Old Catalog File Issues: Lost Elements After InDesign 2025 Update

[MandyNauticalia]

I have a very old file which I reuse every year to produce a catalgue. Probably 10 years old - its about 250 pages. Its been working fine until I updated to 2025. Now some text boxes and images are randomly disapearing.  Has anyone seen this before. I'm close to printing my cataluge so I can start from scratch. I've just been saving multply copies of my files. Some pages I don;t notice have missing elements until a few days later. Its awful.

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[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @MandyNauticalia,

I'm sorry to hear about your issues with the InDesign file. Here are some quick solutions to try:

• Check for Overset Text. Look for any text boxes with a red plus sign (+) indicating hidden text.
• Go to the Links panel (Window > Links) to ensure all image links are updated.
• Save your file as a new document or export it as an IDML file (File > Export > choose IDML). Then, open the IDML and save it as a new INDD file.
• Use Type > Find Font to replace any missing fonts.
• If possible, revert to a backup version of your file from before the update.

Moreover, please share details of the operating system you use. 

We will be looking forward to your response. Good luck with your catalogue!

Best,
Abhishek Rao

[MandyNauticalia]

Thank you so much for the quick reply. Yes I have tried all your suggestions as this has been happening for a few days now, very randomly. When I open the file back up from the IDML version. The text boxes do reappear but on the pasteboard. Sadly the images didn’t come back.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @MandyNauticalia,

Thanks for trying those steps, and I’m sorry to hear the issue persists! As our community expert mentioned, you could try saving the file in the older version as IDML, reopening it, and then saving it as an INDD file to work with. This often helps resolve issues with disappearing elements.

If you linked your images, make sure they’re correctly linked in the Links panel, as embedded images sometimes behave differently when converted. Give it a try and let us know how it goes-we’re here to help!

Best,  
Abhishek Rao

[Willi Adelberger]

Save in the old version as idml, open it, save as ondd and work with it. 

Did you link or embed used images?

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@MandyNauticalia

Would be best if you downgrade to 2024 - and work on the old files.

Files that you've opened and saved in 2025 - are most likely "corrupted" beyond repair.