InDesign stops working after five minutes

Forum|Forum|2 days ago
July 1, 2026
4 replies
35 views

I'm having a lot of trouble with InDesign over the past couple of weeks. I have two subscriptions - one for work and one personal, using two different machines. Both are having the same issues. InDesign works for the first five minutes, then lags, tools and functions stop working - can't even undo. Freezes or crashes after that. Using Windows 11, have reinstalled, on latest version. Nothing works. Extremely frustrating and causing significant delays in being able to do my job.

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

Preferences > Generative AI > turn OFF both switches. And leave it off. OK. Restart InDesign.

Mike Witherell

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @KellyH,

Thanks for reaching out and sorry to hear about the experience. Could you please let us know the current status after trying the suggestions shared by the experts? Your update will help us determine the next steps.

In the meantime, could you also check whether your issue is similar to the one discussed here?
https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/indesign-2026-21-2-performance-issues-undo-not-working-slow-quit-and-import-lag/m-p/15558085#M640370

If it is, please try the following:

Disable both Generative AI options under Preferences > Generative AI, then restart InDesign and test again.
Reset InDesign preferences and caches.
Test with a brand-new document to determine whether the issue is document-specific or application-wide.
If possible, share a screen recording showing the lag, tools becoming unresponsive, and the eventual freeze or crash.

Looking forward to your update so we can assist you further.

Thanks,
Abhishek