Importing PDFs with high file size

[himanshu_4007]

Hi, I'm having trouble importing pdfs to indesign. Files under 3mb easily get imported but files over 5mb take forever to import and I just cancel the import beacuse it justs loads for over 2mins and I lose patience. I thought the file was the problem but I tried different files and it's the same problem. I even tried on another device, my macbook, and it works perfectly fine on that device. There's a problem on my windows laptop for some reason even though it's much more powerful than my macbook air. Are there any settings I have to change etc. Any suggestions please?

[Eugene Tyson]

Try resetting your preferences:

InDesign 19.3 and newer go to Preferences > General > and click on "Reset Preferences on Quit" and then quit and restart.

Or
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.



More in-depth cleanse of preferences

https://helpx.adobe.com/in/indesign/kb/indesign-preferences-support-file-locations.html

[amy598cross]

Hi, I'm having trouble importing pdfs to indesign. Files under 3mb easily get imported but files over 5mb take forever to import and I just cancel the import beacuse it justs loads for over 2mins and I lose patience. I thought the file was the problem but I tried different files and it's the same problem. I even tried on another device, my macbook, and it works perfectly fine on that device. There's a problem on my windows laptop for some reason even though it's much more powerful than my macbook air. Are there any settings I have to change etc. Any suggestions please?

By @himanshu_4007

Hello @himanshu_4007dogsounds app,
It sounds like a Windows-specific performance issue. Try resetting InDesign preferences, disabling thumbnail previews, and switching to Typical Display mode. Also check if GPU settings are optimized and fonts are managed properly. Saving files locally (not on network drives) and updating InDesign can help too.

Best Regards,
Amy Cross

[Eugene Tyson]

To add to @amy598cross (good points) also check if Preflight is running in the background, that could slow things down.

[rob day]

I'm having trouble importing pdfs

Hi @himanshu_4007 , Just to clarify are you importing or Placing the PDF—File>Place...?

[himanshu_4007]

Hi, i'm placing. 

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @himanshu_4007,

Thanks for sharing the details. I can imagine how frustrating it must be.

Could you please confirm the exact version of InDesign along with your Windows OS version? If possible, please also share one of the sample PDF files you're having trouble with. If confidential, share it via DM on the community. I'd love to test it on my end to see if I can reproduce the issue.

Also, just to better understand the context, does this happen when you're placing the PDF into a large or complex InDesign file, or do you also see it when working in a brand-new document?

As a next step, I'd recommend testing this in Safe Mode on Windows, just to rule out interference from any background services or third-party apps. You can follow the steps here: Start your PC in safe mode in Windows.

Looking forward to your update. 

Abhishek