Inspiring

Question

Indesign not remembering window size (Again)

Forum|Forum|4 years ago
November 16, 2021
12 replies
12024 views

This seems to be a perennial issue for indesign. When I open the app it opens as large as the screen every time. Then I resize it and sure enough on relaunch its back to full screen. Its not world ending but its super annoying and appeared on the 2022 release.

Please fix it.

Also when is spell check that thing on computers since 1990 coming to this forum?

Bug

S

SteveClayton

Participating Frequently

Almost 5 YEARS later and this issue still persists. Maybe the developers could try talking a little faster during Adobe's "active conversation about this issue".

PacoD

Known Participant

Fact is that solving the annoying issue of the working window has never been and will never be anywhere near a priority— instead, we are bombarded with endless "improvements" to PsCC .. 🙄

PacoD

Known Participant

Hi;

Today is April 24, 2025 ... and Adobe has not been able to solve the issue. I have tried plenty suggestions, but without resolution. The only "solution" to the issue is to pin InD to my PC's taskbar and never "quit" (close) it, but rather minimize it—this way my workspace settings will always remain and the working window will keep its size/location.

R

Randy Hagan

Community Expert

Hey, for what it's worth, my Outlook 365 application window can't remember size in my Windows 11 install either. Nor can it consistently remember its own File Manager window size either.

Methinks you may be goring the wrong ox here. Jus' sayin'

Randy

James ONeill

Known Participant

I think Adobe and Microsoft are both stuck on a PHONE paradigm, where ALL windows take up the whole screen. Also desktop users will pay the subscription fee and live with it. There's no need to "win them over" since all meaningful competition is gone.

HSDA

Participating Frequently

It's 2024 and this bug is still "bugging", my solution is primitive but it works for me, I resize indesign as a whole, quit, then re-open it, try the shift+w (presentation preview), and go back, if it shrinks then, I repeat quitting, resizing, quitting again, trying it out.
It usually takes a few times but it works then 😄

HARSHIKA_VERMA

Community Manager

Hi All,

We understand your frustration and agree it's a long-pending issue. We've an active conversation about this issue on this post: https://adobe.ly/3Yzy2zY.

We want to inform you that we have logged a new bug for this issue, as mentioned in the post. We are actively working with the team to fix the issue on priority.

Meanwhile, we would request you to please upvote this UserVoice page: https://adobe.ly/3YHHAca for better tracking of upvotes and more visibility.

We are sorry for the inconvenience.

Thanks,

Harshika

James ONeill

Known Participant

I don't understand why this should take literally a decade to fix. It WORKED in the FIRST version of InDesign and kept working until Creative Suite 4 or so. Was this maybe something that only worked in Carbon?

C

callme.pads

New Participant

Fixed it - super simple but annoying.

With Indesign open - click on the Indesign app icon from the dock of the screen indesign is currently on.

This lets the computer and its apps know that screen is the "active/selected" screen. (this is the same as when you use command+tab app switcher but it only appears on one "active/selected" screen)

Now open Indesign, go full screen, and then exit full screen.

Resize your screen or double click on the top of the app window next to the app name to force full screen and try again.

Should work now.

James ONeill

Known Participant

I can't follow this. InDesign doesn't seem to have a Full Screen option. And what does "top of the app window next to the app name" mean? The only app name I see is on the menu bar. Sorry, I'm very confused.

PacoD

Known Participant

@James ONeill

Hi;

Callme.pads's directions are a bit tricky for me to understand, too, but I think I figured them out. I believe "full Screen" is to maximize the working window, which will do so to whatever size of monitor InDCC is launched on.

Attached is my PC's desktop showing InDCC in all its glory, hoping it might help understand. In any event, the instructions did not help correct the issue, at least for me.

Below is how InDCC currently is choosing to launch—notice the working window's placement, which varies with each launch; sometimes it takes up the whole monitor, sometimes it's very small, always in a random location on the monitor—in every case, I have to manually resize the working window to my preference/comfort.

R

Robert2807422137rd

Known Participant

Adobe tells us the next update will fix this. The next update does not fix this. Adobe tells us the next update will fix this. The next update does not fix this. Adobe tells us the next update will fix this. The next update does not fix this. Adobe tells us the next update will fix this. The next update does not fix this........

At some point they should simply say "We don't care. We're not fixing this."

B

BenFrey2013

Participating Frequently

No other application has this behavior in MacOS, including other Adobe applications. It is infuriating. It was not like this "back in the day" before the Creative Cloud version of InDesign. I know because I have an old Mac Pro that can't be upgraded past 10.9, and the last version of InDesign I installed on that machine (pre-subscription times) remembers your window size and position for every .indd document, separately. It only loses its way if you attach a different size monitor, but even then, it tries its best.

2024 just doesn't care, full stop. Opening a 1x1 inch document on a 30 inch screen? I hope you like pasteboard!

PacoD

Known Participant

@garethirwin1234
Hi. A few years late to this discussion but here I am ... with the exact same issue as yours regarding InDCC's working window size.. in August 11, 2023. It drives me bonkers having to resize the working window every time I launch InDCC. FWIW, I am on desktop PC/Windows (W10, currently) and have been since forever.

I've been a Creative Cloud subscriber for quite a long time, and I can say that in the not-too-distant past InDesign's working window's size was never an issue—always opened at the same size I left it on the previous launch. This was never an issue with InD when working with the stand-alone app, before subscribing to CC. It's a nuisance. I am flabbergsted that Adobe cannot/will not release a fix to this annoyance, ...yet PsCC and AiCC et al get all sorts of improvements and tools (which we love & appreciate, BTW), but I feel as tho' they're treating InDCC like the red-headed stepchild. 😞

rob day

Community Expert

Hi @garethirwin1234 , I get the same behavior using CS6 on OSX with the Application Frame turned off, so I don’t think this is new:

Document window sized and saved:

Reopened with Application Frame off:

The layout window bounds are scriptable, see my 2nd post

C

CraigMFA

Inspiring

It's actually nice to see people griping about this. I have been silently suffering InDesign's monitor-space ignorance for a long long time.

My issue is, when I open InDesign on my external monitor (driven by a MacBook Pro 2021 M1), it never seems to figure out how big to make the window. It opens the window at a size that falls off the bottom and right sides of the screen, but hitting the green title bar button brings the window back into the bounds of the screen. So somewhere in there, at least the OS knows how big my monitor is (assuming those three window-sizers are govorned by the OS and not ID—however the green button changes functionality based on what app is running, so I have no idea whether the OS has primary control over it).

Then if I try to resize the window, ID goes absolutely haywire with it. It's hard to explain its behavior at this point.... I can mouse over the corner tab to grab it and start pulling to resize the window—a feature function on the Mac since 1984—but suddenly the window size scales up significantly and now the cursor is controlling the resize at some random point in the document—the cursor is no longer anchored to the corner where I first held down the mouse button. If I keep the mouse button held down, I can still adjust the size of the window, but the window acts rubbery and VERY weird about it. Instead of being a 2D simple rectangular object that should be basic-basic-basic to resize, suddenly the window is a gelatenous blob acting like I'm ANNOYING it into the size that I want it to be, and it's only grudgingly obeying. I have to warp it around until it comes into a position approximating the scale I actually want. Also, this only works once. If I make multiple attempts to resize and reposition the window, it gets even more annoyed and rebellious. It's the weirdest thing.

External monitors have been a thing on the Mac forever. Why is this suddenly difficult? As a tool for professionals, InDesign really should be able to function normally and dependably with external monitors.

Mike Witherell

Community Expert

Just wanted to acknowledge that, yes, it is doing this same thing on my Windows 10 computer, and is not doing this on any of my macOS machines. Yes, it is aggravating, and no I haven't got a clever workaround to it.

Mike Witherell

rob day

Community Expert

InDesign doesn’t save the layout window position, but its bounds can be scripted.

This script would set the upper left corner x, y position to 50 pixels, and the width would be 75% of the available screen width, and the height would be 90% of the available screen height. It would also be possible to add a listener so every document gets positioned on an open event.

var hScale = .75
var vScale = .9

var x = 50;
var y = 50;


var sw = $.screens[0].right;
var sh = $.screens[0].bottom;
var w = Math.round ((sw*hScale)-x);
var h = Math.round ((sh*vScale)-y);

app.activeWindow.bounds = [sh-(y+h), x, sh-y, x+w]

After running:

G

garethirwin1234Author

Inspiring

right i feel like I am in a parallel universe here or there is a massive language barrier.

1. I open indesign.

2. I make the indesign window the size that I want, lets say for instance half the size of my screen on the left hand side.

3. I do some super indeisgn stuff.

4. I quit indesign.

5. later I relaunch indesign.

6. Indesign is has not remember the laf screen left hand side settings and has reverted to taking over the whole screen,.

7. Goto 1

I really dont know how better to explain this, but I can tell you this 100% it should not and does not require a script.

G

garethirwin1234Author

Inspiring

Oh my god, this crap forum does not even allow editing of posts! Adobem, get it together really!

right i feel like I am in a parallel universe here or there is a massive language barrier.

1. I open indesign.

2. I make the indesign window the size that I want, lets say for instance half the size of my screen on the left hand side.

3. I do some super indeisgn stuff.

4. I quit indesign.

5. later I relaunch indesign.

6. Indesign has not remembered the screen left hand side settings and has reverted to taking over the whole screen,.

7. Goto 1

I really dont know how better to explain this, but I can tell you this 100% it should not and does not require a script

rob day

Community Expert

The Appliction Frame bounds are remembered, but I think that is an OSX only feature:

https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/troubleshoot-application-frame-document-window.html

Bill Silbert

Community Expert

In response to the first part of your question, sizing the window. I assume that you are talking about sizing down the application window with the Application Frame active (Window>Application Frame). Try doing the resizing with no document open and then immediately quitting the program. Setting a preference with no documents open and then quitting will usually "lock-in" a preference as the default when you next launch InDesign.

J

Jefferson2183977137tt

New Participant

@Bill Silbert I have attempted this suggestion and this did not work. Opening the application regardless of whether or not there is a file being opened causes it to be full screen upon opening. Using the restore window button causes the window to be approximately 3x the size of my monitor which is extremely inconvienient to resize. Opening it without a file, resizing window, and shutting it down did not keep setting when reopened with or without a file.

R

Randy Hagan

Community Expert

Let me ask a dirty question: Are you using a laptop that you connect to, or have connected to, an external monitor?

If so, I believe I may be able to help you with your problem:

Open InDesign on your laptop, without the external monitor connected. You want to be working with your smallest screen you use with your system, and that's generally the one on your laptoip. It will open with the window maximized.
Turn off the maximized setting to make the InDesign application window appear three times too large for your laptop screen.
Mutter and cuss a little (optional step)
Generally, by default the upper-left corner of the application window will appear in the top-left corner of the laptop screen. If not, go anywhere you can actually see an edge to the application window. Put your cursor at the corner of the application window to the point where you see the diagonal double-sided arrows which will allow you to adjust the application window size.
Hold the left mouse button down and drag toward the opposite corner of the laptop screen, leaving enough room to be able to grab the title bar for the window. Release the mouse button.
Place your cursor in an empty part of the top of your application window. Hold the left mouse button down and drag the application window up and to the left so the upper left corner of the application window is in the upper-left corner of the laptop screen.
If you still don't see the entire application window, repeat steps 4 through 6 as necessary until you can see the entire application window on the laptop screen. Muttering and cussing is near-mandatory here. Fine tune your application window to appear as you'd like it on your laptop screen.
Leave your InDesign application window open. Shut down your system. Do not select the restart option; shut down your system. If your system asks you to shut down your application windows manually, ignore that. Let the computer shut down all application windows.
Start your computer again. When the desktop appears again, wait a minute or so for everything to start and open correctly. Then open InDesign again. It should now open at the window size you'd like it to be.

There is a small downside to this. When you reconnect to the larger external screen, the window will be laptop-small sized. Drag it to the size you'd like it to be on your big screen, remembering to shut down InDesign before you shut down the system. Even if the application window is minimized, InDesign will remember how large the application window size was extended on yoiur big-screen external monitor and you'll have to go through this complete drill all over again. Please don't ask me how I know; the memory is too painful.

I believe this will help you, as it may help garethirwin1234, the original poster who sorta described this issue.

Hope this helps you both,

Randy

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