Paragraph and Character Styles very slow when making changes to an existing style, help!!

[victoriawolf]

It started back in March and has persisted ever since.

I have the latest, updated version of InDesign and Windows 11. I did not make any changes prior to the issue, and I have a newer desktop computer. I have been working with InDesign since it was the Pagemaker program, so knowledge is not an issue here. And, I have never had this problem in my 33 years of using Adobe programs.

That being said, here is the issue:

Randomly, when I edit an existing paragraph or character style, it can take 30 seconds to over a minute to be able to make that change. It happens when I choose a different setting, and also when I hit okay. 

• If I close ID and restart, it helps a bit, but not completely, and the issue continues to worsen as I make style changes.
• I have deactivated all fonts, and that did not help.
• I have installed and reinstalled ID, and that did not help.
• I have rebooted  SO MANY times
• I have tried to delete my font cache, but I get a message that it is in use even after I reboot.

I am a book designer and work on book interiors every day, and this is KILLING my workflow.

Any help with this issue would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Eugene Tyson · Accepted solution]

I think it might be that font that is the issue - however, I don't have the same issue as you with the lag. 

But surely that font is not helping matters. It was only 3 spaces in the document. 

Maybe try changing your Word Document font to something else.

Select all and change it to Arial

the bold/italic should retain

Save it as .doc file (not a docx) 

Then import the new doc file and see if the issue persists.

See if that improves things. 

[victoriawolf]

I appreciate your input. 

This happens with EVERY file, EVERY font, and EVERY time I access the paragraph or character styles. 

It is not file-specific. I was asked to upload a file sample, and I did. I could upload 50 more files that do the same thing.

And, I can start a new doc with one line of text, and it will do the same thing.

Now, if it is Adobe Garamond Premier Pro that is the issue, theoretically, even if it is not used in the document, but is still active on my system, it could cause the issue. I will try deactivating all those fonts and see what happens.

I will let you know.

[victoriawolf]

Bingo, Eugene!!!

I closed ID, deactivated Garamond Premier Pro, reopened ID, and now everything is as it should be, sort of.

I have to work more in the files, but I did see a slight bit of lag, but nothing like before.

Now, if I cannot use the Adobe Garamond Premier Pro fonts, I have a big issue with past books. If I change it to a different version of Garamond, it will change all the spacing, and I will need to fix it all. Maybe Adobe will fix the font issue!

Thanks!

[Eugene Tyson]

Fantastic! Glad it's fixed! 

If you wouldn't mind marking the correct answer that would be great so it's easy to find again and helps others.

[victoriawolf]

Yes, I will do that. 

I must let everyone know that you need to turn off Auto Add Adobe Fonts in Preferences > File Handling as well. Otherwise, if you have Adobe Garamond Premier Pro installed, it will activate and cause the same issue. Also, close ID before you deactivate the fonts.

[rob day]

Sorry I missed @Eugene Tyson post. Also make sure you don’t try to mix an Adobe font and the same font installed in your system.

[victoriawolf]

Thanks for that reminder. I use only Adobe Fonts unless a client brings me a file with a different font. I will double-check my Windows system fonts to make sure there is no Garamond loaded there as well. I don't think so, but I'll check to make sure. Thanks!

[Cecy Fernandes]

I have the same issue. HELP!

[victoriawolf]

Sorry, you're experiencing this hell too. I have found no fix and have tried everything except running a lower version of ID, which I choose not to do. I have found that closing ID and then deleting all the type-related caches helps for a bit. Then, after reopening ID and the file, and creating and updating styles for a bit, I have to repeat the process.  It's the only workaround I found so far that is workable.

[Abhishek Rao]

Hi @victoriawolf,

Thanks for following up, and I'm really sorry to hear the issue is still impacting your workflow. It sounds incredibly frustrating, especially when you're dealing with long-form book projects daily. I saw your update about clearing the type-related caches as a workaround, and I'm glad that at least provides some temporary relief.

Could you please confirm if you're currently using InDesign version 20.4.1 and still seeing the same lag when editing paragraph or character styles?

Looking forward to hearing back. 

Abhishek

[victoriawolf]

Yes, I am running the very latest version of ID. I am only having issues with Character and Paragraph styles. There are no issues with any other aspect of ID. I can change the typeface, size, paragraph elements, etc., without any delay or lag when I am NOT within a character or paragraph style.

Thanks!

Victoria

[victoriawolf]

I am sorry, I mispoke. I am NOW updating ID to 20.4.1. I just rebooted and saw the update notice.

[victoriawolf]

Hello. I am back to say, unfortunately, the issue is back as well. It's not as bad as before, but it appears to be getting worse the more I work in ID.

I saw somewhere about deleting ID's font cache file. I did try this, but it said the file was in use, even though I did a reboot and did not open any CC programs. Does anyone know how to clear the font cache?

Thanks, Victoria

[Eugene Tyson]

Try doing it in safe mode. Your issue is definitely seemingly around font issues. Could be to do with permissions to those folders too.

Close InDesign and reboot

If you still can't then start in safe mode

 Mac

~/Library/Caches/Adobe/TypeSupport
~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Font Cache
~/Library/Preferences/Adobe InDesign/<Version>/FontCache
/Library/Caches/Adobe/TypeSupport
/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Fonts

Windows something similar

C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Adobe\TypeSupport

C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Adobe\InDesign\<Version>\en_GB\Caches\FontCache

[victoriawolf]

C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Adobe\InDesign\<Version>\en_GB\Caches\FontCache

I do not have a FontCache directory here. 

See attached...

This is what I was originally was trying t,o do and I could not delete them:

Windows:

1. Open the File Explorer and set hidden file and folder views.
2. Close all Adobe applications (illustration, in-design, and more), including Creative Cloud desktop apps (if installed).
3. Navigate to  C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\AppData\Local.
4. Delete the *FNTCACHE*.DAT or *FontCache*.dat files.

https://helpx.adobe.com/fonts/kb/troubleshoot-fonts-illustrator-indesign.html#:~:text=Close%20all%20....

[rob day]

Hi @victoriawolf , Also, did you try deleting your entire Caches folder, which on OSX is:

⁨

Users⁩ ▸ ⁨fishercat⁩ ▸ ⁨Library⁩ ▸ ⁨Caches⁩ ▸ ⁨Adobe InDesign⁩ ▸ ⁨Version X.0⁩

So on Windows I think it should be:

Users > AppData > Local > Adobe > InDesign > Version X > en_US > Caches

[victoriawolf]

As I mentioned earlier, I do not have a FontCache folder located at:

C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Adobe\InDesign\<Version>\en_GB\Caches\FontCache

[Eugene Tyson]

That’s not unusual. InDesign doesn’t always create that folder unless it’s had font-related activity that needs caching.

--------

I know you already checked - but can you double-check path accurac
It could be drive D: ---maybe
C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Adobe\InDesign
Then drill down through the exact InDesign version (e.g. Version 19.0)

Language (likely en_GB or en_US)

Caches

Inside Caches, you might find:

FontCache

GlyphCache

or nothing at all (which means there’s nothing to delete there)

If it’s truly missing, that might just mean InDesign hasn’t created it yet or has recently cleared and not re-populated it.

Or you may not have permission to write files there so it could be that?

Navigate to the Caches folder (or the parent InDesign version folder).

Right-click > Properties > Security tab.

Check if their user account has Full Control or at least Modify/Write permission.

If not, you need to adjust permissions or run InDesign as admin and test again.

Workaround if suspicious
Try creating a dummy folder named FontCache manually in that path.

If Windows throws a permissions error, that’s the problem.

If it creates just fine, permissions are likely not the issue.

--------

---------

Close InDesign

Delete TypeSupport cache instead
This folder almost always exists:

C:\Users\<YourUsername>\AppData\Local\Adobe\TypeSupport
Delete that entire folder. It's a key source of font caching and corruption issues.

(and anything else font-related)

Reboot

Launch InDesign again

This will force InDesign to regenerate the font cache from scratch.

------------

==========================

Still seeing issues?
We'll set up a testing ground

If fonts still act up after this, it may not be a cache issue. 

Test the same font in a clean user profile

==============================

After clearing the cache and doing all the permissions check 

Reinstalling rarely fixes everything - you can do a complete reinstall using the
Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/cc-cleaner-tool-installation-problems.html

[rob day]

I do not have a FontCache folder

Neither do I, but there is an InDesign Caches folder which can be deleted and will rebuild itself when you restart InDesign:

[Stargel]

Working through many of these suggestions. Clearing the font cache did work, but I had to have our IT do it since that folder is protected. Ran smoothly for a bit, then started acting up again. Still using my work around of formatting the paragraph or character manually then "redefine" existing style.

[Eugene Tyson]

Seems like IT have more work to do for you.

[victoriawolf]

That is my experience as well. My workaround is to close ID, delete the caches, and restart ID. I need to do this quite often when I am working on formatting a new book interior, since there are so many styles being created. It's so frustrating and I find it very hard to believe that the cause is on our side.

[Eugene Tyson]

Very few people have the same issue. I work with 100s of people with indesign and for over 25 years. I nor anyone I work with has this issue at all. 

It's most definitely on your side.

[victoriawolf]

Well, based on that, you've solved the problem. Wow, so clever.

[Eugene Tyson]

Hi @victoriawolf,

At this point, based on extensive testing and community input including my own testing and years of experience working with hundreds of InDesign users, on both Windows and Mac, I can confidently say this issue is specific to your system environment. It’s not an InDesign bug, but likely tied to a local font-related or permissions issue on your machine.

Others have confirmed smooth performance with your files and setup, which reinforces that this isn’t a widespread Adobe issue.

Since you've already tried font deactivation and cache clearing (which helped temporarily), it seems the deeper cause is either:

• A corrupt font, possibly still lingering (system or Office font),

• Permissions issues on your machine (especially in cache locations),

• Or a background service or setting interfering with font rendering.

To truly resolve this, I'd recommend getting IT help and to look in to:

• Fully clean all system and Adobe font caches again (with elevated permissions or Safe Mode),

• Use the Adobe Creative Cloud Cleaner Tool for a complete uninstall/reinstall,

• Try logging into a new local Windows user account and test the same file there.

If things work fine in a clean user profile, then it confirms the issue is isolated to your current Windows profile setup.

Let us know how it goes hopefully this helps get things running smoothly again.

Best
Eugene