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Question

InDesign V 21.0.2 (Windows) is destroying every one of my files it opens

Forum|Forum|5 months ago
December 3, 2025
3 replies
745 views

I spent hours working on an InDesign file. Everything was smooth, the project was completed, and the PDF exported without issues. The client requested a small text change, so I reopened the file. InDesign froze, crashed, and the file was corrupted beyond recovery.

I restarted InDesign and opened a backup. Same story: the app got stuck again (this time with an annoying “projects” popup), froze, and after a forced close, that backup file was destroyed as well.

I have now lost five hours of work.

This is the typical Adobe upgrade experience when the new yearly versions roll out on Windows. Half baked, unstable, and dangerous. And now my files are gone.

Dev team, please take note.

Everyone else, please no suggestions about resetting preferences. We go through this every year. I’m downgrading to the previous version and waiting until Adobe ships something that doesn’t destroy user data.

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @Red Point,

Thank you for the update, and I appreciate you narrowing it down to Adobe Fonts being the trigger. Our support team attempted to reach you by phone, but it went to voicemail. When you can, please share a time window that works best for you, so we can connect quickly.

Meanwhile, please try signing out and back into the Creative Cloud Desktop App to refresh Adobe Fonts. If the issue persists, clear your font cache and try the other suggestions in the article here: Fix crash issues when launching InDesign and Troubleshoot font issues

As an additional isolation step, try temporarily disabling all Adobe Fonts and keep only the system-installed fonts active. If the files open correctly afterward, re-enable fonts gradually to identify the problematic one.

I'll wait for your update and your availability, so we can continue assisting you as soon as possible.

Thanks again for your patience,
Abhishek

R

Red PointAuthor

Inspiring

Adobe-Font-Loading-Final.gif

Still loading (;

R

Red PointAuthor

Inspiring

Ok, so I tried to open my V 21.0.2 files with an older version of Indesign that does not destroy my files when I attempt to open them. Unfortuntely, the previous version of Indesign cannot open the file. I get a warning that these files were created with a newer InDesign version. I then try to convert them, which fails.

I am currently stuck with two version of InDesign, one that destroy all my files, and one that cannot open any of them.

I really need someone from support to contact me urgently. This is happening at a super busy time for me.

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @Red Point,

Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and I'm really sorry for the disruption caused. I've reached out to you via DM with a few steps to help isolate the issue, but sharing the key details here as well.

To narrow down the cause, please try launching your system in Safe Mode and then open the affected InDesign files again. This will help determine whether a third-party extension or background process may be contributing to the crash. Ref: https://adobe.ly/49VDH9s

Additionally, please confirm where the file is stored when the crash occurs. If it is located on a network drive or cloud storage, kindly try saving it locally and testing again.

If you see the Adobe Crash Reporter appear at any point during the crash, please submit the report and note the email address entered there. I checked for crash logs using your community email, but couldn’t locate any submissions yet. Ref: https://adobe.ly/48xykdY

You may also try closing any unnecessary applications before reopening the file to improve stability.

Also, just a reminder that files saved in newer InDesign versions cannot be opened directly in older versions. If you need backward compatibility, you will need to save it as IDML before attempting to open the file with an earlier version.

Finally, as this matter is urgent and to assist us in organizing additional support for you, I will need your best contact number (including the country code), preferred email address, and your general availability. For your privacy, please share that information via DM only.

We're here to help. Looking forward to your update!

Abhishek

R

Red PointAuthor

Inspiring

Firstly, thank you Abhishek for your super quick response and for looking into this. I really appreciate your help.

So I tried opening the file in Windows Safe Mode but the issue persisted. I was able to narrow it down, and it is very likely related to Adobe Fonts, because I can open the exact same document when all fonts are converted into paths.

Here is the latest status:

1.) Opening an InDesign file that uses Adobe Fonts causes the app to freeze up and subsequently corrupt the file.
2.) Opening the exact same version of the file only with all text converted into paths works without issues.

This is clearly an Adobe Fonts issue in InDesign V 21.0.2 (Windows). The freeze happens regardless of whether Adobe Fonts are currently loaded or not.

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