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InDesign - Export to PDF and Packaging crashes InDesign

Forum|Forum|5 months ago
October 17, 2025
2 replies
864 views

Hi, I am on a Mac Sequioa, using the latest version of Indesign.

When I removed a hyperlink, InDesign crashed, it recovered but now I can't export to pdf or package the project.

Its 90 pages long. I was able to export page 26-27 only. Everything else does not export.

Its a shared file, so my couterpart tried and was able to package if he chose not to save the pdf.

But I need the pdf.

I was able to export an older file, so its definitely this file. What can I do to recover the file to be able to export it and package it?

There is no error when it crashes, just a pdf pop up that says this file cannot be opened. I have it checked to view pdf upon export. I list what I am doing at the time when it crashes. Exportng to pdf or trying to package.

Any help is appreciated!

Import and export

Correct answer Eugene Tyson

@Manan Joshi has given a helpful tip there, but if it's still not working then why not just export the PDF after it's finished packaging?

Package it without selecting the PDF portion while packaging.

Once it's packaged, make the PDF from the packaged folder and save the file in the folder.

E

Eugene Tyson

Correct answer

Community Expert

@Manan Joshi has given a helpful tip there, but if it's still not working then why not just export the PDF after it's finished packaging?

Package it without selecting the PDF portion while packaging.

Once it's packaged, make the PDF from the packaged folder and save the file in the folder.

L

Lindsey2018Author

Participating Frequently

Ok that worked! Thank you. I did need to update the assignements again. But was able to export the entire document to pdf and place in the proper folder for review.

BobLevine

Community Expert

Thanks! What do you recommend to do to save a backup? We started the packaging process after each spread was completed to have a back up. How do you recommend saving a backup?

For small workgroups, I would be using Dropbox or OneDrive which keep versioning info with every save. If you're on a corporate network then talk to your IT folks about it.

While I certainly think backups should be done, what you're doing is overkill and will undoubtedly cause problems with an InCopy workflow.

And BTW, two other points. Stop using assignments (ICMA) and just open the INDD file in InCopy. It's not clear from your comment is you're doing that or not. And, if these PDFs are for review, you can easily export one from InCopy instead of going back to InDesign to do it.

M

Manan Joshi

Community Expert

Try isolating the exact pages that are causing the crash. You could try exporting the document to IDML and then resaving it back, that helps resolve some document corruption. This could also be a font corruption issue or an image issue so check that as well.

-Manan

L

Lindsey2018Author

Participating Frequently

I did save at IDML, then again as INDD. It told me that fonts were missing and were Helvetica Nothing.

Updated each to Helvetica Regular (all were links within the document)

I had to delete all the Incopy duplicate files and reassign.

Now I get an error on one page, but there are no links on that page. No errors in the preflight, no broken links in the links panel or hyperlinks panel.

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