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B.A.S.
B.A.S.
Participating Frequently
Oct 10, 2025 10:54 AM UTC
Answered

InDesign keeps reverting to ‘Essential’ workspace every time a file is opened

Hi, why is my workspace when opening a indesing file always going back to 'Essenstial' setting?
This is an issue I have for a year now.
Very annoying.
thnaks BAS

 

 

 

<Titile renamed by MOD>

Abhishek Rao
Abhishek RaoCorrect answer
Community Manager
Sep 24, 2026 1:10 PM UTC

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for your patience and for sharing the additional details and observations.

I wanted to provide an update that this workspace reset behavior has been logged as a bug, and the product team is working on a fix.

I’ll continue to track the issue and keep this thread updated as soon as we have further information to share.

 

Thanks again for your patience!

Abhishek

 

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19 replies

sleepyclaus
sleepyclaus
Participating Frequently
Oct 5, 2026 6:50 PM UTC

The problem still hasn't been resolved!

Version: 21.6 x64

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alex04192025
alex04192025
Participant
Sep 29, 2026 1:00 PM UTC

Chiming in that this happens to me very frequently. InDesign 21.6, Mac Sequoia 15.7.9. I work in Essentials Classic, and roughly 75% of the time InDesign launches in Essentials.

Really frustrating.

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ClusterX
Participating Frequently
Sep 22, 2026 8:30 AM UTC

I figured out what causes the custom workspace to reset. It’s the Indesign home screen. If you disable “Show Home Screen” in the settings, the workspace doesn’t reset. But even if you tap the “House” icon to bring up the home screen and then create a new document, the workspace resets to “Essentials” again.

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Abhishek Rao
Community Manager
Abhishek RaoCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
Community Manager
Sep 24, 2026 1:10 PM UTC

Hi everyone,

 

Thanks for your patience and for sharing the additional details and observations.

I wanted to provide an update that this workspace reset behavior has been logged as a bug, and the product team is working on a fix.

I’ll continue to track the issue and keep this thread updated as soon as we have further information to share.

 

Thanks again for your patience!

Abhishek

 

<Marking as correct for better visibility>

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Mike Choo
Mike Choo
Inspiring
Jul 30, 2026 5:58 PM UTC

This happens to me a lot as well, not a huge issue but it does feel a little irritating to have to manually revert workspace every time. Would really appreciate a fix or workaround - for example After Effects has an option to retain workspace, so even if a document was saved with a different workspace you can choose to not have it override your current one.

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graphics_4075
graphics_4075
Inspiring
Jul 30, 2026 10:44 PM UTC

I experience this bug now and then but deal with this one I reported a month back every time I use InDesign: 

 

The response on my post above says “They've confirmed that this is a known issue and have identified it as another manifestation of an existing bug. The team has also identified the root cause.”

 

I would not be surprised if this is the existing bug being referenced as there seems to be similar behavior between them. Considering this one has been around for a lot longer, I worry both of these issues may persist. Apparently the team is aware of both and is working on a fix though, so fingers crossed they are fixed soon. 

 

“A little irritating” becomes “Very irritating” when a bug affects you during every session inside the app….

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Cheers
    Abhishek Rao
    Community Manager
    Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
    Community Manager
    Oct 24, 2025 4:52 PM UTC

    Hi @B.A.S.,

     

    Thanks for confirming that, and I completely understand how frustrating it is when the workspace keeps reverting to Essentials. I'm checking this internally with the product team and will share an update here as soon as I have more information.

     

    Appreciate your patience in the meantime.

    Abhishek

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    B.A.S.
    B.A.S.Author
    Participating Frequently
    Oct 27, 2025 10:57 AM UTC

    Thank you Abhishek.
    Would be great if this issue will be solved.
    Regards Bas

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      Abhishek Rao
      Community Manager
      Abhishek RaoCommunity Manager
      Community Manager
      Oct 10, 2025 1:13 PM UTC

      Hi @B.A.S.,

       

      I understand how frustrating it can be. Please try resetting your workspace once by going to Window > Workspace > Reset [your workspace name]. Then, close and relaunch InDesign to see if it retains the layout. If the issue continues, try resetting the InDesign preferences after creating a backup. Ref: https://adobe.ly/3KKxxyb.
      After that, set your preferred workspace again and check if it stays as expected.  Moreover, to isolate the issue from any third-party plug-in, please test the issue in safe mode. Ref: https://adobe.ly/4q9pUli

       

      Let me know how this works for you.

      Abhishek

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      davecourtemanche
      davecourtemanche
      Legend
      Oct 10, 2025 3:32 PM UTC

      That does not fix it. This is an un-addressed bug that goes back many versions, at this point. Mike's solution is the only way I've been able to address it.

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      Mike Witherell
      Community Expert
      Mike WitherellCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      Oct 10, 2025 5:33 PM UTC

      Hi Dave,

      Actually, IIRC, I was quoting you!

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      Mike Witherell
        Mike Witherell
        Community Expert
        Mike WitherellCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        Oct 10, 2025 12:49 PM UTC

        Hi BAS,

        My install on Windows 111 does that, too. Some have suggested making your custom workspace; and then going into the folder where it lives and manually renaming it Essentials. Upon restarting InDesign, it will default back to Essentials, but your custom workspace will be there. Other than that, I haven't discovered a fix for the annoyance, yet.

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        Mike Witherell
        B.A.S.
        B.A.S.Author
        Participating Frequently
        Oct 10, 2025 12:53 PM UTC

        Hi Mike

        thanks, looks laike a bug or extention conflict.

        Bas

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        Mike Witherell
        Community Expert
        Mike WitherellCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        Oct 10, 2025 1:02 PM UTC

        BAS,

        Can you cite a specific extension that you suspect is the cause?

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        Mike Witherell
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