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Answered

InDesign blank window when switching displays

Forum|Forum|2 years ago
February 1, 2024
48 replies
15898 views

When having a file open in InDesign 2024 on my Macbook Pro (Sonoma 14.2.1 OS), close the lid, plug into my LG UltraFine external monitor and wake the computer up, the InDesign window is still open and all the tool bars are visible and working, but the area where the artwork is becomes black/blank and I can't see the work. I can see the bounding boxes if I select all, but no image or text. The window is entirely blank. The same thing happens if I'm working on my LG monitor, unplug the display and then open the Macbook to work. I always have my Macbook closed when plugged into the LG display and use both an external keyboard and trackpad. The solution is to always save, quit InDesign and reopen. If I go through that it works again. Is it a bug with Apple? Is it a bug with Adobe?

My LG firmware, OS and Adobe InDesign are all updated to the latest versions.

Correct answer Abhishek Rao

Hi everyone,

Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences and all the details here. I wanted to let you know that the product team is aware of this blank or black window issue when switching displays on macOS Sonoma and has logged it as a bug. The team is actively working on a fix to ensure smoother GPU behavior when connecting or disconnecting external monitors.

In the meantime, toggling the GPU Preview setting or reopening the file, as some of you mentioned, can serve as temporary workarounds. We really appreciate your patience and all the feedback, it's been very helpful for the team to narrow down the cause.

I'll keep you posted once we have an update.

Abhishek

Show previous replies

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gary_3708

Participant

This is typical of Adobe, years go by with no fix, this is a complete joke. Attending Config today and so happy Figma has allowed me to break free of having to rely on Adobe products to do my job.

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k34097905j6ua

Participating Frequently

Each update is another error of something that already worked. Not to mention that this program is getting slower and slower. Processors are getting faster, memory is already reaching 120 GB, and in Adobe there are no changes. After a quarter of a century of working with this software, I am looking for some alternatives because it simply annoys me that I cannot work comfortably.

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Cecilia5E25

Participating Frequently

It does seem to be a problem with the GPU/CPU preview. If you go to View and "GPU Preview" is showing at the top, toggle it to "Preview on CPU." If it's already on "Preview on CPU," try toggling it to "GPU Preview." I can't remembver which one was the one I had to change it to, but it's working for me.

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Cecilia5E25

Participating Frequently

Now I went back through and see that others suggested this and it didn't work for them. It's working for me currently, but I don't use animated zoom. I already have enough trouble trying to rein in my magic mouse which takes me places I don't want to be :-D. My magic mouse is one of the banes of my existence. I don't know if my fingers hang over it differently than others but I haven't mastered it in 16 years of using it. I don't hate it because there are positives, but other times, it drives me crazy. Every single one I've had and I've had quite a few. Even when I'm not touching it, pages are flying around, zooming in and out, and lately there are times I can hardly get it to move 😞 and I have three of them.... If anyone remembers seeing a question like this somewhere in this community, feel free to tell me where! Oh I just realized that would be the APPLE community! Sorry 😮

leo.r

Community Expert

My magic mouse is one of the banes of my existence...

If anyone remembers seeing a question like this somewhere in this community, feel free to tell me where!

By @Cecilia5E25

I understand your pain. I don't have any suggestions on how to "improve" the Magic Mouse, because I never use them. If you ask me, even most of the cheapest mouses in a dollar store are better than the Magic Mouse because they're at least more ergonomic. Not to mention the plethora of better mice from reputable brands. Other than that, you can try hardware forums at macrumors.com

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Andrej22170220438j

Participant

May 2025, MB Pro M2 32GB, issue still persists!
My workaround is to work with an InDesign version from early 2023.

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k34097905j6ua

Participating Frequently

This company is a joke.

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creativenw

Participant

It feels absurd how long it's been going on; at this point, I don't think Adobe is even checking these discussions. Is there a place to report bugs so their team sees it directly?

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Cecilia5E25

Participating Frequently

I believe you can go here to suggest fixes or ideas for improvements:
https://indesign.uservoice.com/

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mourogerss

Participating Frequently

Seeing this as well in March of 2025. Latest versions of macOS and ID. Let's get this fixed, Adobe.

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Phil5C41

Known Participant

A workaround:

Toggle the GPU prefs, hit Ok, (this should resolve it), then toggle back.

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barrya

Known Participant

Thank you, but that doesn't work. I've tried this right now, and turning off the GPU does bring the visuals in InDesign back. But toggling it to turn the GPU back on immediately goes back to a blank screen. Same as if you toggle the menu View > Preview on CPU to Preview GPU. Regardless if you switch from GPU and back, the only thing that works is to quit and restart InDesign.

Malix Mann

Participant

I would say, clearly you only need to restart the file. Not the whole Programm !!

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barrya

Known Participant

Still having this problem. I have an new Apple display, an M2 Macbook Pro. When I move from the display to work on the laptop-only, the screen is grey. Turning on CPU preview fixes it, going back to GPU makes the screen grey again. This has been happening for a long time, and is pretty frustrating. The only thing that fixes it is quitting out of InDesign, and restarting.

Malix Mann

Participant

Same here PAYED PRODUCT NOT WORKING. Seems it would be best to pirate this Program, even if it would be the first time in my live, since I pay for Indesign and Adobe since I am a student.

QUICK FIX for me: Cmd+Alt+Shift+Y for print-over-preview (or however it is called) .. I am using this shortcut so often, so it's easy to use. Still, not nice to move in this preview, so I only use it to see if I want to save this file or not, then close it, then re-open and it can be seen again. SO ANNOYING! and NOT ACCEPTABLE for ONE YEAR or more now! @adobe - When are you going to fix this? WHEN ?

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sologirl

Participant

I had the same problem all last year (2024) but thank you @Malix Mann for that QUICK FIX: Cmd+Alt+Shift+Y! That worked like a charm!!! Now, I don't have to close out my files without having to preview them. @adobe, please fix this issue ASAP. Thank you!