Issues with placing PDF manual in InDesign 21.0.2 - Image and font corruption, text overlap

[Spirited_person4549]

Hello,

I am currently using Adobe InDesign version 21.0.2 and encountering several issues when placing a product manual PDF file into my InDesign document.

The issues are as follows:

1. Image and Font Corruption: The images and fonts on the cover page appear corrupted or are missing entirely. Sometimes, images only partially load or are deleted.
2. Text Overlap/Incorrect Object Recognition: Sentences within the manual are recognized as individual objects, leading to text overlap and an inconsistent layout.

I would like to inquire if there is a method to ensure that the text within the PDF is structured with a consistent format across a single page when placed in InDesign.

Also, I have observed that images sometimes overlap each other.

Are there any known solutions or workarounds to improve these issues? (e.g., specific import settings or PDF export settings from the source).

If these issues cannot be resolved with the current version, is there a possibility they will be addressed in a future update? I am also curious about the estimated timeline for the next version update.

Thank you for your assistance.

[sima.]

Hello.
I'm sima, an Adobe InDesign Community Expert.

First, if you had an image of the error occurring, it would have been helpful for reference.
Since it's only text-based, please understand that there are limitations to providing solutions.

When importing PDFs into InDesign, issues can sometimes arise.
In such cases, trying this approach might help:

Resave the original PDF file (using the Flatten method)

When resaving the PDF in the PDF creation tool (e.g., Illustrator, Acrobat Pro, etc.), set it as follows:

When saving the product manual file as PDF, save it in PDF/X-4 format.
Then, reopen the PDF in InDesign and check it.

For your reference,
numerous issues related to PDF reading errors have been reported in the Adobe community.
Adobe has announced major improvements are planned for version 21.1.0
or versions 21.1 and above, scheduled for the first half of 2026 (expected release in March or April).
You may want to keep this in mind.

- sima -

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