InDesign CS5: Crashes when inserting new pages into Templates and docs from CS2

[mcjaas716]

InDesign CS5 is crashing frequently when blank pages are inserted into an InDesign Template file, and almost every time new pages inserted into a CS2 document opened in CS5 OR a CS5 template with elements copied from CS2 (guides, styles). The problem persists for many different users on several platforms and operating systems. We have encountered this problem in each of the following:

Mac OS 10.6.3
Mac OS 10.5.8
Windows XP Professional

Document/template scenarios that have resulted in frequent crashing, for multiple users, include:
CS5 template (.indt) with guides and styles loaded from a CS2 document (both normal and exported/opened from idml)
CS5 template (.indt) with guides pasted from CS2 document (both normal and exported/opened from idml)
Doc (.indd) opened from CS5 template with elements from CS2 (both normal and exported/opened from idml)
CS2 doc (.indd) opened and saved in CS5
CS2 doc exported to .inx, opened in CS5, saved as CS5
Files opened/created locally AND on company server
Adding pages with both New Page Button and Page Palette Menu > Insert Pages

And document/template scenarios that have sometimes resulted in crashing (though not as often as when CS2 elements present):
Brand new CS5 template (.indt), saved to desktop with master page elements added
Doc (.indd) opened from CS5 template

We have also tried rebuilding preferences and testing again, with no change in behavior. Sometimes adding one or two blank pages will work (though not always), but it more commonly crashes when 10 or more pages added, and most frequently crashes when 30-60 pages added.

We have searched the forums and found a couple similar posts, but nothing to this extent or with a satisfactory answer. It seems that this is some kind of bug because the problem is present for many users across so many document scenarios and platforms. We recently upgraded to CS5 but have extensive styles built into templates used in CS2. There must be a way for this to get fixed so that users don’t have to start from scratch in order to execute such a fundamental page layout function: adding new pages. I have submitted a bug report with Adobe, but also hoped for some insight here – or at least to hear if others are encountering the same or similar issues. We have a clumsy work-around for the meantime, but the question remains: What is the cause and what will resolve this problem? Help!

[Guest]

We are getting the same problems with our Window's version of ID.

We try to open CS2 or 3 documents in CS5 and it totally crashes. This happens about 1 out of 6 times. Most of the time the convesion works fine.

This crash occurs just about 1/3 to 1/2 of the way during the covnersion as indicated on the box showing that the older doc is being converted. The *crash*. This is not only with Templates but with simply opening older ID docs with CS5.

My company is considering switching to Quark because this is a HUGE headache. If there is a fix in the next few days, we will reconsider.

David

[BobLevine]

Nothing's getting fixed in the next few days but I really find it hard to understand how you think switching to Quark is going be the answer to fixing something that even you claim works fine most of the time.

Bob

[Guest]

Bob, it's not goign to 'fix' anything and i'm against it. But I'm not IT, I'm design. I'll probably be able

to kill it. But we have hundreds of important design doc in ID and this is really going to hurt us. I'll keep an eye out here for any fixes. But we are highly POed that this problem hits us like this. Oddly, as I noted in my post here, it's a minority of docs that cause the crash. Most convert fine.

David

[Peter Spier]

And spending hundreds, or thousands of dollars and opening them in a completely different application is going to work better? Has to be the brainchild of someone in IT.

Have you tried exporting the files that cause trouble to .inx in the original version and opening that in CS5?

[Guest]

We don't run concurrent programs of different versions on the same computer. I am asking that our IT people resintall the earlier version of ID

which should solve the problem until the bug fix is complete for the current version. As of now I am waiting to hear back from them to make sure our license agreement allows us to do that (way out of my league).

I'm sure this is a problem with other users of ID5.

[The idea of course with Quark was to develop newer docs in that. I doubt it will happen if only because of the cost of doing this and having two different formats which is, as everyone knows, a pain, even if there were easy conversion programs to accomplish this (we havn't actually looked into this). Plus as we have the whole Adobe CS it's silly to contemplate. But who EVER thought IT was 'rational', right?]

David

[BobLevine]

Do your IT people have any idea of silly that all sounds?

1. Normally I would say there is no reason not to have earlier versions, but CS2 is so old that it's not supported on modern operating systems on Windows or Mac. But keep an old machine around just in case. FWIW, on my Snow Leopard Mac and my Win 7 Ultimate 64 machines I have CS3, CS4 and CS5 installed.

2. If you're going to use Quark to create new document, you can just as easily do that in InDesign.

Sorry, I wish I had more to offer, but Peter's idea of running those files through INX is the same one I'd offer.

Bob

Edit: The EULA allows for the new and old to be run during a transition period without specifiying what that period is.

[Peter Spier]

If you are going to have the old version reinstalled, it's highly recommended on Windows, and essential on Mac, that you uninstall the new version and reinstall in chronological order. Might be simpler to just find an old box to put CS2 on, as Bob said.

[Guest]

Thank you, this is very helpful. Can you explain why it's highly recommended? I can see that it would be a problem opening a CS

5.0 version in a CS3.0 version (our previous one). Anyway,

thanks.

David

[BobLevine]

You don't want new files being overwritten by old ones.

Bob

[Peter Spier]

On Windows there can be a lot of issues with the registry and older stuff taking precedence over new, not to mention that if you are a 'double-click-to-open' person Windows ALWAYS wants to use the last installed version of a program for the file association, no matter what you tell it, which means you'll constantly get opening erros for all the new files. I don't have a Mac, so I'm not sure on the details, but it's been reported here quite a few times that it just plain doesn't work to install out of order.

[natchang]

I have been having the similar problem when using templates and creating new files.

My currently successful work around is to set the master to none on the page or spread where the new ones are to be added, then set apply master to none on the new pages and then add the master after that.

Not nice, but working now

[James ONeill]

Is there any improvement if you hide the page previews in the Layout panel? Also try trashing your INDD cache files from the Library.

Another possibility is that the older files contain a reference to a color or a font or a style sheet that conflicts with your current document or even your current OS.  Helvetica is a big problem in this regard.

[Guest]

I have been having this issue also...It is verryyy annoying. I've tried everything in this thread and nothing works...except Duplicate Spread.

I Made a Keyboard Shortcut for Duplicate Spread so I can quickly and easily add more pages. I'm not sure if this will help in very complex ID doc, but hey I don't get a crash now. They really need to fix this issue. It's a basic feature...I mean really. Hope this helps someone.

[vigyazo]

Thank you. It's an option. I just start out with a lot of pages and at the

end just delete what remained blank.

[SirSpeedyRock]

Duplicate Spread seems to work for me -- thanks for the tip! Talk about an expensive problem. . . time is money in design work.

[Kat5]

Hi Everyone,

Perhaps you can try creating a new document with as many blank pages as you like.

Keep the file that always crashes open as well, into which you would like to insert new pages. Then drag the new file away from the original, so that the two files are not docked together (sorry not sure what the correct term is).

Then select all the pages of the original and literally drag it into the window of the new file so it copies all the pages (in my instance, I did it with about 60pp of content). It asks you where to insert it, select any option.

Once all the pages are copied, you can use the new file and not use the original.

It seems to work for me. Hope this helps you guys. This problem has happened to me twice before and I really didn't want to do the whole magazine again in this instance!

I hope I don't come across any further problems but for the moment, it seems to behave the way it should! Perhaps the file has somehow got corrupted and needs a new file construct.

[jvee]

I know this thread is a little old

but I was having the exact same issue with a 100 page catalogue I was working on. Whenever I would add a blank page, indesign would crash. I tried every solution listed in this thread and other threads but nothing seemed to work

HOWEVER

I found the solution. Turns out, I had objects locked on one of the pages in my catalogue. When I unlocked it, IT WORKED!

so if anyone is still having this issue, I suggest going through your file and double checking if anything is locked on the page ( Object > unlock all on spread)

I feel so silly knowing this was the solution, but I hope this works for everyone else! 😃

[neilf47008971]

I have a 450 page catalogue that sometimes misbehaves - usually after I export the last few pages as a PDF. Some images and text boxes disappear and today it will not allow me to add pages, crashing every time I try.

I  recovered an undamaged version by opening the last saved example before the PDF export, in TIme Machine. Sorted.

Note to self: Save a copy of the file and use that copy to export the  PDF then delete it and carry on with the original.