InDesign 21.4.1 on macOS 26.5.2 – Existing placed images not displayed in Preview Mode (Shift+W)

InDesign 21.4.1 on macOS 26.5.2 – Existing placed images not displayed in Preview Mode (Shift+W)

Environment

• Adobe InDesign 21.4.1
• macOS 26.5.2 (Tahoe)
• Apple Silicon Mac
• GPU Performance disabled

Problem

After updating macOS to version 26.5.2, some existing InDesign documents no longer display placed images in Preview Mode (Shift+W).

The issue started immediately after the macOS update. Before the update, the same documents displayed correctly.

Expected Result

Placed images should be displayed identically in both Normal Display and Preview Mode (Shift+W).

Actual Result

In some existing documents:

• placed PSD/JPG images disappear in Preview Mode (Shift+W)
• the same images are visible in Normal Display
• page thumbnails display the images correctly
• the Links panel reports all links as valid (no missing or modified links)

Additional observations

• The linked PSD files open normally in Photoshop.
• The linked files are stored locally on the internal SSD.
• Newly created InDesign documents work correctly.
• The same PSD and JPG files, when placed into a new document, are displayed correctly in Preview Mode.
• Only some existing documents are affected.
• Not all existing documents show this behaviour.

Troubleshooting already performed

• Deleted InDesign cache
• Reset InDesign preferences
• GPU Performance disabled
• Saved and reopened as IDML
• Verified all links
• Verified PSD files in Photoshop
• Restarted macOS
• Tested different Display Performance settings
• Cleared object-specific display settings

None of these steps resolved the issue.

Additional issue

The affected documents also cannot be packaged successfully.

Package reports:

"Necessary linked files could not be copied."

However, the Links panel reports all links as valid.

A newly created document using the exact same linked images packages successfully.

Request

Could this be a rendering or document compatibility issue introduced after macOS 26.5.2?