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Matt Walker 427
Inspiring
July 14, 2022
Answered

.acb file in swatch library, but not appearing in inDesign etc

  • July 14, 2022
  • 2 replies
  • 8844 views

Hi, 

 

We are a print and design company in the UK, and recently upgraded our work Macs from the old intel versions, to the new siliicon chipped versions. 

 

I have just finished setting everything up, but I've hit a wall with something that I could do with some help with, please. We have the Pantone Color Bridge .acb files stored away, which we would normally drop into the Swatch Libraries folder in the Applications folder - and they would usually appear in inDesign etc where you would expect (New colour swatch, etc) for us to use as normal. However, this time they are not appearing. I have tried everything obvious, like deleting cached files etc.

 

What's more annoying, is I've been through exactly the same process 6 months ago on my home MacBook Pro, and it all works fine (and still does!)

 

Screenshots attached.

What am I missing here? Can anybody advise?

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer Matt Walker 427

    Hi all, 

     

    I've finally sorted this. I fixed it by going back to basics (even though it was a pain in the arse) and uninstalling inDesign (both 2021 and 2022 versions), and re-installing from scratch - and in chronological order (inD 2021 first, followed by inD 2022). 

     

    All works perfectly now so problem solved. I'm not sure why it wouldn't work previously, but hey ho. I appreciate all of your suggestions. 

    2 replies

    M
    Matt Walker 427AuthorCorrect answer
    Inspiring
    July 20, 2022

    Hi all, 

     

    I've finally sorted this. I fixed it by going back to basics (even though it was a pain in the arse) and uninstalling inDesign (both 2021 and 2022 versions), and re-installing from scratch - and in chronological order (inD 2021 first, followed by inD 2022). 

     

    All works perfectly now so problem solved. I'm not sure why it wouldn't work previously, but hey ho. I appreciate all of your suggestions. 

      rob day
      Community Expert
      rob dayCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 14, 2022

      Hi @Matt Walker 427 , how did you create the .acb files? Did export the libraries from Pantone’s Color Manager or the Pantone Connect extension, or did you save them out of the swatches panel? The Swatches panel exports .ase not .acb files. If you exported an .ase file and changed the extension to .acb that wouldn’t work.

       

      Can you share one of the books?

      M
      Matt Walker 427Author
      Inspiring
      July 14, 2022

      I appreciate the reply Rob. 

       

      In this instance, the .acb files were dragged from the Applications>inDesign>Presets>Swatch Library on the old Mac (where they worked perfectly fine), and into my dropbox. And then from dropbox, into the exact same location on the new Mac. 

       

      I'm not sure where the original .acb files were sourced as I personally didn't source them - but I'm guessing our Pantone Colour Manager extension via the code in the new Pantone Books we purchased just before the pandemic hit. 

       

      To clarify - these exact .acb files have worked on previous machines, and also currently work on my MacBook Pro at home. ID and AI on the work desktop machines however, are not showing them. 

       

      Kevin Stohlmeyer
      Community Expert
      Kevin StohlmeyerCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      July 14, 2022

      Depending on how old these are - you may need to get updated .acb files.

      Mine are located in the same location but I checked after reading your post - I'm only seeing about half of my total files in InDesign 2022.

      Digging a little further, it appears some of my PantoneV3 swatches from 2020 are not recognized but my V4 from 2022 are showing properly.

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