Application Frame Missing

[fixingstuff]

Since nobody at Adobe seems to care about this intermittent problem, here's a possible solution:

If you are using InDesign on a Mac and use the application frame, and all of a sudden InDesign seems to stop showing anything on screen except the menu bar, but if you switch off the application frame, everything's OK, then your application screen is getting displayed on a hidden screen, like an external display or other workspace. If that sounds weird, it is. It's a bug and Adobe doesn't care.

One solution would be to reconnect the external monitor you probably connected at some point. If you don't use an additional monitor, try to open InDesign in another workspace/desktop.

- open Mission Control (open Mission Control.app or if you use a trackpad, swipe up with four fingers)

- open another desktop by pointing at the top desktop bar, then clicking the "+" in the top right corner

- click on that new desktop icon

- open InDesign, it should show the application bar again

- go to the desktop bar in Mission Control again, close that new desktop with clicking on "X"

Now that worked for me, if you had success with that method, post it here...

[Laubender]

Hi fixingstuff,

thanks for that…

To report this bug please head over to Adobe InDesign UserVoice:

https://indesign.uservoice.com/forums/601180-adobe-indesign-bugs

Thanks,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about your experience. This is not the experience we want you to have. I understand how important it is to you to get this issue addressed. We’d be happy to look into this for you. I would request you to share a few more details like:

• The exact version of macOS and InDesign
• Screenshot of “About This Mac.” (both Overview and Displays tab)
• Which external monitor are you using, with which port and cable combination it is connected.
• A small video demonstrating the issue could be really helpful.

We'll be looking forward to your response.

Thanks & Regards,

Anshul Saini

[kstutt]

I also had this issue today and the only thing that made it reappear for me was to disconnect from the internet by turning off my wifi. The application frame showed up in Photoshop and Illustratior but not InDesign. 

[Steve Werner]

Two possible solutions to get the Application Frame to appear:

(1) Window > Workspace > Reset [current workspace] or

(2) Restore your InDesign preferences and caches:

Adobe InDesign: Rebuilding Preferences and Cache Fileshttps://www.rockymountaintraining.com › adobe-...

[kstutt]

Thank you, Steve.

Unfortunately, I tried those solutions and even reinstalled InDesign. I restarted my computer, zapped the PRAM, changed the display resolution, created a new desktop workspace on the mac in case the window was lost, logged in and out of my user account, turned off "show documents as tabs" in the preferences, and none of those worked. It wasn't until I turned off my WiFi and then turned it back on that it allowed the Application Frame to show up.

Very strange, I don't know why that's what worked, but I wanted to share it so someone else wouldn't have to waste 3 hours of their life hunting something down. 😉

[fixingstuff]

That is strange. Did you get your windows back by disabling the Application Frame in the Windows menu? If you switch it off and your windows and palettes appear (as normal single macOS windows), then it's the bug I refer to here. If not, it might be a different problem.

The usual reflex is removing the prefs and reinstalling, as shown in the answers here, which is terribly time-consuming and doesn't help. Someone mentioned connecting an external/2nd monitor, and that helped when it first happened to me. The next time it happened I tried the new-desktop method described above and it worked fine. But if you tried it exactly like described and it didn't help this still wouldn't be a working method for everybody.

About all requiries above for more details, this is moot, this problem happens for ages now, this is a well documented bug, my solution (which might or might not work for everybody) is sufficiently described above. I run High Sierra on a MacBook Pro, so my last supported version is 15.1.3.

[kstutt]

I did have to turn the frame off and then the palettes appeared and then back on once I was off the internet and it worked. I tried your solution first and then randomly tried the wifi because I was desperate. 

I'm running Mojave 10.14.6 on a MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012). I think it's the last upgrade I can make too. 😉

[ClareBIOZONE · Accepted solution]

On a Mac I found that the solution was to go into the display preferences and select "mirror displays" I was then able to move the application frame into the correct position. 

After that, I reset my current workspace and everything is back to normal.

I hope this helps other people too