    We have simple scripts that operate on script labels to Find and Replace Text, adjust Text Size, things like that. We've been using them for three years with no problems prior to v2025. They crash and bring up the option to send an error report. We're rolling back to 2024 now, we can't operate efficiently without these scripts.

    2 votes

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    The fix of the issue is now available in the latest InDesign 2025(v20.0.1.032). We recommend you upgrade to the latest version for the fix.

    If you are unable to see the update, go to the Creative Cloud application click on the context menu on the top right, and click on Check for App Updates.

    Adobe InDesign Team

  18. Every possible action on notes freeze or crash InDesign 2024

    I had this issue in a very simple one A4 page document that has a single text area filled with text and some not complicated header elements (including a placed image) in InDesign 2024 (v. 19.5) file.

    I created 4 notes with 1-2 words each.

    Anything I did with notes after that, the app freezes or crashes each time. Is that a known bug?

    2 votes

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    We have released InDesign 2025(v20.2.0.036) with many stability fixes. We recommend you upgrade to the latest version (if you’re not already using it) as it is more robust.

    If you are still facing this issue even after updating it, please submit the crash report to us. (Guidelines to submit crash are available at (https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/submit-crash-reports.html )

    Also, please send the following information to santalwa@adobe.com :

    • Reproducible Steps – What were you doing when InDesign froze?
    • Video recording of the issue
    • Is(Are) the issue related to a specific document(s)/asset(s)? If yes, could you provide us with the document(s)/asset(s)? Please package the entire document (To package the document, choose File → Package…)

    Adobe InDesign Team

  19. object export options crash

    InDesign CC 2024, version 19.5: Trying to open Object Export Options causes program to crash. Tried resetting preferences (edit->preferences->general->reset preferences on quit) and no change.

    2 votes

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    We have released InDesign 2025(v20.2.0.036) with many stability fixes. We recommend you upgrade to the latest version (if you’re not already on it) as it is more robust.

    If you still face this issue even after updating, please submit the crash report to us. (Guidelines to submit crash are available at (https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/submit-crash-reports.html )

    Also, please send the following information to santalwa@adobe.com :

    • Reproducible Steps – What were you doing when InDesign crashed?
    • Video recording of the crash
    • Is(Are) the issue related to a specific document(s)/asset(s)? If yes, could you provide us with the document(s)/asset(s)? Please package the entire document (To package the document, choose File → Package…)

    Adobe InDesign Team

  20. InDesign 2024 19.4 crashes if you apply a Style Pack to multiple selected unthreaded text frames. In previous versions this worked just fine

    InDesign 2024 19.4 (Mac M2 Max chip, macOS Ventura 13.6.7) crashes if you apply a Style Pack to multiple selected unthreaded text frames. In previous versions this worked just fine.

    2 votes

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    The fix of the issue is now available in the latest InDesign 2024(v19.5.0.084). We recommend you upgrade to the latest version for the fix.

    If you are unable to see the update, go to the Creative Cloud application and click on the context menu on the top right and click on Check for App Updates.

    Adobe InDesign Team

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