How to Remove Minion Font as the Default in InDesign

[carolineh76238118]

Changing the font in the character panel and in the "Advanced Workspace" top left panel  does not effect a permanent change even within the same text box. I've disabled Minion through Font Book. I've searched my drive and thrown it away. It just won't die.

<Title renamed by MOD>

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @carolineh76238118,

Thanks for reaching out, and I can understand how frustrating it must be to have Minion persist like this! Let's see if we can solve it together.

Could you please share which version of InDesign you’re using and the details of your operating system? This will help in identifying any potential version-specific issues.

As for the font sticking around, it’s possible that the default font settings are still pointing to Minion. Please try the below suggestions: 

1. Set a New Default Font: With no documents open, change the font in the Character panel. This will set the new default for future documents.
2. Paragraph and Character Styles: Check if there are any styles applied to the text that are still using Minion. You may need to update or remove those styles.
3. Preferences Reset: If you haven't already, try resetting InDesign preferences (hold Shift+Ctrl+Alt (Windows) or Shift+Command+Option+Ctrl (Mac) while launching InDesign). Reference:Set preferences in Adobe InDesign

Let me know if this helps, and feel free to reach out if you need further assistance!

Thank you, 

Abhishek Rao

[carolineh76238118]

Thanks for all the sugegstions but I have previously tried all of them.

1. Already tried  
2. I've been doing that but it is a contstant battle and time waste of font replacements.

3. Default pref's only exacerbates the situation and it also resets everything to dark canvas mode and other undesirable settings:(
4. macOS Monterey V 12.7.6; latest updated version of InDesign
Clarification: the font default switches back to Minion in a text box AFTER all those other things have been done AND always when pasting copy from any other source document. It doesn't matter what the source document font is. So I am saying it starts as the desired font and reverts to Minion so text in a single text box will be 1/2 and 1/2.

[carolineh76238118]

P.S. The general prefs dialog box does not match Rob Day's below. 

[rob day]

P.S. The general prefs dialog box does not match Rob Day's below.

My capture is not from Preferences—it is the Paragraph Style Options for the [Basic Paragraph] Paragraph Style (double click [Basic Paragraph]).

[rob day]

With no documents open, you would also have to change the default Paragraph Style that a new text frame would use. So you could break the link to the [Basic Paragraph]  style, and new text frames would have no style:

Or you could change the font for [Basic Paragraph], or make your own default Paragraph Style (my ID Default):

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

InDesign does hard-default to Minion, probably at some root code level that ensures a null font selection is ever encountered. The instructions given generally work for most situations, but certain approaches might reach back to that hard default.

That said, I just —

1. Closed all documents.
2. Set Arno Pro as my default font, in the Character pane. (Been meaning to, anyway; I don't much care for Minion as a general font!)
3. Closed ID.
4. Opened ID. Still Arno.
5. Opened a new document. Still Arno.
6. Created a text frame. Still Arno.
7. Grabbed some random text (from your post) and pasted it. ...still Arno.

So it should be possible to set a new default using these steps. For an existing document, you will probably have to change [Basic Paragraph] to your selected default, since it was set (rather firmly) when you created the document. (And yep, I found Minion hiding in there when I just checked; Arno was an override.) So the instructions to change [BP] at the no-documents level, by editing the defintion, should work.

If changing the no-docs default simply won't stick, you will have to change [BP] by redefining it in each document, new or old (maybe a script would help here), and all operations should default to your chosen base font, without reaching back to [BP]'s base setting, which I think is the key to what's happening here.

(And that said, you do know not to use [Basic Paragraph] for anything; that your top-level styles should all start from "No Previous Style"? This kind of low-level stubbornness is one reason why.)

[carolineh76238118]

Thanks for the help. Do you have any tips or any reference where I can

learn to write the script?

[carolineh76238118]

Also, where did you paste the incoming text? Same line or a paragraph return down?  In my files it reverts to Minion if I paste in new text after a paragraph return.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I know next to nothing about scripts, but I'd bet one shows up in this thread within a day or so. If not, you might post a new topic asking specifically for one, referencing this thread for context.

With ALL of the above steps followed, especially

1. redefining [Basic Paragraph]
2. with no document open
3. by selecting it in the Paragraph Styles list and doing a right-click edit

... you really shouldn't see Minion defaulting up anywhere again. It's that new frame, new paragraph, new whatever that is reaching back to the BP style and finding Minion, so with that changed, it should find your selected default instead. (Caveat: besides not being a script guy I am on Windows 11, which might have slight differences from Mac in this respect. We don't have the double font source issue over here, for example.)

But yes, I just tested this by creating a text frame, entering some text, and then pasting text to a new paragraph return. Still Arno. I think it all comes down to beating your [Basic Paragraph] style into compliance — it's important that you Edit it, not change it in the Character pane.

[rob day]

(And yep, I found Minion hiding in there when I just checked; Arno was an override.)

MinionPro is the font used for the read only [No Paragrah Style] and by default [Basic Paragraph], which is based on [No Paragraph Style]. You can not edit [No Paragrah Style].

In early versions of ID the [No Paragraph Style] font was Times, but I’m guessing that caused version problems between platforms.

[carolineh76238118]

I think the real solution  would be to let indvidual users select their own default in Prefs-type. I also think you're right about Times. Adobe spends way to much time on windowdressing such as interface colors vs. cleaning up fonts inlcuding scrolling past 5 inches of Noto fonts (on a mac) every time the desired fonts stats with an M or later in the alphabet, but I digress. After 20 years of using InDesign this particular issue never happened before Adobe went off the grid and couldn't cut agreements with the original font foundires.
I'll keep watch for scripting help and still wondering why our general pref's windows are different-mac vs. windows?

[rob day]

I think the real solution would be to let indvidual users select their own default in Prefs-type.

There’s nothing in Preferences for setting type styling defaults—styling defaults have to be setup from the Paragraph, Paragraph Style, Character, and Character Style panels with no docs open.

Paragraph Styles have a Based On property, so there has to be a default root style ([No Paragraph Style]), which can’t be edited—it’s been Minion since at least CS5

[rob day]

Shouldn’t need a script to do this, but this sets the application default Paragraph Style to [Basic Paragraph], the [Basic Paragraph] font to the chosen font, the default Character Style to [None], and the application default  font to the chosen font:

makeDialog();

var f;
function makeDialog(){
    var theDialog = app.dialogs.add({name:"Choose a Preset", canCancel:true});
    with(theDialog.dialogColumns.add()){
        f = dropdowns.add({stringList:app.fonts.everyItem().name, selectedIndex:0, minWidth:80});
    }
    if(theDialog.show() == true){
        f = app.fonts.item(f.selectedIndex);
        var dp = app.paragraphStyles.itemByName("[Basic Paragraph]")
        dp.appliedFont = f
        app.textDefaults.appliedFont = f
        app.textDefaults.appliedParagraphStyle = dp
        app.textDefaults.appliedCharacterStyle = app.characterStyles.itemByName("[None]")
        theDialog.destroy();
	}
}

[carolineh76238118]

Oh wow! That changes the font in the text box, but the text is highlighted and still has Minion listed in the menus. 

[rob day]

That changes the font in the text box, but the text is highlighted and still has Minion listed in the menus.

I would try clearing your Preferences and Caches and see if that happens with a new document—the font menu in the Control and Character panels should always show the same font:

[rob day]

Hi @carolineh76238118 , In your effort to eradicate Minion, did you by any chance remove it from the InDesign folder’s Required Resources? Your unusual capture that shows it missing in the Character panel, but not in the Control panel should not be possible.

Even If I disable all instances of Minion from my System font folders, it still shows in the font list as available because it has to be in the Required folder—see the Path in this capture:

[Mike Witherell · Accepted solution]

With no documents open, go to a workspace in order to access Paragraph Styles panel. 

Right-click and edit/open Basic Paragraph Style. Change the Minion there to something you wish and like. OK.

Thereafter, new documents will not default to Minion, but rather to your chosen favorite typeface.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Beat me to the punch again, Mike!

[Scott Falkner]

---

@Mike Witherell wrote:

With no documents open, go to a workspace in order to access Paragraph Styles panel. 

Right-click and edit/open Basic Paragraph Style. Change the Minion there to something you wish and like. OK.

Thereafter, new documents will not default to Minion, but rather to your chosen favorite typeface.

---

NO!

Do not, under any circumstances, edit the style Basic . Doing so will cause any text copied between documents that use different Basic Paragraph definitions to paste in a different format. It is a dumb feature that should never have been added to InDesign. I am constantly requesting it be removed.

The rules I always encourage people to follow are:

1. Never use Basic Paragraph.
2. Never change Basic Paragraph.
3. Never base any styles on Basic Paragraph.

To solve OP’s problem I would suggest opening the Paragraph Styles panel and clicking in the blank are below Basic Paragraph. This will not alter the default text format, but it will mean Basic Paragraph is not applied. Then edit the formatting in the CHaracter panel or the Control panel. Do this with no document open and it will affect all new documents.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

I don't in any way disagree about [BP] in practice, but the fundamental problems the OP is facing come from InDesign defaulting to it for new pastes and other operations. ONLY by changing the default font for [BP] can these glitch-hurdles be avoided.f

Everything else can be addressed by setting the system defaults as described by the other procedures. But no matter how you 'pre-set' the starting font and general default fonts, ID is going to reach down into the [Basic Paragraph] cesspool and come up with Minion if it's not changed. And that's one of the OP's key requests here. If ALL of her documents are meant to use the same default-base-starting font, the cross-compatibility glitch that would affect those of us who work with a variety of documents and sources will be largely moot... and just means "default default" will be her chosen base font and not the holy-sacred-Minion. So I think this is a narrow case where *gasp* redefining [BP] is the right move.

OTOH, after a whole day of this, I am beginning to think the real solution is for the OP to learn to love Minion Pro. 😄

[Scott Falkner]

That is not correct. I just changed the default font to Brandon Text and made sure nothing was selected in the Paragraph Style panel. I then created a new document. The default font for the new document was Brandon Text.

[James Gifford—NitroPress]

Okay. I've seen similar results. The OP has indicated different behavior in several ways; I don't know if it's system/version issues or, well, PEBCAK.

I bow out.  🙂

[carolineh76238118]

Scott-- I did not say the document did not start with the specificed font, I said it CHANGED to Minion.
James - I thank you for your help today but the PEBCAK comment is insulting.

The paragraph styles did the trick, finally:) I'll see how it goes.

[rob day]

OTOH, after a whole day of this, I am beginning to think the real solution is for the OP to learn to love Minion Pro. 😄

Something is not right with @carolineh76238118 's document or application. I don't think there is any way for the Control and Character panels to show different fonts. I can’t replicate this: