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Question

After I import the XML file into InDesign it crashes

Forum|Forum|7 days ago
April 21, 2026
4 replies
71 views

I exported the IndDesign file as XML. When importing the XML into InDesign - it crashed.

4 Operational Procedures TROMMEL_Wheeled.indd

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @Ariz0101,

Thanks for your patience, and sorry to hear about the experience. I was able to locate the crash report you submitted and I’m checking this further with the product team.

In the meantime, could you please share the affected InDesign file after packaging it? If it’s confidential, feel free to share it via DM using any cloud sharing service.

I’ll keep you posted as soon as I have an update.

Abhishek

A

Ariz0101Author

Known Participant

Thanks Abhishek for following up my issue.

Here’s attached the XML version of the InDesign file that crashes. The InDesign file is also attached.

Let me know if you need more information.

Thanks again.

Ariz

4 Operational Procedures TROMMEL_Wheeled_COPY.xml

4 Operational Procedures TROMMEL_Wheeled_COPY.indd

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @Ariz0101

Thanks for sharing the files. I see that the InDesign file has been shared, however, to investigate this further, could you please share a packaged version of the file? It appears that the current file is missing so many linked content, which makes it difficult to fully analyze what might be causing the crash during XML import.

You can follow the steps here to package the file:
https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/preflighting-files-handoff.html#package_files

Sharing the packaged file will help us better investigate the issue. If the file is confidential, feel free to share it via DM using any public cloud service like Google Drive or Dropbox.

Looking forward to your update so I can take this further with the team.

Abhishek

A

Ariz0101Author

Known Participant

That’s correct, Joel, it’s the same InDesign file that had broken cross-references which I fixed recently. Great catch!

Since long the practice at my workplace is to tag the source file for export/import of XMLs in translation workflow.

Back to my issue - I successfully exported the InDesign file to XML. However, when importing the XML, InDesign crashes.

As you suggest, I will test a copy of this file which is about 200 pages, by breaking it down into 4 separate files and then un-tag the content to test.

I am thinking what to do after I identify the bit that could be causing the issue?

Thanks in advance for your attention.

A

Ariz0101Author

Known Participant

Hi again Joel,

After I split the original InDesign into four files and exported/imported each XML - there were no issues. Each InDesign file successfully exported and imported the XMLs.

I noticed most of the images were missing upon import. Could that be the reason the original InDesign file crashed when importing the XML? I will tag the images once again to see the result.

Thanks

A

Ariz0101Author

Known Participant

InDesign crashed. I am back to square one.

Looking forward to your input.

Thanks

Joel Cherney

Community Expert

I remember your post from the other day regarding cross-references. Are you doing anything to that XML after export but before reimport? Or are you just testing whether or not your file can roundtrip through XML?

Do you happen to have another XML-tagged file handy to test? I suspect that there is something about your source (English?) InDesign file that is either not exporting well, or not reimporting well. Most of the troubleshooting I’d do in your shoes would amount to making a test file, and then untagging or deleting content piece by piece until I found the bit that was preventing reimport. This can be time-consuming.

Lastly, is there a reason why you’re relying on InDesign’s finicky XML import, instead of just exporting IDML and letting someone drop that into their translation environment? I’ve operated plenty of XML-based translation workflows over the years, but they require a great deal of care when making and tagging the source file, and IDML Just Works in pretty much every TMS or TM tool. (I’m exaggerating when I say that it Just Works but it’s usually much simpler than building one’s own roundtrip-through-XML workflow.)