file won't open - undefined error

[helbee]

I have a series of InDesign files on an external hard drive which are now refusing to open in InDesign. I have the error message: "Cannot open the file *filename*. Undefined error.

I have restarted Indesign and reset preferences.

I have tried to open the files as copies.

I have copied the files to my hard drive and tried opening them from here.

The file size of all the files seems to be correct, they are all several Mbs, but when I look at the symbol of the file in the finder, instead of the Indesign icon I have a black square with a terminal icon labelled "icloud". (see attached).

Other InDesign files that I have stored on the hard drive are opening fine. I am using an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015) running MacOS Big Sur.

Does anyone have any ideas what might be going wrong or have any troubleshooting tips other than the ones I have tried already?

Thanks,

Helen

[jane-e]

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@helbee wrote:

I have a series of InDesign files on an external hard drive which are now refusing to open in InDesign.

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Hi Helen

Try the steps here first:

https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/troubleshoot-file-issues.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/kb/troubleshoot-file-issues.html#need_help

If no resolution works, share the affected file with Adobe at idfile@adobe.com. 

Jane

[Peter Spier]

There have been a number of similar discussions where it seems the problem is giving InDesign permissions for full disk access. I'm not a Mac user, so I don't recall thge exact location to check.

[jane-e]

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@Peter Spier wrote:

... it seems the problem is giving InDesign permissions for full disk access.

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If that's the issue, it's in System Prefs > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibilty.

Jane

[Peter Spier]

Thanks, Jane.