How to recover from a cross-reference crash?

[Nedlaw]

Hi. Using ID 20.5 under Windows 11.

Three days ago, ID was updated automatically to 20.5. Today I opened a set of book files created under the immediate previous version (20.41, I believe, but it might have been a version earlier; I usually update right away).

In one of the files, previously, I had changed a head that was cross-referenced earlier in the same file. That is, on p15 the cross-reference refers to a head on p22, but the head on p22 had been changed (and the file saved) without updating the Xref prior to saving.

Today, under 20.5, I open the file and notice that the reference to the head on p22 is red. Why, I must have neglected to update it! I will fix that, I think.

I go to the reference citation on p15 and select it in the Cross-Reference panel.

1st try) I double-click the reference to update it. ID tries to open the Xref panel and crashes. I reopen the app and the book. I have seen this story before with cross-references the last couple of times Adobe has updated ID. I think I posted about it in the forum.

2nd try) I create a new paragraph marker below the tainted paragraph (actually, I try this two different ways so as not to inherit some corrupted property of the tainted paragraph). On the Xref panel, I click new Xref. ID crashes as the Xref dialog tries to open.

3rd try) I create a new paragraph marker in the file, but ABOVE (by several inches of intervening text) the Xref that is crashing. I retype the entire paragraph (this has worked previously, and I'll move it into position later). I click new Xref. ID crashes on trying to open the Xref dialog. Clarification: I am not trying to open any specific Xref or overwrite an existing Xref. I'm trying to create a NEW Xref unrelated to any other Xref.

I'm afraid I've run out of ideas about how to recover from this. (maybe... story editor... maybe IDML...) But the only way I know of creating a new cross-reference is by using the cross-reference dialog, which seems to crash ID every time. I have sent all reports to Adobe. I still need to check Xrefs in OTHER files to see if it's one file that's corrupted or whether ID itself is at fault.

Suggestions? I am moving into a deadline situation in the next week or so.

Thanks as always to the community.

-j

[leo.r]

Does the problem go away if you revert to an earlier InDesign 2025 version (CC app > InDesign > Other Versions menu)?

[Nedlaw · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the comments. I had to revert to version 20.41 (the immediate preceding version of ID). Here's what I tried and what worked:

• I copied in a backup version of the trouble file. Using 20.5, I opened it. That file version included the un-updated Xrefs, but it hadn't been tinkered with yet, exposed to recovery, etc. I opened that file alone in ID 20.5 (the bad Xrefs were both within the same file), opened the Cross-Ref panel, deleted the two bad Xrefs, and then attempted to create new Xrefs. This produced a crash -- exactly as it had when the problem first occurred with the original file. From this I deduce that the issue is with ID 20.5's response to the condition of two saved but un-updated Xrefs, not necessarily with corruption of the file resulting from saving it with two un-updated Xrefs, if that makes sense. Read on.
• Using the CC desktop app, I reverted to version 20.41.
• I recopied the trouble file again from backup.
• Using 20.41, I opened the trouble file alone. I deleted the two bad Xrefs. I saved the file. I reopened the file alone. I successfully re-created the two corrected Xrefs. I saved the file. I opened the book file and updated numbering and cross-references, and saved again. Everything appears to work at this point. I still have to inspect the rest of the book.

Conclusion:

I think this is a subtle bug in 20.5. It may be an horizon bug (there are a substantial number of Xrefs in the trouble file, and two of them had NOT been updated when the file had been saved). Lesson for best practices: update numbering and cross-references before saving. I believe this is the correct answer, and I will wait for an update to 20.5 before updating again.

[Eugene Tyson]

My experience with book files is to create a new book file with 20.5 - that is in 20.5 go to File>New Book. 

For all your documents here's what I would do.

Open the files and export them as IDML. 

Open the IDML file in 20.5 and resave them as a new indesign file.

Then add them back into the 20.5 new book file you just created.