InDesign 2023 Libraries Not Working

[trishad61088048]

We are using InDesign 2023 (18.5.4) on Mac Studio, yes I know we should be using the latest version but we need a plug-in that only works in 2023 and can't be updated.

Our libraries worked earlier this week and yesterday they stopped with a message that reads:

"This file is already open by another user or another application. This file may be stored on a network server and connot be opened until the other user closes it."

I'm the administrator/owner of the libraries and my co-workers have "view & use" rights, we're all getting the same message when trying to drag an item out of the library.  I've searched for similar topics and tried all of the possible solutions (updating the CC app, trashing the CC Library folder, etc.) nothing has worked.

Funny thing is the libraries work in 2024 and up. Has Adobe turned off library support for 2023? Anyone else having this issue?

Any suggestions on a fix would be greatly appreciated!

[Eugene Tyson]

Creative Cloud Libaries right? Not the standard Library using File>Open and choosing and indesign library file and opening that - you're talking about the CC Library panel? 

It does sound like something has changed server side rather than on your machines. Libraries are basically little cloud databases and they can fall out of sync if they get stuck in a locked state. The rather dramatic “file is already open by another user” message is usually just the sync engine having a wobble rather than an actual user lock.

• Sign out of Creative Cloud on all affected machines, quit everything, then sign back in. This forces a fresh token and sometimes clears the library lock.
• Make sure the Creative Cloud Sync process is actually running. The Libraries panel in older versions depends on that background process behaving.
• Create a brand new temporary library in the browser version of Creative Cloud and see if 2023 can read it. If the new one works but the existing ones do not, that points to corruption in the original library rather than a version block.
• Check that no one has the library content open in Illustrator or Photoshop. Even old linked previews can occasionally keep a ghost lock.

The fact that everything behaves normally in 2024 and later makes me think compatibility has drifted a bit rather than Adobe turning anything off deliberately. 2023 is still within the usual support window, so this feels more like a sync bug than a sunset.

If none of that shifts it, you may be safest exporting the problem library to a new one using the browser interface. It is clunky but it often resets whatever ghost lock is stuck.

Hopefully that gets you and your team moving again.

[trishad61088048]

Hi Eugene,

Yes, Creative Cloud libraries. Thank you for the suggestions, I've tried them and still getting the same error.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @trishad61088048,

Thanks for your patience. I have tried replicating this behavior on InDesign v18 and was unable to do so. Would you mind trying the following steps and checking if it helps:

• Close all Adobe applications
• Remove the Creative Cloud Desktop application, CCLibrary, and CoreSync using the Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool (https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html)
• Reinstall the Creative Cloud Desktop application (https://helpx.adobe.com/download-install/kb/creative-cloud-desktop-app-download.html)
• Relaunch InDesign

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[trishad61088048]

I went through this very carefully, step by step and it did not work for me. Still getting the same message, only in 2023 (18.5.4).

[Anubhav M]

Hello @trishad61088048,

Thanks for reaching out. Could you try updating to a more recent version of InDesign (https://adobe.ly/3XraD27) and letting us know if it helps?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[trishad61088048]

Anubhav,

As I stated in my original post, the CC Libraries are working in 2024 and up and there are reasons we need to keep using 2023.

[will290948544ydj]

Hi Anubhav,

The company I work for has been having the same issue since 19/11/2025.

Some of our employees (the ones having this issue) need to use InDesign 18.5.4.138 due to compatibility with third party applications and plugins that they need. We have tested InDesign 20.1.0.71 on the same computers and the issue is not present with that version, CC libraries function normally.

We have tried the CC cleaner tool and reinstalling Creative Cloud but the issue is still occurring. We have tried other basic troubleshooting like clearing library cache, reinstalling InDesign 18.5.4.138, signing out and back in to CC, rebooting the computer but nothing has changed the issue.

There is a reply in this thread from a couple of weeks ago from HARSHIKA_VERMA saying that they will check with the team to determine if this is a known issue with the Creative Cloud libraries and will share an update here. My colleagues and I think this may be an issue on Adobe's end and not something we can fix. Is there any update you are able to provide us with regarding whether it may be a known issue or an issue on Adobe's end?

Regards,

Will

[Eugene Tyson]

Reports from others I see online is some others having same issue 

It might be an issue with Creative Cloud libraries. I'll raise internally and see if we can resolve. 

Thanks

[HARSHIKA_VERMA]

Hi trishad61088048, & Eugene Tyson,

Thank you for reaching out and reporting the issue. We are checking with the team to determine if this is a known issue with the Creative Cloud libraries and will share an update here as soon as we receive a response from the team.

Thank you for your patience.

Thanks,

Harshika

[mike_9263]

We have the same issue with InDesign 2020 (v15.1.3) Has there been any update from the "team"? We have been suspecting this is an issue with the Libraries through the Adobe CC app rather than the InDesign app versions themselves.

Thank you.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @mike_9263,

Thanks for reaching out. Could you try updating to a more recent version of InDesign (https://adobe.ly/3XraD27) and letting us know if it helps?

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[defaulti6i9i3zk1tef]

Some of us can't update to the latest version of InDesign becuase we rely on 3rd party plug-ins which are not supported in newer versions. So, unfortunately that's not a viable solution.

[defaulti6i9i3zk1tef]

I've also started experiencing the same pop up message. I noticed it about a week ago (Nov 19, 2025) while using Indesign inside my work AWS account (Windows PC, Indesign v.17.0.1). I tried re-creating a new library that is not shared and still get the message. I've tried all the recommeneded solutions (ie. log out/in, restart, etc.) and nothing works.

Interestingly, the pop up message does not appear when using Indesign v20.5.1.66 on MacOS 15.6.1 and am able to use my CC library.

[trishad61088048]

@defaulti6i9i3zk1tef  @mike_9263  @will290948544ydj 

The libraries are working for us in 2023 again! No word from Adobe, just stumbled onto it today.

Hope they are working for you too!