Annoying Indesign Glitch

Had a few issues like this before and I've jotted down a few things to try.

Open the NVIDIA Control Panel and check the settings under "Manage 3D settings."
For InDesign and Illustrator, set the Power management mode to "Prefer maximum performance."
Disable Vertical Sync (V-Sync) under the same settings.

Try forcing the integrated graphics to handle InDesign, bypassing the MX350. This can often be done in the NVIDIA Control Panel by selecting "Integrated graphics" for the program under "Program Settings."

Windows Display Settings

Since screen magnification was suggested in the thread, verify the scaling settings
Go to Settings > System > Display > Scale and Layout and set it to 100%

Ensure the screen refresh rate is optimised. Go to Display > Advanced display settings > Refresh rate and try lowering it if it’s set above 60 Hz.

Preference Reset (Advanced Steps)

If a basic reset didn’t help, try the thorough preferences reset:
Close InDesign.
Navigate to the preferences folder (for Windows: C:\Users\<YourUserName>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\InDesign\Version xx.0).
Rename or delete the folder (e.g., "Version 19.0" for CC 2024).

Windows TEMP Folder and Performance Cleanup

Press Win + R, type temp, and delete all files in the folder.
Do the same for %temp%.

Run Disk Cleanup to clear any cached files

Try Disabling Features

Disable Live Screen Drawing in InDesign
Edit > Preferences > Interface > Live Screen Drawing > Set to "Never."

Turn off Overprint Preview (View > Overprint Preview)

Update or Rollback System

Since the issue started after a driver update, there could also have been a Windows Update that caused a conflict. Try rolling back any recent system updates if possible.

External Factors

Check if the issue persists with no external monitor attached

Background apps

Some overlay or background apps (like Discord or even NVIDIA ShadowPlay) might interfere.

Disable these and retest.

Are you employing any screen text magnification in Windows display settings? Your last comment seems more Windows video card oriented somehow. What if you set the Scale of text and layout to 100%?

Also, how deep did you go on a Preferences reset? There are (seemingly) 4 progressively more thorough approaches to resetting. (which is a way of saying I'm running out of guesses!)

How much RAM do you have?

Have you cleaned out all your windows Temp folders lately?

Have you experimented with (I hate to say it) resetting InDesign preferences?

Hi Finlay23037858so4s,

Thanks for reaching out, and sorry to hear about the glitch!

In addition to what our expert suggested, would you mind trying the following:

1. Check if your GPU drivers are up to date as outdated drivers can cause display issues like black flashing.

2. Try running InDesign in Safe Mode using these steps and let us know if that resolves the issue.

Also, could you please share your InDesign version and OS details? Does the glitch happen with all files, including a new document, or only specific ones?

Looking forward to your response!

Best,
Abhishek Rao

Common things to check:

What version of macOS are you? What version of InDesign?

Turn off or remove an app named Magnet

Turn on or off GPU acceleration

Here is a complete troubleshooting reference:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/reset-indesign-preferences-and-other-troubleshooting/m-p/11990234#M423408