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!

[clangton456]

I am having the same issue. Taking all day to edit a file.  Long wait for Font styles, character and paragraph changes or editing.  I am not able to figure out from these messages what to try and if there is an actual solution. Thanks. BTW, what is the term ID? Mentioned in these posts.

[victoriawolf · Accepted solution]

I have found that restarting ID (InDesign) helps and also deleting ID caches before restarting also helps. Here is where the caches are located: Local Disk c:/Users/Owner/AppData/Local/Adobe/InDesign/Version 20.0/en_US/caches/

I delete these files:

AdobeFontList.lst

FontClassificationCache.txt

FontMaskCache

and the TypeQuestCachse folder

And, I have found that the Adobe Garamond Premier Pro is corrupted and causes many issues.

[OsakaWebbie]

Perhaps this is a good enough workaround for you, but that's a lot of work to go through every time we restart ID. And at least in my case, the delineation is clearly between 2024 and 2025 - version 2024 has no troubles, while 2025 is slow as molasses (not just working with styles, but almost everything).

A question about the font: When you say "Adobe Garamond Premier Pro", is that the same as "Adobe Garamond Pro"? The latter is a font I have used extensively for years - it is the designated body text font for a quarterly magazine I design, and I like it for other things too.

[Treon]

I am also dealing with the problem as described here. I am losing a lot of time this way. I use InDesign in a Mac environment (macOS 15.5) and the problems also started with version 2025. It does not have to do with any typeface (although I have Garamond Premier Pro activated). It's in every document I use.

[victoriawolf]

Yes, it is so time-consuming! Karen Sheets commented below about her workaround and I have been using it and it is saving me some time. 

"anging a style that I have already made while it's in use on the page, and then right-clicking to "redefine" the style instead of going into the style palette"

Victoria

[Treon]

Thanks @victoriawolf I wish I could use this workaround. But it also happens when I right click and redefine (and even when I use the shortcut to redefine, the wheel keeps spinning endlessly). When I force quit and restart it goes faster, but only for 5 minutes or so …

[victoriawolf]

Oh, I am sorry that the workaround is not working for you. This has been going on for months so I hope Adobe figures it out soon.

[Treon]

Yes, I also hope. With every new version of InDesign I (and many others) have the feeling the software is getting slower and slower and more loggy. Which is so frustrating. There are always some little bugs, with a next version they sometimes (if you are lucky) disappear but other issues pop up. I would prefer that Adobe invests in their user requests (there are requests with massive support that never has been implemented), instead we get useless AI-additons (at least I don't use these AI-features for InDesign). I just want my software to do what it is neede for. And I want it to work smoothly (Figma for example, that's well working software).

[victoriawolf]

I have been using Adobe products for over 33 years and found them to be unparalleled, until now. ID is the only program I am having major issues with, but I have had small issues with Illustrator, Photoshop, and Acrobat. I accept a few problems, but this ID issue is HUGE and significantly impacted my workflow. I have not used any of the AI features in ID but have used the ones in Photoshop, which are helpful and save me time.

[Karen Sheets]

Hi Victoria,

I am also a book designer and just started having this problem within the past month or so. I also have many years of experience (25+) and have never seen this before. If you ever find a solution, can you post it here? I am using a workaround, when I can, of changing a style that I have already made while it's in use on the page, and then right-clicking to "redefine" the style instead of going into the style palette, where I encounter the lag. It's extremely frustrating. 

Best,

Karen 

[victoriawolf]

Karen, thank you for your comments. Yes, it has been a very frustrating five or so months having to deal with this issue. I like your workaround and will try it. 

Are you on Windows 11?

Victoria

[Karen Sheets]

Yes, I also use Windows and am on the most current update of Windows 11. Sometimes I wonder if there is new data coming in from the Word files I import. 

[victoriawolf]

Me, as well. Always up-to-date, too. I do not think it is a system configuration problem on our end, but many on this forum do. Considering it ONLY happens while in the paragraph and character style definitions leads me to believe there is something else at play here. Hopefully, someone will figure it out soon.

[Ajtthethird]

I have the exact same problem. I'm working on 320 (upwards) page documents of straightforward text, maybe 15 a month. This may be my environment but it's only happened since installing InDesign 2025. Based on that principle, it would be logical to assume that Adobe has changed the program in some way to create this problem. My environment hasn't changed at all and it worked perfectly well until this update. D I'm sure it did for all the other users experiencing this problem. You can just blame our environments when they haven't changed. 

[victoriawolf]

I agree. I changed nothing as well. The issue just showed up one day. I cannot remember exactly when, though, which really annoys me! It's been so difficult to work around this issue 8 hours per day for months.

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

@victoriawolf 

In case you need to know BasedOn structure of your Paragraph Styles:

And Character Styles:

[victoriawolf]

Thanks! All those imported styles are typically removed in the process, which is still in process. 🙂

I use Adobe Garamond Premier Pro for about a third of my interiors, so this is going to be a huge problem.

[rob day]

Hi @victoriawolf , I’m not seeing a link to your ID file, just the video. From your video it looks like you are using Adobe Fonts—Garamond Premier? Does it happen on afile that uses only locally installed system fonts?

[victoriawolf]

With the help of @Eugene Tyson I figured out that having Adobe Garamond Premier Pro active on my system, whether I was using it in the file or not, was causing the issue. I had it activated only for Adobe programs and not system-wide. 

[Mike Witherell]

Hi Victoria,

I downloaded and tested the file and it operated normally on my Windows 11 machine.

I edited styles and deleted the front page PDF link. Nothing much stood out to me related to performance speed.

That leads me to suppose it could be your application or machine.

Have you emptied all of Windows "Temp" folders lately?

[Emeka Jones]

Has this been resolved? I have read through your issue, and I am facing exactly the same... I am not sure what to do. 

[Robert at ID-Tasker]

Has this been resolved? I have read through your issue, and I am facing exactly the same... I am not sure what to do. 

By @Emeka Jones

Do you use Garamond font? 

[victoriawolf]

The issue has not been resolved. I am doing workarounds to be able to get my work completed. To be clear, this is a very specific issue that affects only Paragraph and Character styles. There is no issue with any other functionality with InDesign, other Creative Cloud programs, or any other program on my computer. 

[Anubhav M]

Hello @redwolfgirl66,

Could you share more details, like the version of the OS/InDesign installed, if InDesign behaves this way with specific files, and your exact workflow, including a screen recording (if possible), so I can try and replicate this on my end?

Looking forward to hearing from you.
Anubhav

[victoriawolf]

Please read through previous threads. I shared a tremendous amount of information.