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EddieV 10025
EddieV 10025
Participating Frequently
December 27, 2021
Answered

InDesign Crashes when trying to export a Reflowable EPUB file

  • December 27, 2021
  • 3 replies
  • 2506 views

   I am trying to export an InDesign file as a Reflowable EPUB file. When I attempt to do this, InDesign become unresponsive and I get the spinning beach ball on my Mac. I can export this file as a Fixed Layout EPUB file. This file is for my students who are using a variety of devices, which is why I want a Reflowable EPUB file and not a Fixed Layout EPUB.

   My InDesign file was created from a 19-page Word file (docx). Cover is set to None. InDesign freezes when attempting to create either EPUB 2.0.1 and EPUB 3.0 files. I have tried rebuilding the InDesign preferences, but that does not help. Last week I did not have this problem.

   I am working on a Mac running Big Sur 11.6.2. InDesign is version 17.0.1.

Thanks,

EV

Correct answer dean.p

Another update and Workable Solution for me.

Didn't have to export the doc to an IDML file. The culprit was the Endnotes... Nothing I did could export the endnotes without Indesign totally crashing. But I found a workaround....

  • Save your doc as a new Indesign doc (Like myfilename_Footnotes)
  • Convert all the Endnotes to Footnotes (Menu: Type > Convert Footnotes and Endnotes).
  • Don't worry about overtext, beacuse it'll still export
  • Now export as ePub, and check (under Text) Footnotes placement either "in Pop-up", or "End of Section"

 

3 replies

Kelli Jae Baeli
Kelli Jae Baeli
Inspiring
March 9, 2025

Same problem.

So, after exporting to IDML, HOW DO I OPEN THOSE? There are a TON. I'm working on a book, so i guess it creates a lot of them. Can't possibly open that many. this time it didn't do that, it created one file. But i couldn't find a way to delete this comment

Okay, so I tried that--saving as IDML, opening that, and saving it as ID file again--even cleaned up some missing fonts and checked everything. No errors.
BUT THEN I GOT THAT CRASH AGAIN. (I posted this all to another thread, and found all this while still trying to work it out. The crash always has:
<crash exception="EXCEPTION_ACCESS_VIOLATION" exceptionCode="0xc0000005" instruction="0x00007FFFE22DB498">
<backtrace crashedThread="0">

Derek Cross
Community Expert
Derek CrossCommunity Expert
Community Expert
March 9, 2025

As this thread is several years old it might be better starting a new one. Include your version of InDesign and OS and how much RAM and spare hard disk capacity you have.

Does InDesign crash when you save a file or when you export to Reflowable ePub?

Derek Cross
Community Expert
Derek CrossCommunity Expert
Community Expert
December 28, 2021

Assuming you've correctly formulated your Reflowable ePub (producing Reflowable ePubs is not intuitive), I suggest you divide the InDesign document in half and export each half as an ePub and see if you have a half that is ok and a half that isn't and keep dividing and checking until (hopefully!) you isolate the issue.

In the meantime maybe produce a PDF version for your students!

James Gifford—NitroPress
James Gifford—NitroPress
Legend
December 28, 2021

I don't think I've ever had an EPUB export crash ID, no matter how badly flawed or how many errors it generated. OTOH, the current release seems to be stuffed with crash-test dummies, so it could be a (mostly) unrelated problem.

Willi Adelberger
Community Expert
Willi AdelbergerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
December 28, 2021

I had this problem with previous versions but not the current one. To get rid of the influence of older versions here, I recommend to export as IDML, open that, save as INDD and export from the current version.

    manal shanableh
    manal shanableh
    Legend
    December 28, 2021

    this will be helpfull for me i had this problem also.

     

    thank you

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