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.

[mariajean]

Glad to have found this thread. Long time user here and just wanted to chime in, never used Application Frame, experiencing the same issues, lost time and look forward to a fix. Thanks leo.r for the "option-click the green button"  and MikeMac966 for "The current workaround is to hit the tab key, so that tool palettes and sidebars disappear, then hover again in the top left corner. The traffic lights should reappear, and you can exit full screen mode. Then hit tab key again to bring back your tools and you should be good to go." , saved me some time today and much appreciated!

Graphics people see the world in a different way, we literally need to "think outside of the box." That's why we gravitated toward Macs in the early days of desktop publishing while evolving from our drawing tables and still why the application frame is not preferred by many of us.

[Coldd]

So a bit of an update, and a workaround that's made this bearable for me, until Adobe fixes this.

This applies to InDesign and Photoshop, which both exhibit this bug.

Undock the toolbar palette from the left and the palletes from the right, moving them in from the sides so they float in from the sides of the screen.

Re-dock the pointless floating bar at the top of the screen.

Then when you open a document, it defaults to the wide screen document size, but you'll be able to see the close, minimise and expand buttons, and the scroll bar to the right.

It still doesn't save the document size between saves, it also sometimes doesn't stop it going behind the dock.

And for me, option clicking the full screen button does nothing, but at least this way, I don't have to manually re-size every single inDesign document I open dozens of times per day.

It would be nice if someone Adobe would acknowledge that a fix is coming.

[brilliant_Echo16B6]

I'm having this issue as well. I am using version 21.0. This is a really important function because I don't like the application frames. I work in multiple software programs during all of my projects and I do not want to have to hide and show application frames every time I need to grab text or something from another program. But I also want the window I'm working in to fit inside of my panels with one click like it always has. 

[susanr97390151]

Here's my *temporary* workaround that sounds more complicated than it is. It works if you use tabs for multiple InDesign files opened at the same time. (If not, you might want to set this up anyway.) With one file open, go to the trouble of re-sizing your document (by grabbing the top-left corner of your file; not the bottom right like we are accustomed to). Happy file. When you open another file, it will go wonky because of the bug. Grab that tab out of its nest so it's independent of the other tab/s. Then drag it back in and it will resize to the space of the other file/s.

Since this has been such a time waste, this method has served as the quickest method for me to have my files cooperate with my workflow. I have to open many, many InDesign files throughout the day and have no time to fix every one. Just be sure to keep your "master tab" open all day. We got this. - - Sue R

[Damian5FE4]

how is keeping a master tab open all the time and leaving the application frame on really any different?

[susanr97390151]

Using Application Frame pulls everything into the frame. For those of us who have never been comfortable with those restrictions, it has never worked. I sometimes use it in Photoshop, but never in InDesign or Illustrator. Application Frame consumes the screen space in such a way that is uncomfortable for many of us. (Particularly those of us who have been using it since it was Aldus PageMaker.) My workflow requires that I can see what's going on "behind" my InDesign window and can readily click to my desktop, or another application window, or browser window; all in fewer clicks. With Application Frame, I would always have to click out of InDesign first or minimize InDesign files first, and then move forward. Habits form, clicks count.

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[Damian5FE4]

Exactly. But your workaround insists on a document, even a blank one, remain open. Sure you COULD minimize the window, achieving the same thing as toggling Application Frame on and off.
What I'm saying is, your workaround seems like Application Frame, but with more steps.

[Diguru-Studio]

I get it, its not an Application Frame. It still keeps the windowed area.

Id be tempted to try this workaround but thers no way i wont close the master" window at some point  and just be more irritated  🙂