Book Panel CLOSES and cannot be found after opening a file in the book

[Rachelm777]

I've read several other discussions about this here n the support community, but none actually seem to address the problem. I have a book with several documents. When I open the book the book panel opens along with the InDesign window. I dock the Book Panel (yes, I do understand what docking is, promise!) Then I open a file to begin work, and the Book Panel disappears from the doc, and it IS NOT listed at the bottom of the Window menu. Only the document I opened is listed there, not the book. It IS NOT behind anything. I've closed and/or minimized every other window - it's not just hiding behind somehting else.
I can't seem to find a way to re-open the Book Panel. I really need it for synching docs, numbering, etc.
I think a bug was submitted for this, but I can't find that it was fixed (and if it was... it's baaacck!)
Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks in advance - this is really cramping my style!

[Steve Werner · Accepted solution]

Start by telling us: Please tell us what operating system (exactly) you're running. Please tell us (exactly) what InDesign version you're using.

It's working for me in InDesign 2021 and macOS 10.15.7 (as it has for previous versions of InDesign)

You need to SAVE the book panel. It's a file, just like your book chapters files. To save a book file, chose File > Save or File > Save As from the book panel menu. Then it should show up in the Window menu. I suggest saving the book file in the same folder as your chapter files.

[Galil TW LTD - U3]

STILL A BUG!!!

[Anshul_Saini]

Hi @Galil TW LTD - U3,

I'm sorry to hear that you're still experiencing this issue with the Book Panel. I found an old bug logged for this, but the product team hasn't been able to reproduce the issue.

Could you please share a screen recording with reproducible steps and a sample book file? Additionally, please confirm your system details, OS, and InDesign version.

Thank you for your patience and assistance.

Best regards,
Anshul Saini

[Barb Binder]

Hi @Anshul_Saini:

This happened to me regularly for years—though of course, when I tried to pull screen shots for you today, it didn't. (InDesign 19.4/macOS Ventura 14.4/Application Frame enabled)

It would happen if I opened the book without any documents open, or if I closed all open documents, but left the book window open.

Of course, as an experienced user, I know that that I can locate the book by going to the bottom of the Window menu and clicking on the name. That always brought it back from wherever it went. I never reported it because it was a 2-second fix, but understand that it would be baffling to a new user. 

~Barb