InDesign CS4 launches with missing workspaces, keyboard shortcut sets, etc

Report · Dec 09, 2008

Due to the mixture of multiple issues in this thread:
http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.59b6c639/
I'm starting this as a new topic to focus on the cases where InDesign CS4 users are able to launch and use the product, but are missing resources such as the following types of presets: Workspaces, Keyboard Shortcut Sets, and Swatch Libraries.

All reports of this issue appear to be related to user permissions. For these resources to to be accessed you must be running InDesign CS4 with an account that has read/write access to the following folder, including it's subfolders and all of their content:
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS4\Presets

If you have a setup where you are running into problems getting resources from this folder to appear in InDesign CS4, and you believe your user account has read/write permissions to all of it's contents, please let me know as I'd like to work with you to find a solution.

Report · Dec 09, 2008

I'm going to keep this at the top for the time being. If anyone has anything productive to add, feel free. But keep it on topic.

Bob

Report · Dec 10, 2008

Hi Matt! If the issue is in regards to corrupted permissions in the "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS4\Presets" folder, then couldn't the user go into the command prompt, simply type in:

Windows XP:
cacls "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS4\Presets" \T \C \E \G Administrators:F
cacls "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS4\Presets" \T \C \E \G SYSTEM:F
cacls "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS4\Presets" \T \C \E \G All Users:F

Windows Vista (Note: One of these switches does not work on vista, but I can't remember which one, either T, C, or E. Whichever one, when it gives the error, just remove it from the command line, leave the rest the same, and run it. Note that "\G" is "\Grant" in vista.):
icacls "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS4\Presets" \T \C \E \Grant Administrators:F
icacls "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS4\Presets" \T \C \E \Grant SYSTEM:F
icacls "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS4\Presets" \T \C \E \Grant All Users:F

To give everyone/anyone who needs access (including the system) full control?

Report · Jun 17, 2009

@(Dominic_Cairns), On a simple workgroup, those permission changes should fix the problem. If you're in a Domain where Group Policies for people and/or machines are in place, then you should use new local admin, and disconnect from the domain, then test the solution. If that works, but fails when you log back in as the usual user on or off the domain, then the user account and/or user/machine GPOs are causing the limitation.

Report · Dec 10, 2008

Hmmmm I saw this prob today, and I tried to work out the differences between working as local admin and not.....

I did notice that the folder Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\Adobe\InDesign\Version 6.0

Contains an en_GB and an en_US folder....

The GB folder was created when i gave the user admin priv. The US folder is the one that ID originally created...

We are based in Australia, and our settings point to GB...... Could it be that for some reason, ID is forced to create a US folder when not a local admin, when in actual fact it should be creating a GB one?

this was the only difference I noticed.

Report · Dec 10, 2008

to better know... are users who are having this problem all based out side of the US?

Report · Dec 19, 2008

Hi I'm having the same problem...spoke to an adobe tech on the telephone and he said...go into c:/Users/User(or your main account name)/appdata(which could be a hidden folder...mine was)/adobe/roaming/indesign. Inside this folder theres a folder called version 6.0, rename this folder version 5.0 old then open indesign. This forces indesign to rewrite a whole new set of preferences for everything. At first I had some weird problems with admin privelidges but after a restart would let me rename it. It seemed to work all the keyboard shortcuts were assigned etc and has been brilliant since............

Until today...when much to my disgust i find that it seems to have undone itself and the method i just explained no longer seems to work!!! so i'm stuck without shortcuts etc again?!! i'm at a loss....any ideas anyone?! Chris

Report · Jan 03, 2009

I still have missing workspace, ran program with Administrator permission, installed with full administrator permission.

How to win this problem...

Audi

Report · Jan 05, 2009

Happy 2009 to all.
I've just started working on IDCS4 and try as I might I can't find the color swatches. The swatches panel is empty except the usual white and two black squares, and the swatches folder under presets has the usual files same as IDCS3. What can i do to see the swatches?

Report · Jan 05, 2009

Hello All! I'am sorry for my english - I'am from Russia and speak english too bad. Bat.... I own the solution for problem with shortcuts and default workspace. Are you ready? :)
It's that simple. Click the right mouse button on "Indesign.exe" (default plae at "C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign CS4\InDesign.exe"). In propeties window go to tab "Compatibilities" and set compatibility to "Windows NT 4.0".
After that run InDesign and be happy! And you will not need administrator privelidges more!!
Glad to speak you. Gorinich.

Report · May 07, 2009

Just to confirm that using the compatibility settings for Indesign.exe makes things work for us.

Specifically, we see the problem with users that are in the Power Users local group (and that is, unfortunately, most of our users as some legacy software writes .ini files to the program files directory).

Users who are administrators or normal users are fine.

All users (regardless of membership) have read/write permissions for the Local Settings\Application Data\Adobe\InDesign\Version 6.0 folder in documents and settings.

When it goes wrong, the prefs are all created under an "en_US" folder, due (I suspect) to a bug detecting the current locale settings. Since all the default settings are stored in "en_GB" folders, indesign doesn't find them and you start up with completely broken/empty prefs.

Setting the application compatibility setting on the app (in our case to "Windows XP") causes the locale to detect properly and a "en_GB" folder is created for the preferences.

The following .reg file corrects the problem on 64bit XP:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\AppCompatFlags\Layers]
"C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Adobe\\Adobe InDesign CS4\\InDesign.exe"="WINXP"

(remove the ' (x86)' from the path for 32bit XP)

Report · Jan 06, 2009

victor, since you are seeing the default [Paper], [Black] and [Registration] swatches, it's possible that the others were deleted with nothing open, making that the new default state. (You can't delete the "special" default swatches.)

Replacing your preferences should fix that, or if you have an existing document that still has the swatches in it, you can load them from the swatches panel flyout menu with nothing open and they should be restored.

Peter

Report · Feb 05, 2009

I've just updated the following tech doc with an additional solution which has solved the issue of missing workspaces, keyboard shortcut sets: "InDesign CS4 starts with missing workspaces, keyboard shortcut sets, and/or other presets and resources (Windows)" (kb408055)

http://www.adobe.com/go/kb408055

Missing swatches might be caused by other things, but the solutions of deleting the preferences may still solve that failing. Also, check permissions on the folder that contains the swatch books.

Report · Feb 08, 2009

Hello,

I think I have a similar problem in Indesign CS4.
My shortcuts are all working, but randomly they don't. Just now ctrl+z doesn't work anymore, and from time to time the 'return' keyboard button doesn't work anymore either. I have had the same problem in Illustrator CS4 with the 'space' button.

I have had this problem both at work and at home. At home I am the onl y account, and thus the administrator. At work I am not the administrator.

Using Windows XP SP2 both at work and at home

ps. when ctrl+z doesn't work and I go to 'edit > undo' then the key shortcut works again

Report · Feb 26, 2009

Thanks 4pgorinich, compatibility mode seemed to solve this. Anybody know if the compatibility mode causes other problems or is ti safe to use?

Report · Mar 04, 2009

Anyone aware of a missing file from: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Adobe\InDesign\Version 6.0\en_US\Workspaces? Called Essentials_CurrentWorkspace.xml it's missing, colleague of mine said he copied it to the location above and it fixed the issue. About to test myself shortly.

Report · Mar 04, 2009

That sounds like a current workspace based on changes to the default Essentials workspace, which would be located in the directory where you installed ID, as in \Adobe InDesign CS4\Presets\InDesign Workspaces\en_US. I'm not sure it would actually be created, and potentially "missing" unless you were using the Essentials workspace and moved something or changed the panel view and closed the application or changed workspaces. CS4 keeps track of changes you make to named workspaces in your user profile with names like that.

Peter

Report · Mar 05, 2009

Disregard, my colleage didn't know that once you start up InDesign after making the change to the presets folder (granting full rights) that it creates the file.

This is what I ended up doing to get it to work:

Granted full rights to the C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Indesign CS4\Presets folder.

Renamed the en_GB folders to en_US under:

...Presets\InDesign Workspaces
...Presets\InDesign Shortcut Sets
...Presets\Page Sizes

Report · Mar 06, 2009

Found a "fix". Basically if you make a copy of the en_GB folders, and rename them en_US it works w/o having to give admin rights or anything. We're a shop that the typical user has power user rights, and if you rename the en_GB folder it won't allow someone with admin rights to access it. So if you create the en_US folders (copies of the en_GB folders) then ID seems to work fine. Has all the right workspaces, keyboard presets, etc.

Report · Mar 13, 2009

My Problem: Missing keyboard shortcuts in InDesign under Windows Vista.

My fix (similar to 4pgorinich, but probably less dangerous):

Go to InDesign.exe , Properties, Compatibility: At the bottom activate "Execute as Administrator" (or whatever it is in English, in German it is "Programm als ein Administrator ausführen").

Now I have to confirm that I have admin rights every time I launch InDesign, but at last I have not only all keyboard shortcuts, including arrow keys, but all menus, tools etc. in German, which were in English before!
My usual user account for Windows is an admin account anyway, so this does not bother me.

btw, using a different Win user account did not work with me.

Thanks a lot for all your help
U.C.A.S.

Report · Mar 27, 2009

Missing keyboard shortcuts in InDesign under xp:
Thanks from copenhagen to russia att: 4pgorinich/ the only fix that works for me. I even got my own language to work; including shortcuts, workspaces, online help etc.
Hope the fix doesn't smashes anything else.
So far so good. Thanks again 4pgorinich.

Report · Apr 05, 2009

I am running Indesign CS4 with a user account that does not have administrator rights to the computer. All Users have full control rights to the Indesign Presets folder.

If I run InDesign as normal I get access to all of the standard toolbars, but my keyboard can’t do anything except type text (ie. Not even the “enter” or directional arrow keys do anything) I have noticed that if I press another key at the same time as the “Enter” key I get whatever key I pressed as well as a line break on the screen. I’m not sure if that is relevant at all.

If I set the compatability mode as NT4 and launch InDesign I get access to keyboard shortcuts (ie. “enter” gives a line break, “control + c” copies, “control + v” pastes, etc) but I don’t get any of the toolbars automatically populating. I need to open each toolbar manually, and repeat the process every time InDesign is reopened.

Both outcomes are unacceptable but I can’t find any more tips on what to do.

I’ve renamed the en_GB folder, which lead to an en_US folder being created when I launched InDesign. This still had the same outcome.

InDesign runs without any issues if I log on as an administrator, but this is not a viable outcome as I need to deploy the software on a network where users do not have admin rights.

I’ve followed kb408055 with no success.

I am in Australia and am running Windows XP Professional Version 2002 Service Pack 2.

Report · May 03, 2009

will it be an issue if you have domain users set their application data on a network?

We have this issue on one particular user on a particular machine. If other domain users logged on tot he machine. The shortcut works fine. If this problematic user logs on another machine, shortcuts in INdesign works fine as well.

Are there any other troubleshooting other than removing and reinstalling the user profile which is a bit of work because of all the documents.

Report · May 04, 2009

Try just replacing the preferences for the problem user on the problem machine before you do anything else.

Report · May 12, 2009

I've been communicating with Adobe Tech support for awhile now and they finally pointed me to this thread. I am having similar problem as kate.brookes, except that:

1) I am in Taiwan and running Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 3

2) Setting the Compatability mode to other versions of Windows (Windows NT, Windows 2000) does NOT have any effect

I too have tried renaming the en_GB and en_US folders, giving All Users Full Control to the Adobe InDesign folder, etc.; regardless, when ever my co-worker Jennifer logs onto her computer with her account, her keyboard cannot do *anything* except type text (i.e., the "Enter" key does not work, directional arrow keys do not work, CTRL-0, -, + keys do not recenter, zoom out, or zoom in, respectively, etc.). If I log on as an administrator, InDesign works just fine; but like kate.brookes, having the user log on as an admin is not a viable option for us.

I just tried the last suggestion on this thread (going into the Registry key for the 6.0 folder and giving "Full Access" to "Everyone")...still doesn't help any. Any other suggestions??

Thanks in advance,

L.F. Lee