Updating PDF links freezes Indesign

Forum|Forum|1 day ago
September 14, 2026
10 replies
37 views

I have had this issue when placing a PDF in Indesign, I do all my checks and prepwork. I run my preflight to check to make sure the file is CMYK. When it is not I right click and edit original in Acrobat. I do my conversion there. The file relinking tends to lock up Indesign and my fans go nuts. Computer is an M1 Max with 32 gigs of RAM. Indesign 21.5.1.73 in macOS Tahoe (latest update). I have had this with a few larger page PDF’s, the current one is 104 - 5.5 x 8.5 pages. It has been trying to relink for over 20 mins now. I could force quite and just re-add the PDF’s again from scratch with the CMYK profile done and it will be no problem, only when it comes to relinking the file. I have reset preferences numerous times with no luck. Very frustrating. Have this with various files, anyone else having this issue? Any fixes? Not sure if this is combined but it seems to have locked up the CC Hub. I have never tried opening it when Indesign is locked up trying to update the linked file, so not sure if this is just coincidence now or part of whatever is causing the problem.

rob day

Community Expert

When it is not I right click and edit original in Acrobat. I do my conversion there

Hi @Ben__P , I assume this is for print output? If that’s the case why convert the placed PDFs? You can leave them as they are, and make the conversion to the desired CMYK space on the final PDF export. This would convert all color to the document’s assigned CMYK profile, and preserve the InDesign CMYK values:

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Ben__PAuthor

Known Participant

It can be done that way but that is not the way I want to do things. I have been doing this for 20+ years and only now is it causing a problem, so the answer is not really change how I am doing it, but rather find what the issue/problem is. I appreciate the suggestion though.

rob day

Community Expert

I have been doing this for 20+ years and only now is it causing a problem,

All of the Adobe apps use the same color management system, so assuming the source and destination profiles are the same, you would get same CMYK values from either Acrobat or an InDesign PDF conversion.

Also, are you sure the press is outputting your provided document CMYK values unchanged? That was common 20 years ago, but is less so today where total ink exceeding press limits can be a real problem with customer provided CMYK values.

leo.r

Community Expert

Where is the PDF located - your local drive, network, cloud storage etc?

edit original in Acrobat. I do my conversion there.
just re-add the PDF’s again from scratch with the CMYK profile done

Just to make sure: what kind of conversion are you doing in Acrobat? Are you running a preflight fixup?

The file relinking tends to lock up Indesign

By “relinking”, are you referring to updating the link in InDesign after it’s modified in Acrobat? Or are you specifically relinking it using another method?

few larger page PDF’s, the current one is 104 - 5.5 x 8.5 pages

Do I understand correctly that you have a 104-page PDF placed in your InDesign file? If so, does it mean that you have 104 links in InDesign each of which displays a page from this PDF file?

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Ben__PAuthor

Known Participant

PDF is on my local drive, a 1 TB flash drive that came with the MacBook Pro.

This is a preflight fixup in Acrobat DC, I use this all the time and have been for years. Profile is a default one that converts to CMYK only using GRACOL.

I have tried relinking as well as updating both have the same issue. Updating happens automatically after editing and saving the PDF, it makes my fans spin up and does not seem to ever finish. I have left it for around 15 mins. Just bringing the PDF back takes a couple of minutes at most.

This is one PDF that has 104 pages and is placed in Indesign.

leo.r

Community Expert

This is one PDF that has 104 pages and is placed in Indesign.

Just to make sure: So is it placed in InDesign 104 times, one link per page?

(It shouldn’t cause the problems you describe normally, but it’s important to understand all details.)

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