InDesign Stuck in "Touch" Workspace on First Launch, Unable to Click or Use Shortcuts

[Léonard Roussel]

Hello. Brand new laptop (HP Zbook with touchscreen, Windows 10), just installed InDesign and open for the first time, I get this unfriendly "touch" screen (see screenshot) but cannot click (or touch) anything, or press any keyboard shortcut. I also tried what's described here without success (this is the first time I open InDesign on this computer). I'm running out of ideas, please help, thanks!

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[OneHipSista]

This just happened to me. I was able to get past it by swiping to the next gesture screen and clicking "Get Started." Not very intuitive.

[Rod35193707c7l0]

I don't understand where to click?

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @Rod35193707c7l0,

Thanks for reaching out! If you're stuck on the touch workspace screen and can't click anything, try closing the InDesign app completely and then reopen it by directly double-clicking any existing .indd file. That should help you get past the initial screen. Once the file is open, go to Edit > Preferences > Touch Workspace and uncheck the option that says "Switch to Touch Workspace when the keyboard is detached."

Let me know if that works or if you're still stuck. 

Abhishek 

[Rod35193707c7l0]

Hi Abhishek

I have tried this but still same result. Just stuck on touch screen.

[HARSHIKA_VERMA]

Hi @Rod35193707c7l0, 

Thanks for trying the suggestion. Are you on a Windows machine? If yes, could you please follow the instructions on this page: https://adobe.ly/4klWs7X and let us know if that helps?

We would be happy to assist you further.

Thanks,

Harshika

[Rod35193707c7l0]

I had my IT jump in and disable and it now works. Thank you so much

[Phillbies]

May 2025 and this is still happening! Absolutely unbelievably terrible service Adobe. Mine is completely unresponsive even when opening an existing file. THere is no possible way to take it out of touch mode. So I have an expensive and useless piece of software and unable to do the work I desperately need to do. I'm so sick of Adobe loading stupid tech into their software. Acrobat used to be a simple useful tool. Now it is just bloated with unneccessary functions that make it virtually unusable.

[gmendiastudio]

july 2025. 

[Anubhav M]

Hello @gmendiastudio,

Are you also having trouble dismissing the Touch Workspace in InDesign? If yes, kindly try the suggestions shared by Harshika (https://adobe.ly/3I2gTcf) and let us know if they help?

If the problem persists, please confirm the version of the OS/InDesign installed and provide a small screen recording of the problem so I can better assist you.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Anubhav

[don-jón]

I am encountering the same issue in InDesign (Beta) 20.4 on a PC  with no touchpad or anything:
- I can't click anywhere once the program has started

- Renaming the InDesign (Beta) folder in AppData doesn't change anything
- Resetting preferences with shortcut on start-up has no effect
- I have no touch device in my device manager that I could disable

- opening an existing .indd does not change the interface

This is truely frustrating.

Windows 11 (up-to-date)
InDesign Beta 20.4

[AlisonSpooner]

Still happening in my 2025 version. And now, when I do the suggested solution of opening an existing file, it opens briefly then defaults back to the home interface an continues to be unresponsive. I'm using a large interactive display without any other screen. Does anyone have any suggestions???

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @AlisonSpooner,

Thanks for sharing the update, and I'm really sorry you're still running into this issue.

Since you're using a large interactive display, I'd recommend temporarily disabling the touchscreen to see if that helps bypass the unresponsive Touch Workspace. You can follow the steps mentioned on this official Microsoft page to disable it:
https://adobe.ly/3IV2crW

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.

Abhishek 

[AlisonSpooner]

The solution you suggested is unavailable to me as I am not the administrator on the computer. I did manage to work around the problem by removing the USB cable for the touch interface.