InDesign 20.0 crashes.

[C4C systems GmbH]

Although InDesign 20.0 ran under 14.7.1 Sequoia for a while, the program no longer wants to start. After the click, the image appears and everything seems to be normal. Then the window opens. But it remains gray (DarkMode) and there is nothing to see. Crashes!

Of course, I did everything. Newly installed. Cleared caches. No extensions. Safety mode. All fonts disabled. Font program turned off.

None of it helps.

On my other iMac (same configuration, applications and system) it runs. The only difference is, ONEDRIVE!

On the iMac with ONEDRIVE, InDesign suddenly does not run. Don't forget, the problem only happened when opening a file. Previously, the program was running. Since then, InDesign has not been running.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hello @C4C systems GmbH,

Thank you for reaching out and sharing the details of the issue. I understand how frustrating this situation must be, especially when you've already taken extensive steps to resolve it. Let’s try to narrow this down and find a solution together.

Could you please confirm the following?

1. Before this issue started, did you make any changes to the application configuration, install new software, or update ONEDRIVE?

2. Have you tried running your Mac in Safe Mode to test if InDesign works under those conditions? You can follow this guide to boot in Safe Mode.

3. Does the crash occur only when opening a file, or does it happen regardless of the action? If it occurs at launch, this guide may help: InDesign crashes on launch.

4. Did you submit a crash report via the Adobe Crash Reporter? If so, sharing the crash report ID here will allow us to analyze the issue further. Learn more about submitting crash reports here.

5. Since the problem seems to be associated with OneDrive, could you temporarily disconnect it or move files locally to test if the issue persists?

Once you provide this information, we can proceed with targeted troubleshooting steps. Thank you for your patience, and I look forward to assisting you further.

Best,
Abhishek Rao

[C4C systems GmbH]

1. no

2. yes, indesign crashes too

3. occurs at launch. All the bug fixes I've found don't help. Neither does the link.

4. ate/Time: 2024-12-04 20:26:21.180 +0100
End time: 2024-12-04 20:27:38.588 +0100
OS Version: macOS 14.7.1 (Build 23H222)
Architecture: x86_64h
Report Version: 49
Incident Identifier: 4A9DE7D7-F319-4231-B411-E0B74082C399
Share With Devs: Yes

Data Source: Stackshots
Shared Cache: A7563E1D-7A04-3ED2-9587-044987205172 slid base address 0x7ff80a812000, slide 0xa812000 (System Primary)
Shared Cache: 8ED40385-9358-3EDB-9CDB-896C34D074EB slid base address 0x7ff83b561000, slide 0x3b561000 (DriverKit)

Command: Adobe InDesign 2025
Path: /Applications/Adobe InDesign 2025/Adobe InDesign 2025.app/Contents/MacOS/Adobe InDesign 2025
Identifier: com.adobe.InDesign
Version: 20.0.1.32 (20010)
Team ID: JQ525L2MZD
Is First Party: No
Beta Identifier: 770FF7E1-9B89-515B-A075-DADA6CD04A13
Architecture: x86_64
Parent: launchd [1]
PID: 11125
Time Since Fork: 90s

Event: hang
Duration: 77.41s
Duration Sampled: 1.60s (process was unresponsive for 76 seconds before sampling)
Steps: 16 (100ms sampling interval)

Hardware model: iMac20,1
Active cpus: 20
HW page size: 4096
VM page size: 4096

Time Since Boot: 8819s
Time Awake Since Boot: 7659s
Time Since Wake: 2550s

Fan speed: 1204 rpm
Total CPU Time: 6.516s (28.9G cycles, 34.5G instructions, 0.84c/i)
Advisory levels: Battery -> 3, User -> 2, ThermalPressure -> 0, Combined -> 2
Free disk space: 584.37 GB/931.55 GB, low space threshold 3072 MB
Vnodes Available: 13.16% (34639/263168)

Preferred User Language: de-DE
Country Code: DE
Keyboards: German
OS Cryptex File Extents: 22

5. The problem is not related to ONRDRIVE. Of course, I quit ONEDRIVE and tried to start InDesign. Crash!

At this point I would like to inform you that InDesign 19.5.1 is running.

[BobLevine]

Do you have Magnet installed? If so, turn it off.

[C4C systems GmbH]

Thanks Bob but I don't use "magnet".

[Abhishek Rao]

Hello @C4C systems GmbH,

Thank you for providing detailed information and the crash report. I understand how frustrating it must be to deal with crashes at launch despite trying multiple steps. Would you mind trying the below:

1. Reset InDesign Preferences

Sometimes, corrupted preferences can cause crashes. Please try the following steps to reset preferences:

• Manual Deletion:

  • Navigate to: ~/Library/Caches/ and delete the com.adobe.InDesign folder.
  • Then go to ~/Library/Preferences/ and delete the Adobe InDesign folder.
  • Restart InDesign to check if it works.

Reference: https://adobe.ly/3VofJve

2. Disable Third-Party Extensions or Plugins

Even if plugins are not installed intentionally, third-party applications may install extensions that interfere with InDesign. To test this:

• Go to: Applications > Adobe InDesign 2025 > Plug-ins and temporarily move third-party plugins to a separate folder outside the Plug-ins directory.
• Restart InDesign and check if it launches.

3. Create a New User Account (macOS)

To rule out any user-specific issues, create a new macOS user account and try launching InDesign there:

• Open System Preferences > Users & Groups.
• Create a new user and log into the new account.
• Launch InDesign and check if the issue persists.

Reference: https://adobe.ly/3VpYM3F

Please try these steps and let us know the results. If the issue persists, we’re here to assist you further.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Best,
Abhishek Rao

[C4C systems GmbH]

Thank you in advance for your answer.

As I have already written, I have implemented all solutions. Unfortunately, they didn't help in my case.

It would be interesting to mention that this issue happened only after this action:
Our data is stored in the cloud at ONEDRIVE. You click on a file, InDesing starts and then the file opens. This is the usual workflow, which has not been a problem so far.
The last InDesign file was about larger than previous ones and I suspect that ONEDRIVE or the network simply had a dropout. And that's exactly what causes this crash.

Solution No. 3 is where InDesign actually starts.
Now I ask myself what I can do?
Please no repetition of deleting cach or prefrences.

I don't have any plugins and other extensions are NOT the problem. I guess InDesign is trying to open this file and that's causing the crash on my account.

Thank you for your suggestions.

[BobLevine]

Is OneDrive's cloud only feature turned off? All of these files must be fully synced to your local hard drive.

[C4C systems GmbH]

Of course, they are synchronized. It should not be forgotten that the data is more likely to be streamed. This means that they are only downloaded when needed. There is also the function that desired files are stored on the hard drive. In my case, it was a grained file.

[BobLevine]

Your translation to English is not very good. Can you post it in your native language and let the forum's translation give it a try?

[C4C systems GmbH]

Natürlich sind alle Dateien syncronisiert. Bitte nicht vergessen, dass die Dateien als stream vorhanden sind. Sie werden erst komplett downgelaodet, wenn sie geöffnet werden.

[BobLevine]

There's your issue, if I understand it correctly. You can't use the download on demand feature. All files and links must be fully loaded on your local hard drive before you try to open them.

[C4C systems GmbH]

Ich denke auch, dass das Problem eine interne Ursache hat und weniger mit InDesign zutun hat. Denn der Crash nur ab 20 und nur auf einem Rechner passiert. Auf anderen Rechner läuft es stabil. Dennoch wäre für Anregungen sehr dankbar, falls jemand eine Idee hat.
Deine Aussage stimmt aber nicht, dass Download-on-Demand Funktion nicht funktioniert. Ich kann es bestätigen, dass es seit Jahren herforagend funktioniert.
Dennoch Danke Bob!

[Abhishek Rao]

Hello @C4C systems GmbH,

Thanks for the details and crash report. Since this issue seems related to file access via OneDrive and persists despite resetting preferences, let’s try this:

1. Make sure the file is fully downloaded to your local drive, not streamed.

2. If InDesign starts with a new macOS user account, the issue might be user-specific.

3. Temporarily move your working files out of OneDrive to test stability.

4. Copy the problematic file to a completely local directory (outside of OneDrive). Open it directly in InDesign 20.0 from this location. Observe whether the issue persists.

5. If the file is very large or complex, try these:

 - Open the file on a stable machine, save it as an IDML file, and transfer it to the problematic machine. Test if opening the IDML file locally resolves the crash.

If the problem persists, the issue could be tied to the file or system configuration. Feel free to share any further findings, and we’ll troubleshoot together.

Best,
Abhishek Rao

[C4C systems GmbH]

Danke für deine ausführliche Antwort, Abhishek!

Ich versuche es erneut zu schildern, damit wir gemeinsam daran arbeiten können und eine Lösung finden.

Der Crash ist zum ersten Mal aufgetreten, als ich eine Datei, die tatsächlich komplex und groß ist, öffnete. Wie bereits geschrieben, geht es um Download-on-Demand. Doppelklick auf die Datei. InDesign startet. Ich sehe, dass OneDrive auch direkt anfängt, die Datei herunterzuladen. Das grafische Anmeldefenster von InDesign erscheint. Alle Prozesse werden geladen, wie ich sah. Nun öffnet sich das graue große Fenster (Dark Mode), auf dem normalerweise die Historie der Dateien und Sonstiges zu sehen ist. Dieses Fenster bleibt nun hängen und ist nur grau - ohne Inhalt.

1. Das Problem ist nicht, auf diese Weise Dateien zu öffnen. Das mache ich seit vielen Jahren so und hatte nie Probleme. Ich kenne mein Handwerkszeug 😉
2. Mein erster Verdacht: Übertragungsschwierigkeiten. Ein Teil der Datei ist irgendwo in Temp oder Cache von InDesign, OneDrive oder Mac. Der Rest der Datei ist irgendwo in Kalifornien.
3. Neustart löst vieles. Nop!
4. InDesign deinstallieren und wieder installieren. Nop!
5. InDesign sauber deinstallieren (Preferences, Cache und alles, was unter Application (Library) liegt). Nop!
6. RAM säubern, alle Schriften deaktivieren. Nop!
7. Sämtliche Caches gelöscht. Schriften-Programm beendet. Nop!
8. Mit abgesichertem Modus gestartet. Nop!
9. Nur zur Info: Ich versuche nicht, eine Datei zu öffnen, sondern nur InDesign zu starten.
10. Mich abgemeldet und mit einem anderen Account angemeldet. Nop!
11. Daran gedacht, OneDrive zu deinstallieren, aber dies sein lassen, weil es viel Arbeit ist und die Gefahr besteht, dass etwas schief läuft (halt Microsoft). Leider muss ich mit OneDrive arbeiten. Dennoch habe ich es einfach beendet und sonstige Prozesse, die im Hintergrund laufen, deaktiviert. Nop!
12. InDesign immer wieder sauber deinstalliert. Diesmal aber Version 19 installiert. Bam! InDesign läuft.
13. Mac wie immer konfiguriert (Apps und Einstellungen). Bam! InDesign 19 läuft.
14. Hoffnungsvoll Version 20 installiert, ohne Version 19 zu deinstallieren. Nop!
15. Version 19 installiert und Update auf Version 20 gemacht. Nop!
16. Auf einem anderen Mac mit dem gleichen Kram darauf (ich habe 3 Arbeitsrechner) habe ich InDesign 20 gestartet. Bam! Es läuft wie immer.
17. Mutig habe ich die selbe Datei, die mir das Leben schwer gemacht hat, mit einem Doppelklick geöffnet. Bam! Es läuft alles prima und wie immer.

Nun läuft auf dem einen Mac InDesign 19. Das ist aber suboptimal. Natürlich geht es, aber langfristig ist das keine Lösung.

Eine weitere hilfreiche Info: Der Mac, auf dem die Version 20 nicht läuft, befindet sich im Büro.

Auf dem Mac, auf dem Version 20 läuft, bin ich im Homeoffice.

Hat Adobe sich meine IP gemekrt und lässt InDesign 20 n icht startet, weil der Anmeldeprozess nicht vollzogen worden ist. Nur eine Idee, die Paradox ist. Ich bin über creative angemeldet. Alle andere Programme laufen normal.

Nach all die Aktionen, sieht es für mich nicht so aus, dass die Datei das Problem ist. 

Falls Adobe irgendwo tief im System etaws hinterlässt (unsichtbare Dateien?), was für den Start der App zuständig ist, wäre es hilfreich zu wissen. 

Ich hoffe, ich konnte es verständlich erklären und hoffe, dass meine Lösungen, die mir nicht geholfen haben, den einen oder anderen helfen können.

[C4C systems GmbH]

Nach all die Aktionen, sieht es für mich nicht so aus, dass die Datei nicht das Problem ist. 

[BobLevine]

Did you turn off the download on demand features?

[C4C systems GmbH]

Natürlich.

[C4C systems GmbH]

Nächster Hinweis.

Indesign 20 stürzt ab, wenn das Programm versucht, "Indesign-activator.scpt" zu laden.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hello @C4C systems GmbH,  

Thank you for the detailed update and for narrowing down the issue further. Based on your latest observation, where 'Indesign-activator.scpt' appears to be causing the crash, we may be dealing with a conflict related to macOS permissions or a conflicting process. Would you mind trying the below: 

1. Grant Full Disk Access to InDesign and OneDrive
   - Open 'System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy tab'.  
   - Select 'Full Disk Access' from the sidebar.  
   - Add 'Adobe InDesign' and 'OneDrive' to the list (if not already present).  
   - Restart your Mac to apply the changes.

2. Pause or Disable Security Software
If you have any antivirus, firewall, or other security software installed, temporarily pause or disable them to rule out interference. 

3. Isolate and Address AppleScript Issues  
The 'Indesign-activator.scpt' file may be a part of automation or scripts used by your macOS or Adobe setup. Here's what you can try:  
   - Locate and temporarily move the 'Indesign-activator.scpt' file out of its directory (likely found in `~/Library/Scripts/`).  
   - Test launching InDesign to confirm if the issue persists.  
   - If this resolves the crash, the script may require updates or fixes, or it might be conflicting with another system or network process.

4. Troubleshoot Local vs. Network Setup
Since the issue occurs only on the office Mac: 
   - Test launching InDesign offline (disconnect from the office network) to rule out network-related conflicts.  
   - Compare office and home network settings for differences, particularly with proxies or firewalls.

If these steps don’t resolve the issue, it might be worth checking with Microsoft about OneDrive’s interaction with AppleScript or consulting with your IT team for deeper configuration checks. Let us know how these steps work out for you.  

Best,
Abhishek Rao