Unable to Launch InDesign

Yep had it for a week now and don't know what to do.

Btw, the exact error was an EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION error. Perhaps handy for the next person. 

Hi there,

Sorry about the crashing! I know that's really frustrating. I would like to know if the steps suggested above worked for you?

If not, you may try the following steps and share your observations with us:

• Rename CEP folder from C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\CEP  
• If that doesn't help, rename extensions folder from   C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\UXP 

While performing each step, please make sure that all Adobe apps are closed.  

Feel free to let us know if you still need assistance. We'd be happy to help. 

Regards,

Srishti

Your list did not include trashing preferences or cache files. These processes will restore your InDesign to its default state and hopefully solve the problem.

To delete preferences:

For Macintosh Users: The User Library folder in which InDesign’s preferences are stored is hidden by default on most Macintoshes. To access it make sure that InDesign is closed and click on the desktop to launch a Finder Window (Command-N). With this window in column view follow the path User>Home folder (it’s the folder with an icon that looks like a house—it may have the user’s name rather than “Home”) and click on the Home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. “Library” will now appear within the Home folder. Within the Library folder find the folder called Preferences and within it find the folder called “Adobe InDesign” and the file called “com.adobe.InDesign.plist” and delete both that folder and that file. When InDesign is next launched it will create new preference files and the program will be restored to its defaults.

For Windows Users: You can try the quick way of resetting on a PC which is to hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift when launching InDesign and respond affirmatively when asked if you want to reset. There have been some recent reports that the window asking if you want to reset is not popping up but that the prefs are being reset anyway. If this works great but if it doesn’t you may have to manually delete them.

To do so: On Windows 7 and above the preference files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\InDesign\<Version #>\<Language>. Make sure that InDesign is closed when you do this. When you relaunch the program it will create new preference files and the program will be at its default settings.

The advantage of manually deleting preference files is that after you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, you can create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.

To delete cache files:
For Macintosh Users: Follow the above instructions to get to the Library folder. Within the Library folder find the “Caches” folder. Within the Caches folder find and delete the entire folder “Adobe InDesign”. I find that deleting the InDesign cache folder completely leads to a lasting change.

For Windows Users: Follow the above instructions to get to “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\[User Name]\AppData\Local\Adobe\InDesign\Version [#]\<Language>\Cache. 

We need more information about your set up to be able to help you: Please tell us what operating system (exactly) you're running. Please tell us (exactly) what InDesign version you're using. Does this happen with just one file, or with any file you try to  open? Did you make some change in your system before this problem started to occur?