I can't save my document.

[magnusr15740449]

Hi,

I'm having issues with InDesign. At random times, I'm all of a sudden unable to save my document. I can't save, save as or undo anything. All these options are "grey" in the menu, and all I can do is close the document and hope for the best. First I thought it was because I had an old iMac, but recently I bought a brand nye iMac with the latest version of InDesign,  but the issue is still happening, with several different documents pretty often. 

Working with a lot of books and deadlines, this is very stressful and extremly annoying. I always use the shortcut for saving, but then I realize nothing has been saved for a long time, and I have to start all over again. 

Is there a way to fix this?

[Eugene Tyson]

If it won't save try File>Export and choose IDML for the file setting.

Try opening that and see if the issue persists.

If that doesn't work try these in order and see if either fix the issue

-----

Try resetting your preferences:

Windows: Start InDesign, and then press Shift+Ctrl+Alt. Click Yes when asked if you want to delete preference files.
macOS: While pressing Shift+Option+Command+Control, start InDesign. Click Yes when asked if you want to delete preference files.
A dialog will appear asking to delete the InDesign Preferences, select 'Yes' on this dialog.
Further info and instructions here if needed:
https://helpx.adobe.com/in/indesign/kb/indesign-preferences-support-file-locations.html

------

Reinstalling rarely fixes everything - you can do a complete reinstall using the
Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html

[Peter Spier]

Unfortunately resetting prefs requires a restart of InDesign, and you'll lose your unsaved work if you just close the application.

My advice, when export fails, is to force quit InDesign on your Mac, then try the prefs reset. Hopefully, the force quit will trigger an auto-recovery and you work will reappear, but if the file is damaged the recovery probably won't be successful, either. You might want to do the program restart from booting into Safe Mode.

There are a lot of problems reported with the new version of InDesign on Mac, and many seem to be fixed by updating both the OS and InDesign.

[magnusr15740449]

Thank you Peter, I will have that in mind. 

[Eugene Tyson]

I don't understand what Peter is talking about - I've never had this issue - so it's hard to direct - but maybe something happened with Peter that I'm unaware of. I use InDesign daily for 8-12 hours per day and I have never reset my preferences, or rarely have to make an IDML of a file for corruption, and ceratinly never used the CC Cleaner Tool. 

If Peter has experience in files not saving then I'm obviously unaware of the issues. 

The things I listed are the top 3 things to try, I've been recommending them for years with generally no issues and seems to resolve a lot of issues.

[Peter Spier]

I don't understand what Peter is talking about - I've never had this issue - so it's hard to direct - but maybe something happened with Peter that I'm unaware of. I use InDesign daily for 8-12 hours per day and I have never reset my preferences, or rarely have to make an IDML of a file for corruption, and ceratinly never used the CC Cleaner Tool. 

If Peter has experience in files not saving then I'm obviously unaware of the issues. 

By @Eugene Tyson

I've not had any problems with files not saving, at least in recent memory, either, and I would definitiely try the IDML route before doing anything else. Waht I was trying to point out is that foor a file that has not been saved there is some auto-recovery data that is stored, and that data becomes useless once the file is closed, which is a topic that comes up on the forum with some frequency. I hate to see someone spend hours working on a file and then lose all of that work by closing the file without saving if there's any hope at all of saving it.

I certainly didn't mean to imply that anything  @Eugene Tyson suggested was bad advice.

[Eugene Tyson]

Thanks for clarifying @Peter Spier - I get what you mean now. 

If I can't save or it's become stuck or something, I believe I have waited a few minutes so auto recovery might finish what it's doing - if it's doing anything - then force quit. 

Actually, it's probably a very important point to force quit rather than just quit the application... 

[magnusr15740449]

Hi, Eugene!
Thank you so much for getting back to me. I'll try these suggestions next time. Probably tomorrow 😛 
Hopefully it works out!

[Mike Witherell]

Is the document being operated on a cloud-based drive or locally on your hard drive?

[magnusr15740449]

I work both locally and on "shared space" in dropbox. I'm actually not sure if every document with that problem is in Dropbox or on my hard drive. I haven't thought about that to be honest. 

[ksera23]

Having the same problem. It seems to happen when I do a "comand z" to undo and operation. It wont undo, and at that point it will not let me save - it asks me to save, but wont let me. I have to re-start. Did reset my preffs, and it did not help. Its been doing it a lot the last 2 days. My files are saved on a local network. 

[magnusr15740449]

It's the exact same with me. I always notice the problem when I do a "comand z" to undo something.

[Peter Spier]

I think we've been seeing a number of similar problems with saving, and maybe restricted to Mac, over the last couple of months. Like @Eugene Tyson I suspect this is some sort of application <-> OS miscommunication (bug), and in the back of my mind I think some of it may have to do with not using the latest OS update, but I'm a Windows user and can't keep Apple's naming system straight.

[Eugene Tyson]

Having the same problem. It seems to happen when I do a "comand z" to undo and operation. It wont undo, and at that point it will not let me save - it asks me to save, but wont let me. I have to re-start. Did reset my preffs, and it did not help. Its been doing it a lot the last 2 days. My files are saved on a local network. 

By @ksera23

As I doubt this is an document issue, probably a wider application issue. 

As my reply above. Save your work, back it up, make an IDML of it, - as per @Peter Spier force quit to maximise recovery. 

Last thing we want is any advice to lose you work.

Once you've salvaged your work and backed up etc. 

Then try reset your preferences

If the problem persists - try the CC Cleaner tool.

All links in my very first reply above.

[magnusr15740449]

Thanks, I'll try that from now on, and at least it's easy to see if the documnt is savned or not, I just have to make sure to take a look from time to time, and not just hit "comand z".

[leo.r]

All I know is that this problem keeps popping up every now and then for years. (I tried to search the forum, but as it often happens, it didn't produce any relevant results).

So I don't have a solution, but I understand how frustrating it is to find out that all the Save keystrokes actually didn't save anything. Whatever causes this issue, it's a bug by itself that InDesign pretends that it executes a disabled menu - instead of beeping at the user as it should. Hopefully, suggestions listed by others will help.

[magnusr15740449]

I don't understand why they can't find a solution, when it has been a problem for so long. I googled it, and people complaing about this issue many many years back. At least I have several different things to try next time it happens, so fingers crossed something works out.

[Eugene Tyson]

This issue with Save, Save As, and Undo being greyed out in InDesign has frustrated users for years, and the reason it hasn’t been fully fixed comes down to multiple factors rather than a single root cause.

It’s likely triggered by a mix of system updates, third-party conflicts, and software bugs that vary from user to user. OS updates from Apple and Microsoft can introduce compatibility issues that Adobe has to patch, but new updates can also create new problems. Third-party software, including fonts, peripherals like Wacom tablets, and even security programs like WebRoot, can interfere unexpectedly. VPNs, firewalls, and cloud storage services can also disrupt saving by blocking connections or causing permission issues.

Other potential causes include low disk space, file permission errors, corrupted preferences, and cache problems. Since no two users have the exact same setup, Adobe can only patch specific cases as they appear, but new variables keep reintroducing variations of the issue.

Given that software behaviour can be influenced by 100+ different factors, the number of possible interactions is astronomical, easily in the range of nonillions (1 followed by 30 zeros). This makes it nearly impossible to test every scenario, which is why some bugs persist for years.

For now, the best approach is keeping software updated, disabling unnecessary third-party tools, avoiding cloud/network saves when possible, resetting preferences if needed, and force quitting if saving stops working. It’s frustrating, but until Adobe can pinpoint every trigger, workarounds are the only real solution.

*edit* 
I know I said keep software updated - but I don't keep Adobe software updated - I turn off automatic updates and I turn off the option to remove the previous version - so basically I have InDesign 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 installed on the computer. 

I use InDesign 2022 because it works well with the work I'm doing and I've no need to move up to 2023 and beyond at the moment. 

I am in testing phase to move to 2023 or even 2024 - but I take a systematic approach to testing software that I use for production and only full move after intense rounds of testing. 

[magnusr15740449]

Thank you for explaining and takeing the time to write everything. Iappreciate that 🙂
I understand it's a much bigger and more complex issue than I thought.

Maybe a previous version can be a good idea to tested out too. I always use the newest versions, but I have some older ones too, that I'm sure work fine with what I need InDesign for.

[Peter Spier]

Like @Eugene Tyson I keep multiple versions installed and never auto update, nor use automatic migration of preferences. I generally don't even think about downloading a new version until after at least one patch has been released, and I NEVER switch versions mid-project.