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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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studio38541005zbny

Participant

hi all - I believe I may have found a temporarily solution to this issue. I've tested it a few times with a 2021 M1 Macbook Pro on Sonoma with Indesign 2024 and it seems to have worked.

Before I leave my studio, with Indesign working, I shut my laptop completely and wait a few seconds, then unplug the secondary display.

when I move to the next location, i.e home, I plug the laptop into the new external display but keep the laptop shut. I think keeping it shut is important. I again wait a few seconds after plugging in the external, and then open the laptop.

I haven't had a 100% success rate but have had a few instances where I did this and did not need to re-start InDesign. If this works for anyone, let me know

K

karenh74245468Author

Participating Frequently

My issue is that I always have my laptop closed when working from the office and plugged into the external monitor. I unplug it while closed and when I go to work remotely is when I open the MacBook and have the blank window. Maybe what I need to try is opening the MacBook prior to unplugging from the monitor.

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J

jeffhalmos

Inspiring

No. What you need is the multi-billion dollar company that programmed the only app on MacOS that does this to fix it.

D

defaulte9kq3rabmi1d

Participant

Still happening with 2025 and the latest version of Sequoia...

V

VVky

Participating Frequently

Yep. Still happening on 2025. Happening on different macbooks with different OS versions and different InDesign versions. Easy enough to save/close/reopen every time you change a monitor, but I'm changing monitors for meetings and soforth all day.

I can't imagine it is uncommon if different studios with different OS and Indd versions are having it widely. More likely it is an issue that many people just don't notice because of their workflows.

C

christopher_5198

Participant

yup me too!

C

calumm48546042

Participant

It's been happening for months for us at our company, I'm yet to switch to Indesign 2025 / Sequoia but looking at the comments and previous updates it'll probably say the same.

2nd monitor is a BenQ PD2700U (unsure if the bug could be tied to a monitor), and the Computer is Macbook Pro (Nov 2023).

It would be nice for Adobe to respond/acknowledge the issue.

R

rjrh

Participating Frequently

Just another post to say "yup, me too." It's such a daft, trivial, yet utterly infuriating bug.

J

jeffhalmos

Inspiring

Amazingly—or not at all amazingly—InDesign 20.0 didn't fix the issue. It's the ONLY app that does this on my MacBook Pro, so it ain't Apple and its contant goalpost moving with each OS update.

K

Katelyn5D95

Participant

I'm also experiencing the same issue when switching displays. Has there been any update?

J

jeffhalmos

Inspiring

Many. But none address the issue.

raquelvieira

Participant

In preferences, go to GPU Performance and untick the box that says "Animated Zoom", that will stop the screen from going black when changing screens.

J

jeffhalmos

Inspiring

I don't like the zoom feature so it's never need on. Still blank windows.

christyknell

Participant

I just went into my System Preferences for my Macbook Pro, in Displays, and changed the refresh rate to 60 Hertz. I think maybe the newest operating system has a fancy new option that is too different from my external display?

C

Cecilia5E25

Participating Frequently

Did that make it work better?

Dennis_Z

Known Participant

Same here! Multiple colleagues have this issue in the office.
OS: Sonoma 14.6.1 / InDesign: 19.5 / Monitor: LG Ergo 32UN880

It's really annoying. Resetting my preferences as the top comment suggested didn't fix it. Tried reinstalling InDesign, deleting my preferences.