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dmc-sbccd
Participant
May 8, 2026
Answered

InDesign 21.3 - I randomly continue to get the blue spinning wheel, then InDesign semi-freezes.

I am using InDesign 21.3, working on a simple 2 page file, I go to place a logo and the blue thinking wheel pops up and doesn’t go away. I can click and move things around but none of it is being “saved”. I close the file and click to close the program and it just sits there still open. I then have to force quit the program. When I relaunch the file opens with the software and everything I did while the wheel was spinning was not saved.

It’s done this several times since the update and there is no pattern to why. I’m finding it randomly acting up. It’s really frustrating, especially when I’m not working on anything complicated.

      Abhishek Rao
      Abhishek RaoCorrect answer
      Community Manager
      August 17, 2026

      Hi everyone,

       

      Thanks again for all the reports and testing shared in this thread.

      To help with the ongoing investigation, could anyone who previously experienced the spinning cursor/freezing while placing or updating files please confirm whether the issue still occurs in InDesign 21.5 or later?

      If you can still reproduce it, please try the workaround mentioned earlier: go to InDesign Preferences via the Edit menu, disable the Generative AI options, and test the workflow again to see if that prevents the freeze.

      Please share your results here. In the meantime, I’ll continue to keep this thread updated with any further information from the product team.

       

      Thanks,
      Abhishek

       

       

      <Marking as correct for better visibility on the thread>

      View reply

      39 replies

      katiem43925817
      Participant
      October 13, 2026

      Has this been resolved, or are we still waiting? I continue to experience this issue with v21.6.

      Translate
      leighh43899451
      Participant
      October 12, 2026

      Im using the 21.6 version of InDesign (Windows platform), and even after truning off both Generative AI options off, every click triggers the blue spinning circle. This is very frustraiting and getting work done is now taking a lot longer. Is there work in progress to please disable the AI features as default? Are there any other heavy background tasks causing this? My background tasks manager doesnt even load properly and is just a blank box with a blanked out “clear alerts” button. 😞

      Translate
      leo.r
      Community Expert
      leo.rCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      October 12, 2026

      For starters, try resetting your preferences and caches:

      https://www.rockymountaintraining.com/adobe-indesign-rebuilding-preferences-cache/

       

      Will it make a difference?

      Translate
      adventurous_fan5C2A
      Participant
      October 9, 2026

      I disabled the AI features and it seems to have worked. Really though Adobe should have this nailed by now. That along with the fact that InDesign doesn't allow me to make quick use of the windows 11 split screens sucks.

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        alexisleyland
        Participant
        October 1, 2026

        Same issue here, on version 21.5.1
        Turned off Gen Ai option and it seems to have resolved the issue

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        JesseRDay
        Participating Frequently
        September 30, 2026

        Following up. This was fixed for about a week (not sure why), but it’s been broken again for over a month. This makes 4 months of InDesign being practically unusable. I have to launch, force close, and relaunch every document I work on because the first launch inevitably crashes with these bugs. As people have pointed out, this is all due to GenAI implementation -- stop forcing AI on us!

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          Katie3271727866na
          Participant
          September 24, 2026

          I’ve been experiencing this issue - turned off Generate AI and i still experience - any update on a fix for this?

          Translate
          nik.m
          Community Manager
          nik.mCommunity Manager
          Community Manager
          September 24, 2026

          Hi ​@Katie3271727866na, we’re sorry that you’re experiencing the behavior even after disabling the Gen AI features. 

          The product team is actively working on a fix. We don't have a specific timeline yet, but we'll keep you updated as soon as we know more.

          Could you confirm if you’re using version 21.6? 

           

          Thanks,

          Nikunj 

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          Admired_amazement5b3e
          Participant
          September 10, 2026

          I’ve also experienced this issue. Disabling Gen AI fixed it, but note that I had to disable Gen AI with no projects/files open! When I tried to disable it with a project open, it reverted after a restart (even opening the exact same project). Adobe really need to rethink their Gen AI implementation.

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          CHEMBS
          Participant
          September 2, 2026

          I tried your solution in InDesign 21.5.  When I just clicked on Generative AI under the edit menu, InDesign refreshed and went black. When my document came back, the spinning stopped. I’ll let you know if it comes back.

          Thanks!

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          Phill33761556chmp
          Participant
          September 2, 2026

          fix works for me. Thanks

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          teresa_4721
          Participant
          August 23, 2026

          Im on InDesign 21.5, Windows 11, and have had this issue for a while now. Its very random, sometimes you can continue normally but the cursor looks like a blue spinning wheel, other times nothing works and you cant do anything. When this happens I also cannot exit InDesign, I have to force quit.

          I have tried your workaround to disable Generative AI and restarted InDesign. Still random.

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