Adobe InDesign: Bugs
When filing a new bug, please provide:
- Version of Adobe InDesign, InCopy or InDesign Server
- Steps to reproduce the issues
- Expected result
- Actual result
- Test file, screenshot, video or GIF capturing the issue (optional)
- or
No existing idea results
- ~ No ideas found ~
7438 results found
-
CC Files in InDesign not showing up
I shared files using CC Files for teams using my work account, and the sync with my account on my home computer in the user folder/creative cloud files, however they don't show up in the START workspace when I launch InDesign. How do I get these files to show up in the application?
3 votes -
The order of Arabic digits is reversed when changing their character direction
- Adobe InDesign CC 2017.1
- Create a textbox, type Arabic characters including some digits. Change character direction from 'Default' to 'Right to Left'.
- Arabic letters are RTL, but Arabic digits are written LTR; So when you change character direction to RTL, they should be in their right direction.
- Letters are RTL, but digits are reversed. The problem is that Arabic script is written RTL, but its digits' direction is LTR. Just like when you move caret and logically it moves in correct direction.
3 votes -
3 votes
-
Hyperlinks
I use a lot of hyperlinks in a document which link to the individual products on our website for online ordering and stock levels.
The Hyperlink panel frequently corrupts - I lose the ‘traffic light’ link status indicator and location of the link (page No.) - meaning I have to remove InDesign and execute a clean install to get the feature back.
3 votes -
Adobe inDesign is shutting down
Adobe in Design is shutting dow. A serious error was detected. Please restart InDesign to recover work in any unsaved InDesign documents. This happened when importing an image cmd D.
3 votes -
InDesign 21.1 x64 on PC: panels not expanding when clicking on the icon
Panels sometimes do not expand when clicking on an icon in the right-hand column of panels. It seems random. Sometimes the panel you choose expands when you click on the icon (as it should), but sometimes you have to click the two little chevrons pointing leftward at the top of the column of icons, which makes them all expand and it's a mess to work with. Only the one you click on should expand, but sometimes it doesn't.
This isn't a new bug. There were previous submissions about this and the issue was supposedly resolved, but it is NOT. The comments are closed, so I couldn't comment on there that the issue is not resolved. This has been happening ever since the first upgrade at the beginning of the year. I'm on the latest update and still having this issue.
Panels sometimes do not expand when clicking on an icon in the right-hand column of panels. It seems random. Sometimes the panel you choose expands when you click on the icon (as it should), but sometimes you have to click the two little chevrons pointing leftward at the top of the column of icons, which makes them all expand and it's a mess to work with. Only the one you click on should expand, but sometimes it doesn't.
This isn't a new bug. There were previous submissions about this and the issue was supposedly resolved, but it is NOT. The…
2 votes -
Calibri missing font keeps InDesign from generating PDF
- 21.2 x 64
- This morning, Windows installed a major update (including firmware). My system is now running on Windows 11 Pro, Version 25H2, OS build 26200.7840 and has Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.291.0. When I tried to open InDesign, it wouldn't open. I followed the instructions from this post (https://community.adobe.com/questions-671/indesign-v21-not-starting-after-update-win-11-897997) and uninstalled all of my Microsoft Visual C Redistributable Packages and reinstalled them from the link posted by Anubhav M 3 months ago.
That (seemingly) solved the problem, but when I opened an existing InDesign file, I got an error message telling me that all of my fonts were missing. It listed the missing font as Calibri (OTF). I updated the font to the version of Calibri that was extant on my computer, and that seemed to solve the missing fonts problem.
However, I just tried exporting my InDesign file to a PDF, and in Background Tasks it has been stuck on Adding Font--trying to add Calibri Italic, Calibri Bold and Calibri Regular for at least 45 minutes now. The Export to PDF function is queued behind the adding font function, so essentially I am unable to export a PDF.
I expected that when I opened an InDesign document that was working last Friday, I would not receive a missing font message. And once I received a missing font message and changed fonts, I expected that the program would be able to create a PDF as usual.
See above
I have attached a screenshot of the background tasks window. I can upload a copy of the file if you would like to troubleshoot it.
- 21.2 x 64
- This morning, Windows installed a major update (including firmware). My system is now running on Windows 11 Pro, Version 25H2, OS build 26200.7840 and has Windows Feature Experience Pack 1000.26100.291.0. When I tried to open InDesign, it wouldn't open. I followed the instructions from this post (https://community.adobe.com/questions-671/indesign-v21-not-starting-after-update-win-11-897997) and uninstalled all of my Microsoft Visual C Redistributable Packages and reinstalled them from the link posted by Anubhav M 3 months ago.
That (seemingly) solved the problem, but when I opened an existing InDesign file, I got an error message telling me that all of my font…
2 votes -
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 -
Ongoing performance issues with large InDesign files
We’re running into frequent slowdowns and crashes when working with large InDesign documents (lots of pages, linked assets, complex styles, long text flows). It’s happening across multiple machines, not just one setup.
At Tech Formation, we support teams that depend on InDesign for real production work, and these issues are starting to affect delivery timelines and workflows.
It would be great to know whether this is a known issue and whether there’s any workaround or logging we can enable to help diagnose it.2 votes -
AI Generated Alt Text overrode existing Alt Text
Newly launched 'Automatic AI Generated Alt Text' overrode all my existing custom alt text, which is incredibly frustrating. Although it's an interesting feature it it should NOT change existing alt text. And now I have to redo it because I don't see any history of what I had.
2 votes -
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 -
Severe InDesign Performance Issues
I’m reporting severe and ongoing performance problems with InDesign that are significantly affecting day-to-day work.
The application has become consistently slow and laggy during normal use — including delays when clicking, saving, zooming, switching pages, placing assets, and general UI responsiveness. At times, even simple actions take several seconds and the software feels almost unusable.
While performance is worse when working from Dropbox-synced folders, the same lag and delays also occur when working with files stored fully locally. This suggests the issue is not limited to cloud storage and may be a broader performance problem within InDesign itself.
This behavior is happening across regular production files and is causing major productivity loss for our workflow.
Please investigate and prioritize improvements to overall performance and stability. InDesign is currently much slower than other Adobe applications and has become difficult to use efficiently.
Thank you for your assistance.
NechamaI’m reporting severe and ongoing performance problems with InDesign that are significantly affecting day-to-day work.
The application has become consistently slow and laggy during normal use — including delays when clicking, saving, zooming, switching pages, placing assets, and general UI responsiveness. At times, even simple actions take several seconds and the software feels almost unusable.
While performance is worse when working from Dropbox-synced folders, the same lag and delays also occur when working with files stored fully locally. This suggests the issue is not limited to cloud storage and may be a broader performance problem within InDesign itself.
This behavior…
2 votes -
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. The identical script logic functioning on the same hardware/OS was stable in previous InDesign builds (v21.0) but now crashes 100% of the time in v21.1.0.56.
Environment:
Application: InDesign 2026 (21.1.0.56) & Prerelease (21.2) Build
OS: Windows 11 Pro (Build 26200)
Hardware: Intel Core i7-12700K, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (Driver 32.0.15.8157)
RAM: 64GB
Crash Signature: The crash consistently occurs in the dvacore module, specifically involving the Expat XML parser used during HTML generation.
• Exception: 0xc0000005 (ACCESSVIOLATION)
• Faulting Module: dvacore.dll
• Key Stack Symbols:
dvacore::xml::GetParser
AXE8ExpatTerminate (in AXE8SharedExpat.dll)
WCrashHandler::operator=
Steps to Reproduce:
Create a folder containing 5+ simple .indd documents of two to four pages in length.
Run the following ExtendScript (.jsx) to batch export them to HTML:
JavaScripttarget indesign
var folder = Folder.selectDialog("Select folder");
var files = folder.getFiles("*.indd");for (var i = 0; i < files.length; i++) {
var doc = app.open(files[i]);// Valid HTML export destination var htmlFile = new File(files[i].parent + "/" + files[i].name + ".html"); // Export doc.exportFile(ExportFormat.HTML, htmlFile); // Close Document doc.close(SaveOptions.NO);}
Observed Behavior:
• File 1: Exports successfully.
• File 2-3: InDesign crashes silently or throws the error report immediately upon calling doc.close() or starting the next app.open().
• Attempted Workarounds (All Failed):
Forcing Garbage Collection ($.gc()) between iterations.
Purging Caches (app.purge(PurgeOptions.ALLCACHES)).
Adding $.sleep(3000) delays to allow file locks to release.
Running in UserInteractionLevels.NEVERINTERACT vs INTERACTWITHALL.
Analysis: The stack trace showing AXE8_ExpatTerminate strongly suggests a race condition or resource leak in the HTML/XML subsystem. It appears the XML parser instance created for the first export is not being correctly destroyed or released by the time the script initiates the second export cycle. When the application attempts to re-engage dvacore::xml::GetParser, it hits invalid memory.
Impact: Batch automation for HTML outputs is currently impossible in v21.1 without restarting the application instance for every single document.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 -
Interactive Button
Why not allow the “Create Button” option to navigate to a specific page and be exported as an interactive PDF?
2 votes -
Text boxes with rounded or beveled edges should have square (or controllable padding edges)
I want to add text to a text frame with beveled edges without have to worry about the text being pushed by the bevel. Can we fix this?
2 votes -
Linked images are not loading after Mac OS upgrade to Tahoe 26.2
Linked images are coming up distorted/warped after upgrading my Mac's OS to Tahoe 26.2. Can be corrected by manually relinking all the images, but what a pain. Screenshot example included.
2 votes -
Have more Title Case formatting options
Please add more Title Case formatting options like AMA AP APA, Bluebook, Chicago, MLA;etc.
The default one people often have to edit, making words like "of", "and";etc not start with a capital letter2 votes -
Have ALL Case Options under Paragraph Styles
The text case options in the top menu should also be in paragraph styles, but instead we have limit options in paragraph styles.
If I want Title Case for a paragraph style, there should be an option for it2 votes -
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 (Mac OS)
4. Open it again and create new file
5. The CC Library is frozen, cannot be used. (The files can still be taken from the window, but you cannot scroll)Expected result
To work normally as beforeActual result
Frozen CC LibrariesCouldn't upload video here, so here is YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHZrSA8qbGc
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 -
loads of bugs when scrolling
how is one supposed to do any kind of precise work in these conditions?
pc specs:
indesign ver. 21.1Windows 11 Pro ver. 23H2
12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-12700H 2.30 GHz
2 votes
- Don't see your idea?