PDF export error from indesign. Any help please?

[JKingAOC]

Hi all, i have had a recurring issue on Indesign from my office computer.

So far this has seemed to happen in both Indesign 2022 and 2023. Using an M1 imac, on iOS 11.6 Big Sur.

My files often export to pdf with no error message, but the pdf it creates is a zero mb, and cannot be opened.

The same indiesfn file can be succesfully exported to PDF on multiple other machines - including older iMacs we have in the office and my own Macbook Pro, both running iOS 10 Catalina. Buit when i tested again on another M1 iMac i ran into the same error.

Its worth saying, it doesnt happen with every indesign file - and the same file i was working on most recently exported successfully yesterday evening - but this morning (after adding in a number of additional slides and attachments) the same error is happening!

Any thoughts on what might be causing this? Is it a known issue? and is there a work around?

[Willi Adelberger]

Did you wait a while as it often takes a long time to see an existing file with more than 0mb?

[JKingAOC]

I have left it for several hours - to no change. I have also tried splitting up into sections which doesn't seem to work thistime around. 

[JKingAOC]

I have found the culprit by pdf-ing as separate pages - isolating to a single placed object on one of the pages that was causing the error. However i am still lost as to why this was only an issue when exporting from one of the machines in the office - a newer M1 iMac. When no errors are encountered on the others.

[Colin Flashman]

There is a feature introduced into indesign back in May 2010 where exporting PDF/IDML was now done as a background task. However, I do not like this feature as I no longer have appropriate dialogs telling me that there may be an issue. There is a way to disable the background tasks and have the exports brought to the foreground like "the good old days" and this link describes the procedure: https://creativepro.com/a-new-workaround-for-that-pesky-background-export-issue/

[Willi Adelberger]

What kind of object causes the problem?