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.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @amandar7465499,

Thanks for sharing the details. I tried testing this on my end but couldn’t reproduce the issue, the files dock correctly when opened in InDesign 2026. Could you please share a screenshot showing how it looks when you launch InDesign 2026 compared to how it appears in InDesign 2025? That will help me better understand the difference in behavior.

Looking forward to your update.

Abhishek

[amandar7465499]

I just tried it again on my end. InDesign 2025 works perfectly, the files open up docked to upper left corner. The "traffic light" buttons are all visable. The file is NOT underneath my tools or pallets. When I launched InDesign 2026 the file I opened, opened underneath my tools and pallets. The document was not docked. The "traffic light" buttons are partially hidden under my tools. I have to physiacally pull the document to the left to be able to grab the bottom right of it to make the it smaller. I do not use the application frame as I had stated in my initial post, nor will I ever use it. I have to be able to see my desktop.

[leo.r]

By @amandar7465499

It's a known bug in InDesign 2026:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/adobe-indesign-2026-full-screen-toggle-change-bu...

There's no solution until Adobe fixes it. You can find some workarounds in the thread above.

[amandar7465499]

UGH!!!! ADOBE PLEASE FIX THIS!!! I'm a graphic designer so this is my lifeline. I HATE when they mess with things! I need my programs to work smoothly! I have enough "client" headaches... I don't need any "progarm" headaches! ADOBE - please listen to your users beause we're the one's paying for your subsriptions! PLEASE FIX THIS!

[.33904303rds7]

I dont see the new update for indesign on Creative Cloud? Only Indesign (21.0)

[Mike Witherell]

As of 2025/12/22, there is a 21.1 patch you should run and apply it to your InDesign 2026

[Mike Witherell]

Patch up to 21.1

[defaultvva0bzcuffcj]

I am using 21.0.2 and I keep having horrible issues when trying to move the Indesign window on my monitor. I have trashed my Indesign preferences, and restarted Indesign a few times. The issue keeps happening. Sometimes I have to try over 8 times to move the window before it finally breaks free. I mostly use Essentials Classic as my workspace. I only use one monitor. This has been very painful as this is my busiest time of year and this issue is slowing my production. Please help!!

[defaultvva0bzcuffcj]

I am having the same horrible issue, the InDesign window gets stuck and will not move until I try moving it up to eight times. I have trashed my prefs, updated Indesign, restarted. I am only using a mac studio monitor and not sharing monitors. This is killing my productivity. Adobe are you listening?

[Anubhav M]

Hello @defaultvva0bzcuffcj,

I'm sorry to hear you're having similar trouble with InDesign. Would you mind trying to run InDesign under a different administrator account (Windows / macOS) and checking if it helps?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[Mike Witherell]

For those of you who patched to 21.1, are you seeing a resolution of this problem?

[Gavin at MRP]

I'm on 21.0.2 stable release and this seems to be resolved. I haven't seen a 21.1 stable release. Is that a beta?

[Gavin at MRP]

But of course the moment I hit send, the 21.1 release shows in Creative Cloud. 

And some bug in this forum prevents me from editing my own comments.

[HARSHIKA_VERMA]

No worries. Would you mind telling us if the issue is resolved with the latest update? 

Thanks,

Harshika

[Gavin at MRP]

When I get back from Christmas holiday. I don't want to risk updating and breaking something right before I head out the door. No offence, but so many of Adobe's latest updates have been like releasing a beta to the public, and I can't afford to be a guinea pig on the last day before holiday.

[Gavin at MRP]

By the way, this is the error I get if I try to edit my own comments here on this forum.

[Julie277460189igc]

I just installed the 21.1 update and am still seeing the window opening full-screen.

[leo.r]

I just installed the 21.1 update and am still seeing the window opening full-screen.

By @Julie277460189igc

This should be fixed in 21.1 (actually, in an earlier update). Do you mean that when you click the green button your window becomes full-screen?

[belinda_3649]

This is NOT solved. I am updated to the most recent Indesign and every time I open a file it opens so large it fills the entire work space area, UNDERNEATH the tool palettes. Then once I have manually resized the file frame, and open another file hoping it will stay WITHIN those parametres, the next file opens HUGE off the side of the screen!!
This NEVER used to happen! What is going on, Adobe? You have broken the software and made it slower and more frustrating for all your users that pay a premium for it. This is NOT on. FIX IT already! 

Allow every file openened to STAY inside the SAME SIZE frame that it is opened within.

Also in Photoshop, the file frames are no longer resizing when zooming in and out. You have to manually resize them all! This is what Illustrator used to be like. What is going on?! FIX ALL OF THIS PLEASE! I have been a user since 1997 enough with these basic mistakes!

[leo.r]

This is NOT solved. I am updated to the most recent Indesign and every time I open a file it opens so large it fills the entire work space area, UNDERNEATH the tool palettes. Then once I have manually resized the file frame, and open another file hoping it will stay WITHIN those parametres, the next file opens HUGE off the side of the screen!!

By @belinda_3649

Interesting. All I know is I can't reproduce it here with InDesign 21.1 on Tahoe. I think at least one user above has reported something similar, but it doesn't look like a widespread problem, or we'd hear from more users about it. 

What's your macOS version? Also, what happens when you click the green button? 

[JamieMcKee]

I'm with leo.r. As one who initially complained about the issue in this thread, it's fixed for me. I'm using InDesign 21.1 with macOS 26.2. No application frame and the green window button works like it should...like it did prior to InDesign 21.

[defaultkja3uitkc2gx]

Bug Report: Broken Window Management in InDesign 21.1 on macOS Sequoia

This issue is still not resolved. I am working on macOS Sequoia with Adobe InDesign 21.1 and experience exactly the same behavior already described by Belinda. When opening documents, InDesign ignores the previously used window size. Files open either excessively large underneath the tool and panel areas or massively oversized and positioned to the side, spanning almost the entire screen. Even after manually resizing a document window, InDesign does not retain this setting when opening the next file. Window management is effectively broken. This is a clear regression bug. For years, previous InDesign versions opened documents with stable and predictable window sizes.
I have been working with Adobe products since 1999 and am used to occasional issues after updates, but I am not used to waiting this long for a fundamental bug to be fixed. This behavior is highly disruptive to professional workflows and causes unnecessary time loss. Please prioritize fixing this issue.

[belinda_3649]

Thank you sincerely for confirming this. It's such a huge regression. I am shocked we are even being questioned over this. I'm using Indesign 21.1 and it keeps doing it. It shouldn't matter what OS I am using if it allows Indesign 21.1 to function. Why did Adobe even touch these settings? It makes no sense.

When I click the green button it moves the file to fill the screen underneath the main top menu and all the palettes which I do not want!

I often work in publishing which means I need two files open side by side not on top of each other when doing amends. Each time I go to open a new chapter, it throws the whole screen out covering the other file I have open too. It's madness. Dysfunctional backwards error.

[leo.r]

When I click the green button it moves the file to fill the screen underneath the main top menu and all the palettes which I do not want!

By @belinda_3649

Strange (and sure frustrating). This problem was fixed in an earlier update (well, for most users at least). When you click the green button, does InDesign enter the actual "full-screen" mode, or does the document simply expand underneath the panels? Also, what's your macOS version?

[belinda_3649]

It expands underneath the panels. 
I am using OS Venutra.

Note this: I went and checked this issue on an older mac, using OS Monterey with Indesign 20.0.1 and it does not have this issue.
So, it cannot be said it's because I am using an older OS. 
This is a new issue made by Adobe that needs to be fixed. It is not my fault for having an oldere OS.
Even in the post above by defaultkja3uitkc2gx  proves that issue is not fixed by using OS Tahoe.