InDesign 2019(v14.0.3) stuck on "Touch workspace" on Windows 10

Report · Oct 24, 2019

Dear Support Community,
my InDesign (v14.0.3) freezes apprx. 1 second after launching it. It only shows the "Touch Workspace"-overlay and the animation of the finger drawing a rectangle after freezing the program completely. The only way to close InDesign is via task manager.
I tried reinstalling, updating, older versions, deleting old files but i can't seem to find a solution.

I would be very thankful for any kind of help!

Best regards!

{Renamed By MOD}

Report · Oct 24, 2019

Hi there,

Sorry to hear about the trouble you are facing with InDesign, you can try resetting the preferences for InDesign as corrupt preferences is one of the primary reason for crashing. Please follow the steps below for resetting the preferences:

Manual Reset:

For Windows

Close all Adobe applications.
Go to Locations :
C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Adobe
C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Adobe.
Rename InDesign folders to InDesign.old
Launch InDesign from CC.

For MAC

Close all adobe applications
Go to Locations:
~/Library/Caches
~/Library/Preferences
Rename Adobe InDesign and com.adobe.indesign to Adobe InDesign.old and com.adobe.indesign.old
Launch InDesign from the CC

Disclaimer: Please note that resetting preferences will remove all the custom settings and InDesign will launch with default settings. This way all your old settings will be saved in .old folders and InDesign will recreate new folders with default settings.

Help Article: https://helpx.adobe.com/indesign/using/setting-preferences.html

If that doesn't help, I would request if you can share a few more details like:

Operating System and its exact version.
When did this start happening? Are there any recent changes made to your system? For example, any antivirus, system updates or web extensions installed recently.

Regards

Rishabh

Report · Oct 24, 2019

Dear Rishab,

unfortunately that did not work out. 😞

Here is some more information as requested:

OS: Windows 10 Home 64-Bit-Version (10.0, Build 18362.418)

Last year in Novembre I used InDesign successfully for some Designs and did not use it since. Last month I wanted to start using it again (with a brand new license) but it did not work so I tried some stuff but nothing has helped since... There has not been a change to my antivirus system and apart from the Windows and driver updates I am not aware of any major changes...

Best regards

Matthias

Report · Oct 24, 2019

Hi Matthias,

Sorry to hear about this frustrating situation. Could you please share a small video or a few screenshots of the screen where it gets stuck?

We're here to help!

Regards,

Srishti

Report · Nov 06, 2019

Hi Srishti,

sure! Here we go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eM-LVkjTY74&feature=youtu.be
In this case (I assume because OBS caught plenty of ressources) I was still able to click the button. Without OBS running, I can't even click it because of the freeze... By the way: This is InDesign v15.0 now. 😉

Regards,
Matthias

Report · Nov 13, 2019

Dear Srishti,

do you need any further or more detailed information? I desperately need InDesign to work 😞

Regards,
Matthias

Report · Jun 03, 2020

Was there ever a solution to this? I'm having the same problem. The "Touch" introduction takes over the application and cannot be closed no matter what you do... So the application becomes completely non-operational.

Report · Jun 03, 2020

Was there ever a solution to this? I'm having the same problem. The "Touch" introduction takes over the application and cannot be closed no matter what you do... So the application becomes completely non-operational.

Report · Jun 04, 2020

So I found "kind of" a solution.

I started my Laptop in Safe Mode. There I was able to open Id, so I went into Edit->Preferences->General.

I deactivated all kinds of things like "Show HomeScreen..." and the touchspace-activation. I rebooted w/o Safe Mode and I was finally able to use Id.

HOWEVER:
With every update I have to go through this again.
Whenever I have to reset preferences due to another bug, I have to go through this again.
It seems to me like Id is using more resources than it should be. All in all (graphics, speed, etc.) it doesn't "feel right"...

The bug (or some other that is very similar) still occurs if my Laptop is not freshly rebooted.
This solution was not given by the Adobe which actually kind of disappoints me. I had to try all kinds of things for A LOT of hours just to get this started. I really love all everything Adobe does. But this still bugs me out quite a bit.

Hope this helped you, though. 🙂

Report · Jun 24, 2020

After a huge amount of frustration with this, I literally just started punching random key combinations across the entire keyboard trying to create any program response... In doing so, I happened upon "Ctrl + Enter"; which opens a "Quick Apply" window. Searching for "Workspace" brings up several "Load __ Default Workspace" options. Clicking on one of these finally breaks the nonsensical program lock and opens the workspace. You can then use the workspace selection drop menu per usual to load whatever you want.

So, for those just browsing this thread, the steps are:

Ctrl + Enter (open Quick Apply)
Search "Workspace"
Double-click on "Window Menu:Workspace>Load 1st Default Workspace"
Use the Workspace drop menu at the top-right to pick the workspace you actually want.

Report · Dec 10, 2020

I was not willing to disable all Windows 10 touchscreen functionality or reboot in safe mode just to use InDesign 2021, so I tried this, and it worked for me. Thank you for punching randomly and stumbling upon the solution!

Frustrating that after 5 years of this known issue, it hasn't been resolved yet. -_-

Report · Apr 21, 2022

Again, still present in 2022. Definetely reconsidering using it.

Report · Jan 20, 2021

I had the very same problem. I hope Adobe can fix this because I tell everyone how great InDesign is, then try to show someone and the program does exactly what you described! Thank you, Screaming Rage, for bringing some peace to this frustration!

Report · Jan 20, 2021

Strangely enough, today when we opened InDesign, it didn't start a touchscreen tutorial. What a relief!

Report · May 29, 2021

Thank you for that, it's worked for me aswell. We pay a lot of money to use this software, we're not always getting value for money it seems. Love the program itself though.

Report · Jan 13, 2023

Oddly enough, I hit the escape key and it closed the touch information screen. all is well now.

Report · Apr 24, 2023

Thank you so much for this. It's April 2023 and Adobe still hasn't fixed this. I'm so grateful for your post because it solved this problem for me quickly and easily!

Report · Nov 22, 2020

I had the same issue with 16.0. This is the only thing that worked for me:

https://www.howtogeek.com/258522/how-to-enable-or-disable-your-computers-touch-screen-in-windows-10/

It means the touchscreen is completely disable, but better than nothing I guess. I'm surprised this hasn't been fixed as it's been a known issue since 2016.

Report · Aug 19, 2021

Still happening for me and nothing in this thread has helped. Adobe gets to be a monopoly without fixing 5 year old known problems? Awesome!

Report · Nov 25, 2021

Same I can't do my work because Adobe is breaking it's own programgs. I don't even have a touch screen on my computer

Report · Dec 03, 2021

I have the same problem.

Report · Jan 08, 2022

I'm having the same issue and nothing to working to fix it. I am about to scream. I have been paying for Creative Cloud for many years and normally I love it. I just got this new computer for Christmas and it has touchscreen. I am in the middle if working on an important project and can't get into the freaking program. I don't care about the dumb tutorial that will not go away.