Indesign freezes all the time when making PDF

[spyderABC]

working with 16.4 version on Catalina. Restarted with com/ctrl/alt/shift but same trouble ! 

I get these window pop-ups - have to do a forced quit and restart and get those windows back.

After doing 'yes' all pages are back filled-in and the look normal but afterwards I can't make the PDF.

See attachments please. Thanks for any feedback. (I'm from Belgium - Dutch) 

S

[spyderABC]

BUT still the same - Indesign keeps running in the top menu and no PDF 

[Peter Spier]

By deleting the cache folder did you at least fix the problem with the errors in the screen shots in your first post?

[spyderABC]

I've removed cache folder 17 as well as the prefs by start up cmd/alt/ctrl/shift but I can't find the hidden  

Recover folder !

So still don't work for me.

I've been looking on the internet for those recovery folder - they tell what to do to recover but not where to find that/those foler(s). I don't see anything like that in the (finder-go) library.

Can I make a new book and copy-paste all pages into that one or will that be the same?

[Peter Spier]

The recovery folder would normally be in the Caches folder, so when you deleted that you took care of it.

At this point are you having any problem other than freezing when trying to export to PDF?

Are you by any chance using an external monitor? There seems to be a new bug with monitor connections. If you have an external monitor take a look at https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/unable-to-save-or-export-files-from-indesign-202...

[spyderABC]

I work on a Eizo (MacPro-Catalina)

De file seems to be ok. So Indesign begins making a PDF (file: 0 k at the end) but keeps running and running and then you can’t stop this action as you get a screenwindow (see above) and so it ends with a forced quit of Indesign as there's always nothing else you can do.

I'd make a complete new ID-docuent and pasted every page by page back into this document but SAME PROBLEM! 

So now I did an uninstall of the 17 version (to avois other new problems) and I'd go back to the V16. Stil same problem!!!!

Now I also saw that the recovery file was inside a second map in the Cash library: 'en_GB' (thought this was something for the English language). So everything has beens deleted. (cash-prefs-recovery) but with no result!

That becomes a more and more scary as that book need to be printed very soon!

[spyderABC]

I think I've find a solution as my Indesign file was in the last state so there were no things to be corrected.

I've exported the whole document as jpgs (all pages at once) and then pasted them into a new document one by one -

and this time I was able to make my PDF.

So finaly I do have a PDF who's ok for printing.

Thanks one more time for all feedback!

(sorry for some mistakes in the text - a bit annoying that you cannot correct your own text afterward) ...

[Peter Spier]

This is not a good solution -- exporting to jpeg has rasterized your text.

You may have a problem with something on one of the pages. It's easy to find problems like that using the Divide and Conquer method.

Start by saving a copy of your file. Open that and delete half the pages, then try to export. If export succeeds, you have a problem with a page that was deleted, so restore the copy and delete the other half of the pages. Try export again. It should fail. If it does, delete half of the pages you still have in the document and repeat the test. Continue in this way until you are down to a single page. You can then elininate half the objects on the page in the same way to find the culprit.

[spyderABC]

and I who thought this was over now...

Thanks for the suggestion Peter but I don't think it's something like that. There's nothing complicated on any of these pages. It's a catalog (32 pages) for a photo exposition and there's a hard cover version for the opening reception (this one is in proof at this time) and the problem version is a (cheaper) version for visitors afterwards with exactly the same content - so if we didn't had any problem with the first one... 

I really think it most be something else, but what...

[Peter Spier]

Corruption can creep into a file in many ways...

[Laubender]

Hi spyderABC,

what you also could try:

Export to PDF without using a background process.

Warning: You'll need admin rights for steps [3] or [4]:

[1] Quit InDesign.

[2] Create a blank text file named exactly:

DisableAsyncExports.txt

[3] For Mac OS users:

Open your InDesign app in the application folder with a right click with "Show Package" and go to: Contents/MacOS/

Copy the file DisableAsyncExports.txt to that folder.

[4] For Windows 10 users:

Copy the file DisableAsyncExports.txt to the folder where your InDesign exe file resides. E.g. to

C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe InDesign 2021\

If you want to revert to background processing simply remove the text file.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[spyderABC]

this is really unbelievable!!!! as I was able to export those complete pages I thought let's do only all the images (everything that's no text - since I can do anything in that Indesign document (what can be corrupt in that ID file?) and keep the text separate in another layer. So I had a document with the export images on one layer and text on the other - everything looks fine but NO PDF! Why dos he loose always .idlk file with 0 k ????

I don't get it ! ggggrrrrr

[spyderABC · Accepted solution]

IT's DONE! 

I thought and if I try with one page? ...

All PDF's were made one by one and afterwards stick together again in one global file.

Why ID prints all the separative pages and not the whole book is a mystery !

It cost me hours and hours searching and searching and without the help of Peter I don't know what I would have done...so many thx again!

[Peter Spier]

I'm glad you were able to complete your project, though I still don't think we've really "solved" whatever was wrong. I'm happy to have been able to help.

[Laubender]

Hi spyderABC,

just want to know if you tried my suggestion to run the export process not as a background one.

Thanks,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )