Adobe InDesign 2026, full screen toggle change - BUG

[Coldd]

I use Adobe inDesign in pallet mode, so not 'Application Frame' mode, with toolbars at the top and left docked and pallets docked to the right.

Click the the expand traffic light button in the top left used to just expand the window so that it still showed the dock at the bottom and the pallets to the right, if they inadvertently went behind the pallets or dock.

Now it just goes full screen mode which I don't use and is useless for a pallet rich application like InDesign, and is impossible to get out of, unless you move & undock the toolbars out of the way so that when you move your mouse to the top, the window buttons reappear.

This is so broken it's unbelivable you've shipped it like this.

The only fix for this is to go into Application Frame mode which doesn't work for me because I need to see the Finder desktop when there's no documents open.

It's a bug because holding down the option key and hovering over the expand button, changes it into a + sign but it does nothing when you click it.

Adobe Photoshop 2026 behaves the same, but Adobe Illustrator works as InDesign used to..

So the fix is to just make it work like Illustrator.

[Diguru-Studio]

agreed.
it expands under the palettes and all new windows open up full width under the paletts too
cant be fixed soon enough 

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Coldd, @Diguru-Studio,

Thanks for reaching out and sharing your observations. While I check this with the team could you try resetting your workspace or switching to one of the default workspaces to see if the problem persists?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[Coldd]

Yeah tried that before, it doesn't change the behaviour.

[Diguru-Studio]

yep no difference 

[leo.r]

Yes, a known bug in InDesign 2026:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/workspace-problem-since-the-v20-update/m-p/15567...

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/new-document-window-opens-bellow-pannels/m-p/155...

[Coldd]

No, this is different.

I've been option clicking to override the full screen for a while now.

This bug is where option clicking no longer works.

Pressing option whilst hovering over the full screen button changes it to a +, but clicking it does nothing to the window.

[leo.r]

No, this is different.

I've been option clicking to override the full screen for a while now.

This bug is where option clicking no longer works.

Pressing option whilst hovering over the full screen button changes it to a +, but clicking it does nothing to the window.

By @Coldd

Prior to InDesign 2026, InDesign didn't have a full-screen mode, so it didn't make any difference whether you hold Option when clicking the green button or not - it behaved as expected anyway.

If I understand you correctly, then I can't reproduce what you describe - that is that option-clicking the green button does nothing. To me, this simply always does the wrong thing (that is, expands the window behind the panels and the Dock). 

Regardless, it's clear that window positioning functionality is totally broken, and it doesn't look like this has ever been tested while Application Frame is disabled.

[leo.r]

Now it just goes full screen mode which I don't use and is useless for a pallet rich application like InDesign, and is impossible to get out of, unless you move & undock the toolbars out of the way

By @Coldd

Yes, it's quite infuriating that there's no way to get out of the full-screen mode (which is undesirable for the overwhelming majority of users anyway).

An easier way than moving panels is to press Tab (just make sure you're not in text-editing mode), which will hide all panels. Then you can reveal the green button by moving the cursor to the top of the screen, click it to exit the full-screen mode, and then press Tab again to bring back the panels.

[Diguru-Studio]

yeah if you click the green button accidently then the 'full screen' mode its got into is broken anyway

[Mike Witherell]

Since this is probably a new macOS bug:

In the meantime, consider running in Application Frame (which has many benefits) and consider pressing Cmd-Tab to go to Finder quickly.

[Diguru-Studio]

running in Application Frame (which has many benefits) 

By @Mike Witherell

I can confirm IT DOES NOT!

its very un maclike and claustraphobic

someting i turn off immedetly  on adobe apps 

it no longer works as expected, holding etc is irrelevant, the window should not wander under the palettes

[Coldd]

Not to turn this post into a rant (as I just want this bug repaired), but I agree.

I jump from the Mac to the Windows versions on occasion and it seems that the 'Windows way' (Application Frame) is certainly tested (and is pushed by Adobe) more than the 'Mac way' (document window and floating pallets).

The non-Application Frame is completely broken (the completely redundant UI bar with the Home button which cannot be removed for instance), and now this full-screen bug on top of that just compounds it.

Having said that, the Finder exhibits this same beahviour now so i don't know if Adobe is just following Apple's lead here.

[Diguru-Studio]

the fincder does do that behavioir, as do many apps, inclouding Apple's - HOWEVER, they do not have floating palletes , so its irrelevant really..
Adobe shoudl revert back to how it used to work.

the full width window under the palletes is just odd .

additonaly , AI seems fine so it cant be intended 

>>>The non-Application Frame is completely broken (the completely redundant UI bar with the Home button which cannot be removed for instance), and now this full-screen bug on top of that just compounds it.

I did find away to remove that bar, but I cant recall how! I saved a worksapce (atatched). you can just change it again in the Window menu

[BobLevine]

In the past there have been bugs in the Apple operating system that have caused issues with InDesign. Not saying any current bugs are caused by that but I suggest keeping an open mind.

[Diguru-Studio]

understood, of course

but it worked previous to this update so Adobe have done somehting different 

[Coldd]

It also works as it used to in the latest updated version of Adobe Illustrator.

I just want it to work like that,

[Rouge]

Ce n'est pas un bogue de macOS, puisqu'InDesign 2025 fonctionne toujours parfaitement sur ce point !

[MikeMac966]

Same problem here. The Application Frame is NOT an option - maybe your developers have come from Microsoft backgrounds but the frame is totally alien to the bulk of your users on Macs. Which I suspect is the larger proportion of your professional clientele. I've been using Adobe products and their predecessors since 1990 and this is the dumbest, most frustrating ever. For heaven's sake fix it, ASAP.

[Abuse removed by moderator]

[Trudel2783424956ko]

I have a display problem since updating to V20. When I click on the green circle to extend the workspace to the maximum possible, it becomes full screen and that's not what I want. Before the update it still worked fine. Anyone with the same issue?

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @Trudel2783424956ko,

Thanks for reaching out. Could you please confirm which operating system you're using (is it macOS)? If yes, try holding the Option key while clicking the green circle, that should expand the window without switching to full-screen mode. Also, the latest InDesign version available is 21.0, so please update and test if the behavior improves.

If the issue persists, please share a short screen recording showing the workflow, so I can understand it better.

Looking forward to your update.

Abhishek

[Trudel2783424956ko]

Hi, I've tried clicking combine with the option key and it's working! I made mistake saying V20, I'm on V21 since this morning and it's since then the problem appear. Before the update I was able to simply click the green circle to do this action, is it because of the update that now I need to also press the Option key to get the same result?

[leo.r]

Hi, I've tried clicking combine with the option key and it's working! I made mistake saying V20, I'm on V21 since this morning and it's since then the problem appear. Before the update I was able to simply click the green circle to do this action, is it because of the update that now I need to also press the Option key to get the same result?

By @Trudel2783424956ko

Yes, InDesign 2026 adopted the standard behavior of macOS windows (clicking the green button makes the window full screen, while opt-click on the green button zooms the window). 

This, however, only applies when Application Frame is disabled. When Application Frame is enabled, the full-screen mode is disabled (that is, the InDesign window behaves in the pre-2026 way). 

I never use the full-screen mode, so I don't know what the logic is behind this inconsistent behavior of the green button.

Also, keep in mind that so far there's a bug in the "option-click green button" functionality: it may extend the document window to the monitor edge behind the Tools panel, and when you attempt to reposition the window, the bottom bar of the window becomes hidden. To reveal the bottom bar, you'll need to slightly move the window title bar upwards (which may take several attempts until you achieve the desired result).

[Trudel2783424956ko]

Oh! Thank for the explaination. I also experiment the behaviour you talk about with the window being oversized and behind the tools. It's frustrating and not productive at all.

[Diguru-Studio]

it shiuodk resize to avoid the palettes (inc tool palette) as all perviosu verisons. this new way is insane