InDesign Randomly Creating Grey Pages

[ClaireAnna]

Hello,

Using InDesignCC 2017 and got what I'm assuming is a gosh awful bug. 4 of 32 pages of my catalog are greyed out and the page numbers are now missing and replaced with "PB". Pasteboard and it's zoomed in I guess, etc. This is terrible. So I exported to an IDML file and saved it. So now what? All the layers, images, links everything is there just completely shrunk. How do I fix this without spending hours resizing my completely formatted pages that were already done? I'm so highly frustrated as I lost hours and hours of work.

Does anyone know a quick and easy fix once I have exported to an IDML file then I can see all my layers and such but they are all really really small. Or is there another fix to this "grey page bug"?

Is there another way to get back the work I lost?

I appreciate any help,

Sincerely,

A Very Very Frustrated Designer

[Bill Silbert · Accepted solution]

It sounds like somehow your copy of InDesign got corrupted. The usual recommended way to "fix" the program is to delete the application preferences. I can't say that doing so will help save an already corrupted file but it may prevent it from happening to you again.

To reset preferences:

For Macintosh Users: With InDesign closed launch a Finder Window in column view and click on your home folder. With the Option Key pressed choose Library from the Finder Go Menu. Within the Library folder find the following two files and delete them: “Adobe InDesign” and “com.adobe.InDesign.plist”. When InDesign is next launched it will create new preference files and the program will be restored to its defaults.

After you’ve reset up the program (make sure that no document window is open) to your liking, it is a really good idea to create copies of your personalized “mint” preference files (make sure that you quit the program before copying them—that finalizes your customization) and use them in the future to replace any corrupt versions you may need to delete.

For Windows Users: Hold down Ctrl + Alt + Shift when launching InDesign and respond affirmatively when asked if you want to reset.

Once InDesign has been cleaned up try opening your corrupt file both in its original form and the IDML version. If you are able to open the file and work on it I would not save anything until you're sure that the program is now allowing you to move forward on the file without further corruption. If it is the same as before I would force quit InDesign so as not to corrupt the new preference files.

[ClaireAnna]

Thanks but it's not corrupted. Still having the same issue. It happened again today and I'm working like usual. Now I'm just having to pay attention that all my pages are in my catalog before saving! Very frustrating

[dorianr41485886]

This does not work for me. It is marked as the correct answer - it may work for some users but does not universally resolve the issue.

[BobLevine]

Sounds more like a corrupt file. Export it to IDML and then try working on that file.

[RBrass]

This has just happened to me. 40 or so pages of a 400-page book grayed out with PB instead of page numbers. I am frankly terrified because this will be a pictorial book of about 600 pages, thus a very big file. I don't expect this from InDesign. If it is the program that is corrupted, why is it only on certain pages? I have restarted, etc. etc. Trying to save to idml did not give a document that even responded – wouldn't open or anything. Should I try reinstalling InDesign.

It looks as if I can insert fresh pages after the last good page and move the text and pix to those pages a spread at a time, but it is going to be very tedious – not to mention confidence-shattering. I shall certainly break the book down into several shorter documents.

[Mike Witherell]

Try this troubleshooting guide:

Adobe InDesign CC 2018 troubleshooting how-to guide

It has everything in it.

[Gladys5C04]

I have the same problem but the link for your guide @Mike Witherell is broken.

Somewhere I can find it ?

[Chris-and]

I solved the problem export as idml and open again in an older version of indesign. All the pages are corecet now!. Have this problem in ID2022 and solved open the file in 2021. (sorry for my english)