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Elliot Lindner
Elliot Lindner
Participant
March 11, 2026
Answered

InDesign 2026 Extremely Slow Performance and Long Launch Times on macOS

  • March 11, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 152 views

Since updating to the 2026 version, InDesign has been working slower and slower for me, primarily on my iMac. Launching the app takes almost two minutes, the spinning wheel appears roughly every 30 seconds and lasts for up to a minute, and it’s become impossible to. I’ve restarted, updated, and cleared my iMac, uninstalled and reinstalled the app, and nothing seems to help. Is there something I’m missing?

      Correct answer leo.r

      @Elliot Lindner Try to create a new admin user account in System Settings > Users & Groups and work from there. Will it make a difference?

      2 replies

      B
      brookrene
      Participant
      March 12, 2026

      I agree. It is PAINFUL. I finally decided today to go back to 2025 because this is unsustainable.

      Mike Witherell
      Community Expert
      Mike WitherellCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      March 12, 2026

      Hi Elliott,

      Make sure you have at least 16gb RAM memory, and a hard drive that is less than 75% full.

      Are you operating the InDesign files from the local hard disk?

      What version of macOS are you running?

      In case you want to experiment with resetting InDesign, here is a compendium of troubleshooting ideas you can explore.

      Mike Witherell
      Elliot Lindner
      Elliot LindnerAuthor
      Participant
      March 12, 2026

      I have 16GB of ram, and my hardrive and iMac storage are both nearly empty, and I’m operating from my local hard disk. I have MacOS Tahoe 26.3.2, and have tried restarting, reinstalling Tahoe, and doing nearly everything from the troubleshooting list, and am still having incredibly slow startup time and major lag when working :(

      Elliot Lindner
      Elliot LindnerAuthor
      Participant
      March 12, 2026

      Some more info: InDesign 2025 works fine, I just prefer using the 2026 version. I’ve tried using Safe Mode when restarting my iMac and there’s no change, same with having a SSD or HDD plugged in. When launching InDesign, it takes usually up to 2 minutes with my CPU at 100-200%. Opening any file, even a completely blank one, is the same. 

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