InDesign ‘File is damaged’ message

[Terence5F91]

I am frequently getting this message when opening files in Indesign:

 I have the latest version (20.2), the computer is a new M2 max, and these are all files I have created myself. They are stored locally. I have tried exporting as IDML and resaving, but the proble keeps coming back.

Is InDesign really corrupting my files or is this a false message which can be ignored?

Prompt investigation of this would be apreciated please Adobe.

[Anubhav M]

Hello @Terence5F91,

Would you mind checking if InDesign behaves this way with new files, if the location you're saving your files to has sync enabled via iCloud (https://adobe.ly/3DiLDUp) or any other service like Dropbox, etc., and if Full Disk Access is enabled for InDesign (https://adobe.ly/4hjfQQV), so I can better assist you?

Also, try running InDesign under Safe Mode (macOS) and under a different administrator account (macOS) and share your observations.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[Terence5F91]

Hello Anubhav

Sync is enabled (although I am only saving to the mac's hard drive).

I have granted full disc access to Indesign.

I only have one user account on this mac.

Not sure what you mean by 'new files'. If you mean a file that I created this morning and tried to open this afternoon then that would a yes.

The only thing I have yet to try is running in safe mode. I shall try this tomorrow.

It would be good to know if my files are really being damaged or if I need to not worry so much. This is a large job for an important client and I can't afford to screw up here!

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Terence5F91

Are you using Typeface? 

[Terence5F91]

Yes. Straight forward Helvetica Neue.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Terence5F91

No, Typeface is the font manager app for Mac - and is reported to cause problems with latest version of InDesign.

[Terence5F91]

Oh I see. No, never heard of it. Just using fontbook or Adobe Fonts.

[Terence5F91]

Hi Anubhav.

I have tried it in safe mode, and spent some time opening, saving and closing files. I'm afraid the problem is still there.

Surely I can't be the only one experiencing this?

[Terence5F91]

Anybody?

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Terence5F91

Can you confirm OS version?

And can you post more info about your hardware configuration - especially, how much RAM do you have. 

Can you share one of your files? 

Please click my nickname if you prefer to send it privately - upload it somewhere and send me link privately. 

[Terence5F91]

Sure:

Model Name: Mac Studio

Model Identifier: Mac14,13

 Model Number: Z17Z000FBB/A

 Chip: Apple M2 Max

 Total Number of Cores: 12 (8 performance and 4 efficiency)

 Memory: 32 GB

 System Firmware Version: 11881.81.4

 OS Loader Version: 11881.81.4

 Serial Number (system): D4VT732P43

 Unfortunately I'm not at liberty to share these files with anyone due to the nature of their content.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Terence5F91

Looks like you've enough RAM.

It doesn't have to be a file with any confidential contents - just a sample document - even blank one - as long as you've problem with it. 

[Terence5F91]

Please find attached. I opened this file just now and got that message. I have removed the content.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Terence5F91 

Please try attached file.

[Terence5F91]

Well it opens ok. So what does that tell us?

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Well it opens ok. So what does that tell us?

By @Terence5F91

No errors?

In the previous file - I've just replaced fonts - you're using this version:

https://blogfonts.com/helvetica-neue-lt-std-1.font

Not sure how "official" it is...

[Terence5F91]

Please see answers below.

No errors?

No error messages

In the previous file - I've just replaced fonts - you're using this version:

https://blogfonts.com/helvetica-neue-lt-std-1.font

Not sure how "official" it is...

I’m using the licenced version that we bought from Linotype over ten years ago.

Do we need to purchase a new version then?

But, I dug deeper and here is a better file attached - and found the reason of your problems.

This file should be fixed - there IS some corruption inside:

Pleased that you’ve found something.

There are a few Stories WITHOUT contents - each Story, even empty - NEEDS to have at least one Paragraph. At least they've TextFrames.

Not sure what you mean here. Please explain why an empty text frame would damage a file. There were no empty ones until I deleted the text for the test file.

Not sure how you've prepared this sample file:

(A) removed text contents but left TextFrames - and the whole Story was damaged anyway ,

or 

(B) removed other Layers completely - but those empty TextFrames from the damaged Story where there anyway, on the "Layer 1" layer?

I have removed the text by selecting all and deleting. The text frames are still there. I have only used one layer in the document.

Not sure if you can use this file - or if you need to re-create yours from scratch - but even moving pages to a new file - doesn't fix it:

I would rather not recreate, as It’s on proof with the client now. My main concern is preventing this from happening again.

Those empty Stories - are trasfered anyway - that's why IDMLing also fails to fix your file.

Could you please explain what you mean by ‘stories’ in this context, and how they might have been corrupted?

The source for the content was an imported client word file. Could this have caused it?

Possible solution, as long as (B) - try to move texts from other layers to a new layer - then DELETE this "Layer 1" layer - to get rid of those corrupted Stories.

By this, do you mean copying and pasting all the content to a new layer and simply deleting Layer 1? This would carry the least risk.

Please advise.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@Terence5F91

Please disregard that "missing" part of my reply.

About the font - if your file opens fine with a different font(s) - then maybe something is wrong with the copy you've? 

OR - can you check if you've duplicates installed in the system? 

That can result in the "strange" behavior of the InDesign.

[Terence5F91]

That's always a possibility.

I've checked for duplicates and there are none.

[Derek Cross]

If you have a 10-year-old version of InDesign, it probably won't be compatible with recent operating systems.

[Terence5F91]

I have the latest version of InDesign. It's the font that is 10-years old.

[Derek Cross]

Have you tried trashing the preferences?

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Have you tried trashing the preferences?

By @Derek Cross

But Safe Mode didn't help - and is rather better than trashing preferences? 

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

I have the latest version of InDesign. It's the font that is 10-years old.

By @Terence5F91

Can you try and download newer / different version? 

[Terence5F91]

I can try that yes.