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Participant
July 9, 2020
Answered

InDesign 2020 (15.1.1) stuck while "activating font" on macOS Catalina

 

CC reports a font could not be activated due to a conflict, yet the "Activating Font" task is stuck until I quit InDesign. When I try to export a PDF, it is stuck behind these never-ending tasks in the queue, thus preventing me from exporting it. Bug?

(MacOS Catalina 10.15.4, Indesign 15.1.1)

 

 

{Renamed by MOD}

 

paulb6672322
paulb6672322Correct answer
Participant
January 28, 2021

I was also stuck in an endless loop of "activating font" - in this case default Minion Pro.

 

My workaround:

Ctrl + Alt + Delete > End Task

Update Creative Cloud

Update InDesign to 16.0.1

 

Solved! 

55 replies

Participant
January 9, 2025

It's 2025 and this is "still" happening. This doesn't happen in the other Adobe apps. It's definitely an InDesign bug that 'still' isn't fixed.

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Participant
April 10, 2024

I thought I was screwed, and had a deadline in just a few hours but by some miracle, my risk to force quit ID payed off and on re-opening it was back to normal. A risky fix however, luckily my files were preserved. 

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Participant
December 13, 2023

This is still happening in 2023... come on Adobe, can you remove this function or fix the bug!? 

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Participant
October 13, 2023

Hello everyone still having this problem.  

Remove the auto-activate fonts option under file handing in preferences. 

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Participating Frequently
September 26, 2023

Why is this bug STILL THERE IN 2023.. three years later? This is a rhetorical question, because I have a long list of bugs, some going back 20 years.. NEVER FIXED. What a company!

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Participant
September 25, 2023

Indesign is the biggest POS

 

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Participant
August 15, 2023

I have the same problem with my work computer. All versions are updated. I deactivated and activated the fonts, as well as disabled the preferences. Nothing works. 

However, I don't have this problem with my personal computer. Extremely annoying and time-consuming. 

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Participant
July 26, 2023

All I did was delete the task, save the InDesign file, then close the file, close InDesign/reboot indesign, and done!

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elanport
Participant
January 25, 2023

I found a simpler solution, just go to adobe fonts website, deactivate the font and reactivate it, that worked for me. (InDesign 2023 18.1)

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Participant
December 19, 2022

Strangely enough, I think you and I are having trouble with the same font.. I quit Indesign, updated to the latest version (v18.1) and the issue was resolved. Though, I wonder if there is some problem related to the font pack, too. 

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