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yvan at work
yvan at work
Participant
Mar 24, 2026 2:24 PM UTC
Answered

Problems opening files created in InDesign 2023 - InDesign detected that the file is damaged

I’m having trouble opening older InDesign-files. Files from 2023 won’t open anymore in InDesign2026. 
I get an error like on the screenshot. But it will never repair the files.

 

The older files do open in Indesign2024 …

 

    Anubhav M
    Anubhav MCorrect answer
    Community Manager
    Mar 24, 2026 10:16 PM UTC

    Hello @yvan at work 

     

    I’m sorry to hear about your experience. I was able to open the shared file in InDesign 21.3 without any issues. Could you check if there are any pending OS/InDesign updates and install them to see if it helps?

    Also, try opening the file in InDesign after moving it to a local folder on your computer that is not being synced/backed up, and share your observations.

     

    Looking forward to hearing from you.
    Anubhav

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    11 replies

    leo.r
    Community Expert
    leo.rCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    Mar 24, 2026 2:34 PM UTC

    In addition to other suggestions:

     

    Try to export to IDML from InDesign 2024, then open in 2026. Will it work? 

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    yvan at work
    yvan at workAuthor
    Participant
    Mar 24, 2026 2:49 PM UTC

    Opening in 2024 works, resave as indd under another name works, opening that resaved file in 2026 works as well.

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    Community Expert
    Manan JoshiCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    Mar 24, 2026 2:27 PM UTC

    So 2023 files open fine on 2024 but 2026 gives this error and then never repairs or opens the file? Does this happen with all files or just some particular file? What is the OS?

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    -Manan
      yvan at work
      yvan at workAuthor
      Participant
      Mar 24, 2026 2:32 PM UTC

      I checked some other files and they open normally. It occurred to me 2 times this week that there is a file that won’t open. Different clients/files, not related to each other.

      macOS Tahoe 23.3.1

      I will attach my file here ...

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      Community Expert
      Manan JoshiCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      Mar 24, 2026 2:34 PM UTC

      Tahoe has been seem to be having problems with InDesign. If possible try it on a version prior to Tahoe. The file opened fine for me on 2026 on MacOS Sequoia 15.7.4

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      -Manan
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