Missing required system fonts or CMap files

[Alexis5FD2]

I am unable to start indesign because this message pops up "Adobe InDesign is missing required system fonts or CMap files. Please reinstall InDesign". I have uninstalled, restarted and reinstalled the InDesign App to no avail. Any advice on how to fix the problem?

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

Since you are jumping into this thread without providing any info about your problem, your computer OS, and OS version, there is not much anyone can say to help you. 

If you are simply looking for a v19.x, you can install one version back with the Creative Cloud app.

[victoria5ED5]

How?

[victoria5ED5]

It doesn't work Dave.  I've tried twice.

[emilyb92197408]

This is still an issue @Adobe. 

[Samir Patra]

I have exactly the same issue. Please help!

[Samir Patra]

I’m experiencing the same issue. I’ve tried all the suggestions from Steve Werner, but nothing worked. Please review the attached screen recording.

[Dave Creamer of IDEAS]

I would suggest using the Adobe CC Cleaner app, remove ALL, manually make sure all your caches are deleted, manually remove any Adobe folders left in the Libraries, reinstall the Creative Cloud app, reinstall the software from that app.

[Samir Patra]

Thanks, Dave. I took it a step further—I formatted the iMac (3.8 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5), updated the OS to Ventura 13.7.5, installed Creative Cloud, and then reinstalled the apps. Unfortunately, the issue persists. I suspect it might be related to a font problem. Both InDesign and Illustrator are failing with errors, while Photoshop and Acrobat seem to be working fine.

[abdel_hamid_9752]

same issue, I tried all solutions available, and I reset my iMac and reinstalled my OS Ventura, and it's not yet fixed

[debmundy]

Me too! Very frustrated!

[printroom_7768]

what would my solution be if on a High Sierra runnin mac, and the cleaning isn't installable

[LoranColletPro]

Depuis ce matin, mon InDesign ne veut plus démarrer.

Je l'ai désinstallé et ré-installer plusieurs fois, même en redescendant de version (19.5.2 à 19.0) et rien n'y change.

Auriez-vous une solution ?

Merci

Détails :

- Mac OS : Ventura 13.7.5

- InDesign CC 2024

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @LoranColletPro,

Could you share a screen recording showing your workflow and where exactly the error appears? 

In the meantime, try signing out of Creative Cloud, signing back in, and then relaunching InDesign to see if that helps. Also, I would recommend going through the troubleshooting steps mentioned here: Troubleshoot Fonts in InDesign.

Let me know how it goes! Looking forward to your update.

^
Abhishek

[LoranColletPro]

Hi,

J'ai suivi tes conseils et cela ne fonctionne toujours pas.

J'ai ensuite tenté de suivre les conseils sur les fonts mais cela ne fonctionne toujours pas.

Voici ce qui se passe quand je relance Indd :

[jmlevy]

As-tu essayé de réinitialiser les préférences ?  Il faut relancer l'application tout en appuyant simultanément sur Maj, Ctrl, Alt et Cmd jusqu'à l'apparition du message demandant confirmation.

[LoranColletPro]

Bonjour,

J'ai essayé aussi et aucun changement.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@LoranColletPro

As reinstalling doesn't fix everything - you should try the Nuclear Option described here:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/indesign-discussions/reset-indesign-preferences-and-other-troubleshoo... 

[LoranColletPro]

Hi,

Pas de changement après de nombreuses manipulations comme décrites.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @LoranColletPro,  

I appreciate you trying all the suggested troubleshooting steps. Since reinstalling and resetting preferences didn’t help, and the issue persists even after following the Nuclear Option, we've logged a bug for this issue internally, and the product team is actively working on a fix. I’ll update here as soon as I hear back from them. In the meantime, if you haven’t already, try launching InDesign in Safe Mode to see if that makes a difference. Let me know if anything changes!  

^

Abhishek

[LoranColletPro]

Hi

Ce matin, une Maj de mon OS a été faite (Version 13.7.5 (22H520)) et j'ai donc réinstallé une version d'InDesign 19.5.3 (nouvelle aussi) alors que j'étais en 19.5.2 et MIRACLE cela fonctionne de nouveau. J'ai réussi à l'installer et même installer des plug-in qui fonctionnent.
Je croise les doigts en espérant que cela sera stable tout au long des projets à venir.
PS : Pour être sûr, je stabilise mon système et InDesign en ne faisant plus de mises à jour pour le moment.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi everyone,

I hope you've been doing well. I wanted to check in regarding the'missing required system fonts or CMap file' issue in InDesign. Could you please confirm if you are still seeing this problem with the latest version of InDesign 2025?

Confirming this will really help the product team investigate the issue further and work toward a resolution.

Your observations and feedback are much appreciated, and I look forward to hearing your updates.

Thanks so much for your help!

Abhishek

[cedric_1574]

Yes, the problem still occurs in InDesign 2025, at least on MacOS Ventura.

[debmundy]

Yes it is still happening and I have canceled my subscription due to this frustrating issue! Adobe may want to offer some customer service in the future! It seems that you can only install InDesign 2018 on MacOS Ventura

[Stellar_Wonderland5049]

That error means CMap files or system fonts are missing. Use the Adobe Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool to fully remove InDesign, then reinstall. Also check core fonts like Arial/Times are installed. This usually fixes it.

[debmundy]

I uninstalled InDesign using the CC Cleaner tool then reinstalled it again and it still had the "missing CMAP file message'! I checked all my fonts and installed more core fonts from CC. The only way it works is if I install the 2018 InDesign and all this stuffing about took me hours with my 5G wifi and the enormous size of InDesign. My Mac needs more RAM to cope with it! If I purchase a new Mac it will fix the problem probably as new MacOS is compatible. BUT I DONT HAVE THE MONEY UNFORTUNATELY!