PDF file disappears after exporting

[etsia0D44]

Hello everyone!

I've created a catalog design for printing and when I try to export .pdf file so this file disappears after done exporting and I don't get any error from InDesign.. Does anyone knows where can be a problem?

Thank you!

[Derek Cross]

Tick "View PDF after Exporting" to see if it has been created.

If so, you're probably saving it in a place you haven't located – do a search on the file name.

[etsia0D44]

I've tried everything like You wrote but nothing helped. The .pdf file just not appear in my chosen location. In the beggining it shows up and ten when export is done this file just disappears..

[Derek Cross]

Let's go through the basics:

Which version of InDesign and OS?

How are you producing the PDF (kind of PDF)?

Have you been able to produce PDF's previously?

How much RAM and spare hard disk capacity do you have?

Have you tried resetting the InDesign preferences?

[etsia0D44]

1. InDesign CS6, Windows 10

2. .pdf (print)

3. Yes, I was able to produce  PDF's previously

4. 16GB RAM & 2TB

5. No I did not try to reset preferences.

[Derek Cross]

I'm a Mac user but it might be worth checking out compatibility issues with CS6 and Windows 10, it's a very old version, nearly 10 years old, and probably EOL (End of Life).

[BobLevine]

CS6 is in no way supported under Windows 10. You can try running it in Win 7 compatibility mode but beyond that, you're on your own. You are eight versions and nine years out of date.

[Laubender]

Hi etsia0D44,

does it work if you change the target folder of your export?

Say, will it work if you export to your desktop?

Quit Acrobat or Adobe Reader before export.

Hm. Do you have "Show Hidden Items" enabled in your file system so that you can see invisible files and folders?

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[Kurosu_Jun]

I had this problem today, so I thought I'd give a possible solution.

I have a 28-page magazine layout which I tried to export. The resulted PDF just vanished after exporting even though it worked just fine a week earlier. After trying out some tweaks in settings etc. I tried exporting three pages at a time to see if the problem was on a particular page. I pinpointed the problem on a certain page that refused to export so I checked the linked files on the page.

The cause turned out to be a badly named file. The name of a linked picture file ended in a period (there was an additional period before .jpg). Changing the name fixed the problem for me.

[Rhianna5E3A]

THANK YOU! I am having to hobble on my husband's windows 10 PC while my Mac is in the shop and it has been frustrating beyong belief. This was exactly my problem, there was a # in one of the client's photo names.

[Clay5C31]

I really appreciate this. I had tried EVERYTHING, including rebuilding the document. Turned out one link had gotten corrupted/broken, even though I wasn't getting an error message when exporting. I was pulling my hair out. Thank you!!!

[Laubender]

Kurosu_Jun said: "The cause turned out to be a badly named file. The name of a linked picture file ended in a period (there was an additional period before .jpg). Changing the name fixed the problem for me."

Hi Kurosu_Jun,

How exactly was the whole name with suffix etc.pp.?

I'd like to test that on my Windows machine.

Thanks,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[Kurosu_Jun]

Hi Laubender, 

I did some testing of my own with the original photo and now InDesign acts like there was no problem in the first place. I didn't even relaunch ID after today's work–the PDF now exports just fine.

I'm a bit hesistant to paste the really long file name here (it has real peoples' names in it) but the photo is public if you want to test it. Can be downloaded at the bottom of this article (it's the second photo from left).

[Laubender]

Hi Kurosu_Jun,

downloaded the image. My Windows system does not allow to rename the file so that a dot is at the end of the file name.

… productions-2021..jpg

to:

… productions-2021..jpg.

is not possible.

Did this happen on Mac OS?

FWIW: The strange naming with the two dots before jpg indicates that the system where this naming was done is not showing file suffixes. Usually that's the default setting on Windows 10 and Mac OS. I literally hate Microsoft and Apple for this decision. That default can be changed easily, but because it is the default really nobody cares who is not a professional. Files with names like that, alone the name's length is 174 characters long, are very likely to fail in a publishing environment.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )

[lsvdesign]

This happened to me as well and it turned out a placed TIF file was the culprit, so thank you for mentioning a bad file!

[Laubender]

Hi lsvdesign,

it was not a bad file; in the sense that its contents was corrupt and one could not open it in e.g. PhotoShop.

It was a file that was badly named. Renaming and replacing the file should work.

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Professional )

[rose24758569ce9r]

I'm facing the same difficulty, however, I'm receiving an error message. I'm attempting to figure out how to tackle this problem but am stumped. So, if you could please assist me with this, it would be greatly appreciated.

[rose24758569ce9r]

Additionally, I tell you that this problem is faced when I submit this picture on juicewrld AirPods covers web page.

[seriously??]

The same exact thing started happening to me yesterday with "only one" of my several files in a consortium. I was able to pdf it previously, but no go today again. I updated ALL of my Adobe programs (InDesign 19.1) and im on a Mac running Sonoma 14.3. At this point, im utterly clueless!

I DID however export a jpeg from InDesign, then went into Photoshop and saved that file as a pdf. Trouble is, the pdf is a lot larger. Hope that helps. It's not a fix but i GOTTA get my work done somehow!!

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Hi,

Sorry to hear about the trouble. Can you confirm if you're exporting the file locally or on any network or shared location? 

Thanks

Rishabh

[Frederike28846047ltcs · Accepted solution]

I have the same issue too. It happens from time to time and I can't see any pattern, like a badly named file. What solves it for me is to save the damaged InDesign file as .IDML, closing InDesign, and reopening it again with the IDML. It then lets me export it with no problem.

[magnetic_Bee98A7]

Good Day

I am having a nightmarish situation. My PDF keeps dissapearing after I try to export. I've tried saving as a IDML, tried renaming the images, updated InDesign, everything but I just can't get the file to export. Is there any way of contacting Adobe directly and getting assistance, have a client waiting for their product. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

[Frederike28846047ltcs]

Have you closed InDesign after exporting to .idml? in my case it only works when I have closed the app before opening the .dml file again. No need to shut down the computer though (in my case). Apart from that it sounds exactly like what  have been experiencing, so I hope this will solve it for you.

[leo.r]

Good Day

I am having a nightmarish situation. My PDF keeps dissapearing after I try to export

...but I just can't get the file to export.

By magnetic_Bee98A7

Can you please clarify what happens exactly?

Does the exported PDF briefly appear in the target folder but then disappear?

Or does no PDF appear at all?

In any case, try to export to a different folder. If you export to a server/cloud location, try to export to a local folder instead.

Also, what versions of InDesign and the operating system are you using?

[magnetic_Bee98A7]

Hi there. Thanks for coming back to me 🙂

So the PDF does appear in the folder, then as soon as the task is complete
in InDesign it disappears. I managed to export the PDF yesterday by
removing some pdf adverts, then adding them in again causes the
same problem. Always trying different locations to export.

I'm on InDesign 2023 18.5.4 version and running macOS Catalina 10.15.7 iMac
27inch late 2013.

Worked just fine a week ago, perhaps there has been an update that is
causing some issues.

Appreciate your help and time.

Kind Regards
Andre'