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Inspiring
October 23, 2020
Answered

Auto-activate adobe fonts does not work in Indesign

  • October 23, 2020
  • 3 replies
  • 6411 views

Every time I open a document that uses Adobe fonts, Indesign tells me I have missing fonts and makes me manually load them.  Why, when I have the fonts loaded in CC and set to auto-activate in Indesign, do I have to waste time doing this over and over? 

 

I am running Indesign 16 64bit on Windows 10 (updated to latest IND two days ago).  I have uninstalled the fonts and re-installed them, and I have exited CC and re-logged on.  Those actions had zero effect.

I haven't seen this exact question here, but I see many, many people describing problems with Adobe fonts, and the upshot is that they are dangerously unreliable.  I'm working on a yearly report right now that is the reason my department exists. Should I find some different fonts to use?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Bill Silbert

I can only tell you you are doing it incorrectly.


If the keyboard shortcut isn't working for you then try deleting preferences manually,

To do so:

For Macintosh Users: The User Library folder in which InDesign’s preferences are stored is hidden by default on most Macintoshes. To access it make sure that InDesign is closed and click on the desktop to launch a Finder Window (Command-N). With this window in column view follow the path User>Home folder (it’s the folder with an icon that looks like a house—it may have the user’s name rather than “Home”) and click on the Home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. “Library” will now appear within the Home folder. Within the Library folder find the folder called Preferences and within it find the folder called “Adobe InDesign” and the file called “com.adobe.InDesign.plist” and delete both that folder and that file. When InDesign is next launched it will create new preference files and the program will be restored to its defaults.

For Windows Users: On Windows 7 and above the preference files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\InDesign\<Version #>\<Language>. Make sure that InDesign is closed when you do this. When you relaunch the program it will create new preference files and the program will be at its default settings.

The advantage of manually deleting preference files is that after you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, you can create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.

3 replies

Participant
June 13, 2022

Same issue here. I had a file sent to me to edit and the fonts auto activated two weeks ago (I was not sent the fonts). I just open the same file and now the fonts don't activate. 

1) I unactived the font in CC, fonts desappeared.

2) Deleted InDesign Prefs., restarted Mac.

3) Turend off and on activate fonts in InDesign's File Handling.

4) Turned off Adobe Fonts in CC, waited 10 minutes, turned back on.

 

So far nothing works. Anything else? Thanks.

Participant
June 13, 2022

P.S. Tried this on a second Mac, and the same issue. Font will not activate. 

InDesign v17.3

Willi Adelberger
Community Expert
Community Expert
June 13, 2022

Are the fonts still available? Some fonts have been removed from the CC Font Library.

TikiMonger
Participating Frequently
February 24, 2022

This was the fix for our user who could not activate fonts yesterday no matter what she did. Maybe it will help someone else.

 

If fonts won't activate:

  1. Open Creative Cloud App
  2. Select User Account (from top right corner) 
  3. Select Preferences
  4. Select Services (from sidebar)
  5. Turn off Adobe Fonts for 10 minutes, then turn on again

Fonts will hopefully now activate.

nikoramaa
Inspiring
January 29, 2024

This solved my issue with InDesign showing Adobe fonts as missing. Thank you @TikiMonger ❤️

Rishabh_Tiwari
Legend
February 1, 2024

Hi,

 

Glad to hear that the issue was resolved. If anyone else is experiencing this issue, please try the suggestions shared in this article

Thanks

Rishabh

Community Expert
October 23, 2020

Try resetting your preferences.

 

Restore all preferences and default settings
  1. (Windows) Start InDesign, and then press Shift+Ctrl+Alt. Click Yes when asked if you want to delete preference files.
  2. (Mac OS) While pressing Shift+Option+Command+Control, start InDesign. Click Yes when asked if you want to delete preference files.
tomhockAuthor
Inspiring
October 26, 2020

That doesn't work.  I hit Shift+Ctrl+Alt after starting, held it during starting, and held it before starting, and I didn't get asked any questions about preferences or anything else.

 

Any other suggestions?

Bill Silbert
Community Expert
Bill SilbertCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
Community Expert
October 27, 2020

I can only tell you you are doing it incorrectly.


If the keyboard shortcut isn't working for you then try deleting preferences manually,

To do so:

For Macintosh Users: The User Library folder in which InDesign’s preferences are stored is hidden by default on most Macintoshes. To access it make sure that InDesign is closed and click on the desktop to launch a Finder Window (Command-N). With this window in column view follow the path User>Home folder (it’s the folder with an icon that looks like a house—it may have the user’s name rather than “Home”) and click on the Home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. “Library” will now appear within the Home folder. Within the Library folder find the folder called Preferences and within it find the folder called “Adobe InDesign” and the file called “com.adobe.InDesign.plist” and delete both that folder and that file. When InDesign is next launched it will create new preference files and the program will be restored to its defaults.

For Windows Users: On Windows 7 and above the preference files are hidden. To find them go to the Control Panel and open Folder Options and then click the View tab. Then select “Show hidden files and folders” or “Show hidden files, folders or drive options” in Advanced Settings. Then delete (or rename) the folder at the end of this path: C:\Users\<USER>\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\InDesign\<Version #>\<Language>. Make sure that InDesign is closed when you do this. When you relaunch the program it will create new preference files and the program will be at its default settings.

The advantage of manually deleting preference files is that after you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, you can create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.