Export Dialog box missing while Exporting PDFs from InDesign on macOS Mojave

[sarahk74889929]

When I go to export a PDF, im usually prompted with a window with all the settings; ie: spreads, bleeds, pages to export.. That window has diappeared, and it just exports to single pages with no option to add a bleed or change to spreads. Does anyone know how to fix? I recently updated my computer and the app. 

{Renamed by MOD}

[Randy Hagan]

Mac or PC?

If I was a betting man, I'd guess Mac, and MacOS Catalina. The reason I'm willing to take that gamble is because if you updated to MacOS 10.15 Catalina, it likely changed your PDF viewer to (Apple) Preview, which doesn't offer any of the options you'd find in Adobe Acrobat.

If you are using a Mac with Catalina, it's easy to check by finding an existing PDF file in the Mac Finder and right-clicking on it. Or control-click on it if you have a one-button mouse (quite a few folks still do, surprisingly). In the flyaway menu, select the Open With menu command, which will list the default program used for PDF viewing (and sometimes generation), as well as any other programs that can open a PDF. If the default program is anything besides Adobe Acrobat, go down to the Get Info menu command and select it. In the middle of the pop-up dialog box, open the Open With section, choose Adobe Acrobat.app option in the options box, then click the Change All... button.

This should fix your problem. If I've guessed wrong, please let me know and keep me honest, and we'll try to get you a solution.

[sarahk74889929]

My computer updated last night but im still on Mojave 10.14.6, but im noticing more things that have changed. Like the text tool, when I try to open the text box up more on one side, the whole box gets larger.. That wasnt doing that last night.  I checked the PDF like you metioned and its default to open still says Adobe Acrobat.

I did, however, find a work around.. I usually would go to File> Adobe PDF Presets, then smallest file size, then after picking the file save location another window would pop up with more presets.. But instead I tried to just do File>Export and that shows all my presets like it used to. Just unsure why the other way stopped working all of a sudden. Just glad to be back on track! Was really worried for a minute. 

[sarahk74889929 · Accepted solution]

I figured it out! It was my Anti-Virus software thaty have on my computer I paused it and all things went back to normal. 

[Randy Hagan]

Wow. Great sleuthing on your part, but that's really not a good thing ...

First, it's good that you are running antivirus on your Mac. Not to start a flame war, but if there ever was security through obscurity, shouting angry Mac-heads braying that Macs were magically invincible have drawn the interest of malware authors and distributors to prove them wrong.

I've tried two solutions which have worked well for me. Sophos antivirus, only because I decided I'd rather share my vulnerabilities with the NSA and GCHQ than Russia's FSB. And Norton Security, which offered me good protection for my Mac and PC, iOS and Android devices. I'm curious, just for future reference: what antivirus software were you using when this problem developed?